This week, Republic FC re-enter the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – the United States Soccer Federation’s annual national championship tournament open to all amateur and professional teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Thursday, Sacramento will face off with Portland Timbers U-23 of USL League Two, playing their second match of the tournament after eliminating NPSL side Contra Costa FC on home soil in the first round.
Now in its 107th edition, the tournament has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. The history-filled tournament – the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States – is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis, and in 1999 was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. This season’s tournament will be the first to feature over 100 teams, 29 amateur squads and 71 professional sides.
In its six prior appearances in the competition, Sacramento has made several impressive runs – in 2017, Sacramento defeated Real Salt Lake in the fourth round, advancing to the Round of 16 against LA Galaxy, where they fell 2-0. The club advanced to the Round of 16 again the following year, defeating Seattle Sounders FC in extra time before falling to LAFC.
The Indomitable Club last featured in the tournament in 2019, defeating Reno 1868 FC and Fresno FC in the opening rounds. In the fourth round, Sacramento traded punches with San Jose Earthquakes in an exciting contest, but fell 4-3.
Republic FC has only fallen once in the contest to a non-MLS club, and has won their opening match of the tournament every year. The winner of Thursday’s contest will learn their next opponent when U.S. Soccer conducts its third round draw on April 8. After the draw, the road ahead will be the following:
17 MLS clubs will enter the fray for the third round, and be matched up with a group of the second-round winners. A new change for this year’s tournament staggers the entry of MLS teams, as previously, all participating MLS clubs entered the tournament in the fourth round.
This year, eight more MLS clubs will enter the fourth round draw – the four teams competing in the CONCACAF Champions League in addition to the next two highest finishers from the 2021 regular season.
From the fourth round forward, the tournament will proceed as a single elimination bracket leading up to the final, which is scheduled for September. In 2019, the last time the competition was held, Atlanta United lifted the trophy after defeating Minnesota United in the final. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League and a purse of $300,000 – regardless of whether they are a professional or amateur side.
