The 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round kicks off March 18-20 made up exclusively of Pro vs. Amateur contests.
The Amateur teams in the 2025 First Round will consist of the 14 survivors from last fall’s Open Cup Qualifying Rounds (including UPSL Northeast’s clubs New Jersey Alliance FC, NY Renegades FC and Virginia Dream FC), as well as the UPSL Spring 2024 Champion Soda City FC, the 2024 USASA National Amateur Champion NY Pancyprian Freedoms, seven (7) teams from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and nine (9) more from USL League Two. Their opponents from the Professional ranks will be eight (8) clubs from the Division II USL Championship, 14 from the Division III USL League One and 10 from MLS NEXT Pro.
This is the second year in a row that sees the Open Cup First Round comprised exclusively of Pro vs. Amateur matchups – thus creating massive potential for dramatic outcomes and underdog storylines. The 2024 Open Cup First Round produced no fewer than seven upsets, setting the table for more drama this year.
For the 2025 First Round, teams were paired on a geographic basis with the restriction that each professional team was matched with a team from the Open Division. Hosts were determined by random selection when each team applied to host with a venue that met the competition standard. Random selection was also used in cases where there was no logical geographic fit or there were more than two teams from the same proximity.
The winners of the First Round will play each other in a Second Round consisting of 16 games. The 16 Second Round winners will then be matched up against the 16 highest-ranked professional teams from the USL Championship in the Third Round. USL Championship Teams were seeded by conference, with the top eight clubs in each conference entering in the Third Round. Third Round-winners will square off against the teams of Major League Soccer (MLS). There will be 16 MLS teams competing in the 2025 Open Cup – up from eight in 2024 – and they will all enter the competition in the Round of 32.
2025 U.S. Open Cup – First Round Schedule
Tuesday, March 18
| Match | Time (local) | Venue |
| Hartford Athletic (USLC) vs. New York Shockers (NPSL) | 6:30 pm ET | Trinity Health Stadium; Hartford, CT |
| Sarasota Paradise (USLL2) vs. FC Naples (USLL1) | 7:00 pm ET | Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, FL |
| Miami FC (USLC) vs. Naples United FC (NPSL) | 7:00 pm ET | FIU Soccer Stadium; Miami, FL |
| New Jersey Alliance (UPSL) vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves (USLL1) | 7:00 pm ET | TBA |
| FC Motown (NPSL) vs. Westchester SC (USLL1) | 7:30 pm ET | MSU Soccer Park; Montclair, NJ |
| Asheville City SC (USLL2) vs. Greenville Triumph SC (USLL1) | 7:30 pm ET | Greenwood Field; Asheville, NC |
| West Chester United SC (USLPA) vs. Loudoun United FC (USLC) | 7:30 pm ET | YSC Sports; Wayne, PA |
| Texoma FC (USLL1) vs. FORO SC (UPSL) | 7:00 pm CT | Bearcat Stadium; Sherman, TX |
| Tulsa Athletic (UPSL) vs. FC Tulsa (USLC) | 7:30 pm CT | Athletic Community Stadium; Tulsa, OK |
| AV ALTA FC (USLL1) vs. Ventura County Fusion (USLL2) | 7:30 pm PT | Lancaster Municipal Stadium; Lancaster, CA |
Wednesday, March 19
| Match | Time (local) | Venue |
| Columbus Crew 2 (MLS-NP) vs. NY Renegades (UPSL) | 6:00 pm ET | Lower.com Field; Columbus, OH |
| Chattanooga Football Club (MLS-NP) vs. Corpus Christi FC (USLL2) | 6:30 pm ET | Finley Stadium; Chattanooga, TN |
| Appalachian FC (NPSL) vs. One Knoxville SC (USLL1) | 7:00 pm ET | Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex; Boone, NC |
| Richmond Kickers (USLL1) vs. Virginia Dream (UPSL) | 7:00 pm ET | City Stadium; Richmond, VA |
| Inter Miami CF II (MLS-NP) vs. Miami United FC (UPSL) | 7:00 pm ET | Chase Stadium; Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
| Sporting KC II (MLS-NP) vs. Des Moines Menace (USLL2) | 6:30 pm CT | Swope Soccer Village; Kansas City, MO |
| Lexington Sporting Club (USLC) vs. Southern Indiana FC (UPSL) | 7:30 pm ET | Lexington SC Stadium; Lexington, KY |
| Little Rock Rangers (USLL2) vs. Birmingham Legion FC (USLC) | 7:00 pm CT | Episcopal Col School Stadium; Little Rock, AR |
| El Paso Locomotive (USLC) vs. Harpos FC (CPL) | 7:00 pm MT | Southwest University Park; El Paso, TX |
| Real Monarchs (MLS-NP) vs. El Farolito (NPSL) | 7:30 pm MT | Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, UT |
| Monterey Bay (USLC) vs. International San Francisco (SFSFL) | 7:00 pm PT | Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, CA |
| Ventura County FC (MLS-NP) vs. Laguna United FC (UPSL) | 7:30 pm PT | William Rolland Stadium; Thousand Oaks, CA |
| Ballard FC (USLL2) vs. Spokane Velocity FC (USLL1) | 7:30 pm PT | Interbay Stadium; Seattle, WA |
| LAFC 2 (MLS-NP) vs. FC Arizona (NPSL) | 7:30 pm PT | Titan Stadium; Fullerton, CA. |
Thursday, March 20
| Match | Time (local) | Venue |
| Portland Hearts of Pine (USLL1) vs. CD Faialense (BSSL) | 6:30 pm ET | Franklin Athletic Complex; Lewiston, ME |
| LI Rough Riders (USLL2) vs. Charlotte Independence (USLL1) | 7:00 pm ET | Mitchel Athletic Complex; Uniondale, NY |
| Forward Madison FC (USLL1) vs. Duluth FC (NPSL) | 6:00 pm CT | Breese Stevens Field: Madison, WS |
| South Georgia Tormenta FC (USLL1) vs. Harbor City FC (UPSL) | 7:00 pm ET | Tormenta Stadium; Statesboro, GA |
| Carolina Core FC (MLS-NP) vs. Soda City FC (UPSL) | 7:30 pm ET | Truist Point; High Point, NC |
| FC Cincinnati 2 (MLS-NP) vs. NY Pancyprian Freedoms (EPSL) | 7:30 pm ET | NKU Soccer Stadium; Highland Heights, KY. |
| Flatirons FC (USLL2) vs. Union Omaha (USLL1) | 7:00 pm MT | Stermole Soccer Stadium; Golden, CO |
| Tacoma Defiance (MLS-NP) vs. Washington Athletic Club (SRATS) | 7:00 pm PT | Starfire Sports Complex; Tukwila, WA |
2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule
- First Round: March 18-20
- Second Round: April 1-2
- Third Round: April 15-16
- Round of 32: May 6-7
- Round of 16: May 20-21
- Quarterfinals: July 8-9
- Semifinal: Sept. 16-17
- Final: Oct. 1
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Now in its 110th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. The 2025 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize. Los Angeles Football Club of MLS is the defending Champion. The 109th edition of the tournament concluded on September 25, 2024 with LAFC beating four-time Champions Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to become Open Cup Champions for the first time.
The official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Fans can also follow the competition on X/Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.