There were 39 games played (and one delayed) on the weekend of October 26 and 27 as the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds took another step closer to whittling down the 14 teams that will move on to next year’s Tournament Proper from an original field of 114 Qualifying Round entrants.
There will be seven direct places to the 2025 Tournament Proper on the line on the Third Qualifying Matchday on November 16 and 17 – with 13 of those 14 competitors now known following this weekend’s Second Qualifying Matchday. One of the teams is still yet to be determined after the Azteca FC v. Colorado Rovers game was postponed due to equipment failure.
Qualifying Matchday Two also saw 26 teams move through with wins in their respective Second Round games – and they’re now two more wins away from their own place in the Tournament Proper.
West Chester United SC – the powerful Pennsylvania-based amateurs coached by Blaise Santangelo – led the way on Saturday with a 6-0 drubbing of the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, descendents of the legendary club that won four U.S. Open Cup crowns in the 1960s.
Joshua Luchini and Ridge Robinson each scored a pair of goals in a lopsided win that sees the West Chester side one win away from a second consecutive trip to the 2025 Tournament Proper.
Another six-goal performance from the NY Renegades FC knocked out Long Island’s Leros SC (6-0) in Islip while Southern Indiana FC are now also one win away from a place in the Tournament Proper with a 5-0 triumph over Kentucky’s Bowling Green FC. The historic Pa.-based Vereinigung Erzgebirge booked their do-or-die Final Round game with a 4-2 win over Kensington Soccer Club on the road – the same scoreline that saw Maryland’s Steel Pulse FC move past VA Revolution Pro and one step from a place in the Tournament Proper.
Eight other clubs will play for a place in next year’s Tournament Proper on the Third Qualifying Matchday in November are. Dalton United of Georgia, who beat Charlotte’s Mint Hill FC via shootout, Maryland’s Aegean Hawks FC (2-0 over MSI Pro), FCY New York of Buffalo and Colorado favorites Harpos FC. Perennial amateur powers Lansdowne Yonkers FC moved through to the Third Matchday and Final Round with a 3-1 win over fellow NYC side Zum Schneider FC 03 while, nearby, New Jersey Alliance FC beat Alloy Soccer Club 6-1 in Clifton. Virginia Dream squeaked past fellow VA-based side Alexandria Reds 2-1 and, last but not least, Cambridge-based CD Faialense of the Boston-area Bay State Soccer League eased past Project Football 4-1.
One of the weekend’s scheduled Third Round games, between Azteca FC and Colorado Rovers, was postponed and will be played at a later date and time to be determined.
There were a number of mismatches among Matchday Two’s Second Round games – with Laguna United FC’s (CA) 14-0 rout of Trojans FC standing out for sheer volume of goals. FC America CFL Spurs of Florida put six past Kissimmee Soccer Club without reply while Tulsa Athletic – underdog heroes of the 2023 Open Cup – beat Bartlesville Buffaloes 4-0 at their home of Hicks Park.
Chicago House AC – aiming for a place in their third-straight Tournament Proper – put themselves two wins away with a simple 2-0 result over crosstown UPSL-based rivals Chicago Strikers. Another familiar face to Open Cup fans, Miami United FC, bested River Miami FC 5-0 while Seattle-based Sharktopus FC lost a thriller in extra-time to Portland’s Deportivo Rose City (5-4).
