Schedule Set For 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round Of 16
Round Features Two Cupset Opportunities for USL Championship Clubs Plus a Pair of MLS Rivalries; May 23 and 24 Will Each Feature Four Games with Action Beginning at 7 p.m. ET Both Nights
CHICAGO (May 11, 2023) – The Round of 16 schedule for the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, has been set. Four matches will be played across the country each night on May 23 and 24. Streaming details for all eight matches will be announced at a later date.
- SCHEDULE | 2023 U.S. Open Cup Round of 16
- READ | Round of 32 Night One Recap – Pittsburgh's Road Cupset
- READ | Round of 32 Night Two recap – Birmingham Wins Div. II Rivalry to Advance
The Round of 16 Draw, which was conducted earlier today, not only decided the Round of 16 match-ups but set a bracket that reveals every team’s path to the 2023 U.S. Open Cup Final. Chief among the many tasty ties that were determined by the Draw are the two remaining USL Championship (Div. II) clubs being dealt home-field advantage against MLS opposition.
In the Northeast quad, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USLC) will host Columbus Crew (MLS) at picturesque Highmark Stadium, while in the Southeast portion of the bracket, Birmingham Legion FC (USLC) will be seeking a massive crowd at 47,000-seat Protective Stadium when they welcome Charlotte FC (MLS) to downtown Birmingham. The pair of possible Cupsets are both scheduled to lead off the slate of games on Wednesday, May 24.
Heightened interest will also fall on the bracket’s West matchups – a pair of testy MLS derbies. Open Cup fans will be treated to a second-straight edition of a Round of 16 El Trafico as well as a Rocky Mountain rumble. While the LA Galaxy prevailed when the two sides met at this same stage in last year’s Open Cup, LAFC will have the home turf this time around. Meanwhile, the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake will write only the third Open Cup chapter of their Rocky Mountain rivalry when they clash in Commerce City, Colo. for their first USOC meeting since 2007.
A game with echoes of Open Cups past will pit the New York Red Bulls (MLS) against FC Cincinnati (MLS) in a replay of the clubs’ famous 2017 Open Cup Semifinal that saw the Red Bulls claw back from a late 2-0 deficit against the then Div. II Cincinnati outfit to win in extra-time. While the Red Bulls will play host for this grudge match in the Northeast part of the bracket, FC Cincinnati comes in hot, having won nine of 13 games across all competitions this season including two Open Cup victories.
MLS Eastern Conference brethren Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC will cross paths for the first time in Open Cup play at DRV PNK Stadium for the right to move on in the Southeast quad. The Central portion of the bracket will see the two remaining Texas clubs hosting MLS opponents as Austin FC welcomes Chicago Fire FC for the clubs’ first meeting in official competition, while 2018 Open Cup champs Houston Dynamo FC tackle 2019 runners-up Minnesota United FC at Shell Energy Stadium.
ABOUT THE LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
Now in its 108th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer's National Championship – 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 United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2023 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2024 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.
Orlando City SC are defending Open Cup champions, having earned the club's first tournament title thanks to a 3-0 victory against second-division (USL Championship) side Sacramento Republic FC on September 7, 2022 in a Final played before a capacity crowd at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.