Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
A total of 40 teams, including 24 professional and 16 amateur clubs, will compete in the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when it kicks off in June for the 94th consecutive year.
With the busiest summer in the history of soccer in the United States approaching for both professional clubs and the U.S. National Teams, the number of Major League Soccer teams that will enter the tournament proper has been reduced to eight teams. However, every U.S.-based MLS squad will participate in the tournament either in qualifying rounds or in the tournament proper.
The United Soccer Leagues First Division will have 10 teams participating in 2007, up from eight in 2006.
Qualifying for the first round of the tournament is slated to be completed by May 28, with the pairings announcement shortly thereafter. The defending champion Chicago Fire and the other seven MLS teams enter the tournament on July 10 in the third round. The quarterfinals will be played Aug. 7, the semifinals will be played Sept. 4, and the final will be played on Oct. 2. In a change from recent years, the fixture dates in 2007 have been scheduled for Tuesday instead of Wednesday.
With 40 teams in the tournament in 2007, the additional amateur qualifying round that was played in 2005 and 2006 has been eliminated and the tournament will begin with the first round on June 12 with all 32 lower division teams taking the field in 16 matches. On June 26, the 16 first-round winners will face off in the second round with eight victors moving into third round to square off against eight MLS teams.
The U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 93 consecutive years dating back to 1914.
Within the U.S. Open Cup framework, teams compete in one of the following four categories: professional outdoor Division I (Major League Soccer), Division II (USL First Division) or Division III (USL Second Division); or Amateur Division (USL Premier Development League & U.S. Adult Soccer Association).
The U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament, with games tied after regulation being decided in two 15-minute overtime halves. If neither team scores during the overtime period, the winner is decided on penalty kicks. The team that advances the furthest from each level except Division I earns a $10,000 cash prize. The runner-up takes home $50,000, while the champion collects $100,000. The winner also will have the team’s name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, the oldest trophy in American team sports that is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y.
For more information on the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, please go to http://www.usopencup.com.