New York City FC is back in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and will host North Carolina FC at St. John’s University in the Fourth Round on Wednesday, June 12 at 7 p.m.
Ticket information for the home match vs. North Carolina FC, which will take place at Belson Stadium at St. John’s University in Queens, will be announced in the coming days.
City Members will have priority access to purchase tickets for the match (1 ticket per City Membership on their account) and have a preferred member price.
North Carolina FC was founded in 2006 and plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. This will be the first-ever matchup in any competition between the two clubs.
The Open Cup is a single-elimination knockout tournament open to teams across the American Soccer Pyramid, and one of the oldest existent soccer tournaments in the world, having first been contested in 1914.
The First Round featured 38 amateur and USL League One teams from across the United States, with 25 US-based USL Championship teams entering in the Second Round. The 11 teams that remain after the Third Round are now joined by the 21 US-based MLS teams in the Fourth Round, which opens on June 11.
Here are some facts about the tournament:
- The U.S. Open Cup was founded in the 1913-14 season and is the longest-running soccer competition in the United States.
- Babe Ruth made his Major League Baseball debut two months after the first U.S. Open Cup Final.
- The U.S. Open Cup is the third-longest running soccer tournament in the world.
- The U.S. Open Cup was renamed the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1999 to honor the long-time soccer supporter and pioneer.
- The U.S. Open Cup is a knockout-style, single-elimination tournament.
- The winning club has its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy, which remains at the U.S. Soccer House in Chicago, IL.
- The winner not only takes home prize money, but also qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League.
- The annual competition is open to all amateur and professional soccer teams in the United States.
- Brooklyn Field Club beat Brooklyn Celtic 2-1 to claim the inaugural U.S. Open Cup title in 1914.
- Teams from New York City won 15 U.S. Open Cup titles between 1950-85 and a total of 25 overall from New York City. The state of New York has won 26 with the lone team outside the city winning a championship being the Rochester Rhinos.
- If the match is tied after the final whistle the teams will play two 15 minute halfs and then it will proceed into penalty kicks.
- Bethlehem Steel F.C. and Maccabi Los Angeles are tied for the most U.S. Open Cup championships (5). The Fall River Marksmen won four U.S. Open Cup championships (1923-24,1927, 1929-1930 and 1931) then changed their named to the New Bedford Whalers and won the championship in 1932.
ABOUT THE LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
The 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the 106th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer's national club championship, open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion annually since 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. For more information on The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup click here.
