The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the longest running professional soccer tournament in the United States, and third longest in the world, kicks off its 2026 rounds on St. Patrick’s Day.
2026 Changes
Because of the FIFA World Cup, the Open Cup was forced to shorten its usual competition format. This resulted in a reduction of participating teams, particularly among the professional leagues. There are also some seeding variables at play. Here’s how this all plays out.
USL League 2 – 10 teams were invited. Top finishers in most cases, but there was one outlier. They can be paired against any other team.
USL League 1 – The top 13 teams based on 2025 league finish were invited.
USL Championship – The top 17 based on total points between both divisions were invited. They will compete against amateur, USL-2 and/or Open Division qualifiers.
MLS – 16 teams were invited, but not based exclusively on performance. Some clubs with other cup commitments (such as CONCACAF Champions Cup) opt to defer. Canadian-based clubs participate in the Canada Cup.
The Fixtures
Richmond Kickers (USL-1) vs. Northern Virginia FC (USL-2)
6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT
City Stadium – Richmond, VA
Watch livestream on YouTube
Dating back to last season, Kickers have a dubious record of conceding goals in nine straight matches.In their one and only meeting, in the 2022 Open Cup first round, Kickers were victorious 1-0.
Rhode Island FC (USL-C) vs. CD Faialense (BSSL)
7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT
Centreville Bank Stadium – Pawtucket, RI
Watch livestream on YouTube
CD Faialense, an amateur side from Boston, are qualifying for their second consecutive Open Cup. They’ll travel to Pawtucket, home of Rhode Island FC, and location of the first ever Open Cup final back in 1914. This is RIFC’s first game against amateur competition. They’ll really hope they don’t blow it.
Vermont Green FC (USL-2) vs. Portland Hearts of Pine (USL-1)
7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT
Virtue Field – Burlington, VT
Broadcast live on CBSSN, stream on Paramount+
Two new franchises from the Northeast face off. The Green are the only carbon-neutral soccer club in the USA. Hearts of Pine joined the USL-1 last season but have a poster-child on how to launch a club. Their fanbase is loud, proud and the merch is striking.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-C) vs. Steel City FC (USL-2)
7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT
Rooney Field – Pittsburgh, PA
Watch livestream on YouTube
Steel City FC appeared once before in the Open Cup, losing in the first round back in 2024. This season they began their campaign in Qualifying Round 2 with a 3-2 win over FCY New York (UPSL). A 1-0 win over Capital City Islanders (UPSL) and 3-2 win over Croatia Cleveland (NCSL) brought them here. Pittsburgh are the defending USL-C champions, and should dispatch their lower division neighbor with ease.
Detroit City FC (USL-C) vs. Michigan Rangers (NPSL)
7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
Keyworth Stadium – Hamtramck, MI
Watch livestream on YouTube
You don’t get more amateur than the Michigan Rangers, which is not an insult. This community club plays in the NPSL, and received one of those league’s four byes into the first round. This marks the club’s first appearance in the competition.
West Chester United SC (USLPA) vs. Loudoun United FC (USL-C)
7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
YSC Sports – Wayne, PA
Watch livestream on YouTube
West Chester United SC would have been one of the NPSL’s selections, but won the USLPA title (they compete in both leagues). Do not confuse them with Westchester SC of the USL-1 league. They should be competitive against Loudoun United, who did not look good in their only game of the 2026 season.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USL-C) vs. Azteca FC (CPL)
8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT
Weidner Field – Colorado Springs, CO
Watch livestream on YouTube
Azteca FC needed extra time in two of their three qualifying rounds to advance up to this stage., the last one requiring a penalty shootout against Arizona’s Next Level Soccer after a 3-3 draw. They seem to specialize in tight victories. They’ll be content with that against Switchbacks, who won the 2024 USL trophy.
Indy Eleven (USL-C) vs. Des Moines Menace (USL-2)
8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT
Grand Parks Events Center – Westfield, IN
Stream on Paramount+
Last year Des Moines Menace pulled together a “superteam” of sorts around Sacha Kljestan, which featured other ex-USMNT and MLS veterans like Benny Feilhaber, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Dax McCarty. This year their roster page is blank. That’s not very promising against Indy Eleven.
Phoenix Rising FC (USL-C) vs. San Ramon FC (TLFC)
10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT
Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium – Phoenix, AZ
Watch livestream on YouTube
San Ramon is a Bay Area club based only a few miles from our contributor Josep’s house; he officiates their youth games. A regular in the local UPSL leagues, they made a three game run during the qualifying rounds, beating traditionally strong SFSFL (San Francisco) sides. Now they travel to Arizona to take on Phoenix Rising in their first even Open Cup proper appearance, dreams of an upset in their hearts.
The Forfeit
In a most unusual occurrence, South Georgia Tormenta FC forfeit their game against the UPSL’s FC America CFL Spurs. Tormenta was in the USL-1 and made headlines by failing to pay their mandatory worker’s compensation insurance prior to training camp starting. For three weeks, contracted players trained on their own, hoping that the club would solve the issue. Only three weeks before the opening game, Tormenta dissolved the club and left players and ticket holders in the lurch. There’s a special circle in Dante’s Inferno for folks who behave like that.
