Never forget about the underdog, friends.
That’s Rule-One in our historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. And as we welcome the 16 Major League Soccer sides that comprise the country’s Division I pro ranks, and tip a cap to our friends in the USL Championship (Division II), let’s remember the surviving representatives from the Division III (USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro)
There are four remaining sides from the third pro tier of American club soccer in our Round of 32 (ALL 16 GAMES LIVE on Paramount+ on May 6 and 7) with AV ALTA, Chattanooga Red Wolves and Union Omaha out of USL League One and Tacoma Defiance the lone remaining MLS NEXT Pro side.
AV ALTA FC – New Heroes of the Antelope Valley
We start out west with these high-flying, first-year debutants from Southern California. They may be new faces in USL League One play, and in our U.S. Open Cup too, but they're making sure no one forgets their first go-around in this country’s most historic soccer competition.
AV ALTA won their first two games in the 2025 U.S. Open Cup in front of a full (and noisy) house at their Lancaster Municipal Stadium. They first knocked off amateur locals Ventura County Fusion 3-1 before doing the same to LAFC’s MLS NEXT Pro side a week later in the Second Round. Their Third-Round contest, against Division II pros Orange County SC, was one for the ages. It included a late goalkeeper change seconds before the shootout and a winning penalty kick taker, Miguel Pajaro, sealing a 4-2 spot-kick win (after a 2-2 drama-filled regular and extra time) with a swimming cap on his head to keep a blood-leaking wound from oozing uncontrollably.
WATCH FC Dallas v AV ALTA FC on May 7 LIVE on Paramount+
The AV ALTA squad is made up of an array of players from many different backgrounds, including overseas national team players from Benin, El Salvador, the Philippines, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. They also boast homegrown veteran stars like three-time USMNT-capped Miguel Ibarra, now 35, and formerly of Minnesota United and the Seattle Sounders.
