2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: Who ya got?

May 3, 2012, 4:00 PM EDT

The first and second rounds of the 99th U.S. Open Cup are set.

The 64-team field is split evenly between 32 professional squads (16 MLS, 6 NASL, and 16 USL PRO) and 32 amateur clubs from all parts of the country. The 2012 event, by far the largest ever, marks the first time all Division I, II and III professional clubs are participating in the tournament.

Every amateur teams start play on May 15. The winners advancing to the second round on May 22, where notable matches include Gale Agbossoumonde’s Carolina Railhawks taking on either USASA Region IV Club or the Portland Timbers U-23s and the 1995 champion Richmond Kickers battling the Carolina Dynamo or the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC.

Major League Soccer teams enter the action in the third round, which takes place on May 29 with the fourth round set for the following week.

The quarterfinals are set for June 26, the semifinals for July 10, and the final for Aug. 7 or 8.

Last year, the Seattle Sounders defeated the Chicago Fire 2-0 at CenturyLink Field. Osvaldo Alonso, remarkably starting in his fourth consecutive U.S. Open Cup Final, sealed the match in the 96th minute.

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6 Comments (Feed for Comments)

jerichowhiskey - May 3, 2012 at 5:18 PM

Too bad no NY teams in round 1 get to play at home. Two of them play in Pennsylvania and the third goes all the way up to Maine. It’s as if NY wasn’t allowed an advantage. Even Jersey Shore Boca has to travel all the way to Michigan.

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- wesbadia - May 4, 2012 at 9:52 AM
  
  I believe venues are still based on a which ever team pays more to USSF to host the event. Most of the smaller clubs can’t afford to raise the cash to out-bid the larger clubs, especially when it comes to USASA or US Club Soccer (essentially the 6th and 7th levels of the US Soccer Pyramid). If the bidding process is the same from previous years (which I don’t ever recall them changing that when they implemented the changes for the 2012 tournament), then it’s just simple economics to blame.
  
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  - wesbadia - May 4, 2012 at 10:07 AM
    
    My bad. I just read this in the linked article:
    
    “Another revision heading into this year’s U.S. Open Cup includes a random selection process for determining home teams from the first round through the quarterfinals among clubs that have applied to host. This change gives each participating team with a venue meeting tournament standards an equal chance at hosting its possible opponent for these rounds. ”
    
    So it was by lot that venues were picked. I guess Fate has an unloving eye cast on NY/NJ teams.
stackhousesoccer - May 3, 2012 at 6:26 PM

Love the Open Cup. Hope you guys keep giving it the love.

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wesbadia - May 4, 2012 at 9:53 AM

Harrisburg City! Excited for the matchup between either Long Island or FC Sonic. I’m gonna try to get out to the Island for that game.

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tamparaindancer - May 7, 2012 at 2:02 PM

Tampa Bay ROWDIES….Round Two…against either Jacksonville (FL) or Orlando…..I’m hoping to make it to either location (prefer Orlando.) “GO ROWDIES!”

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