US Soccer today announced the First Round matchups for the 2025 US Open Cup, set to be played between March 18–20.
Teams from the amateur game and lower divisions of the professional soccer pyramid will kick off the 110th edition of America’s oldest soccer competition.
Next month's opening round of games includes eight teams (six amateur, two professional) from the Tri-State Area. Included in the group of locals are four teams making their US Open Cup debuts: New Jersey Alliance FC, NY Renegades FC, New York Shockers, and Westchester SC.
You can see all the matchups of local interest below, and you can click here to see the full list of First Round games.
The Games
• Hartford Athletic (USLC) vs. New York Shockers (NPSL)
Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 PM ET Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford, CT
• New Jersey Alliance FC (UPSL) vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL1)
Tuesday, March 18, 7:00 PM ET, TBA*
(*rumored to be at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ)
• FC Motown (NPSL) vs Westchester SC (USL1)
Tuesday, March 18, 7:30 PM ET, MSU Soccer Park, Montclair, NJ
• Columbus Crew 2 (MLSNP) vs. NY Renegades FC (UPSL)
Wednesday, March 19, 6:00 PM ET, Lower.com Field, Columbus, OH
• Long Island Rough Riders (USL2) vs. Charlotte Independence (USL1)
Thursday, March 20, 7:00 PM ET, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Uniondale, NY
• FC Cincinnati 2 (MLSNP) vs. NY Pancyprian Freedoms (EPSL)
Thursday, March 20, 7:30 PM ET, NKU Soccer Stadium, Highland Heights, KY
The 32 First Round games will all feature an amateur team, hailing from the Open Division, facing a professional side from either the Third (MLS NEXT Pro, USL League One) or Second Divisions (USL Championship). These teams, and eventually more from the Second Division, will be joined by First Division Major League Soccer sides in the Round of 32 in early May.
Further information regarding the Open Cup tournament’s broadcast information was not included in this announcement of the First Round fixtures.
Michael Battista
Geographic Hurdles
On paper, some of these First Round games feel chaotic.
The matchups featuring only Tri-State Area locals make sense, with FC Motown hosting a first-year Westchester side from Mount Vernon, NY. The Albany-based Shockers also make a reasonable trip from the state capital to Connecticut to face Hartford Athletic.
However, the other matchups featuring Tri-State Area teams will include hundreds of miles of travel due to the US Open Cup's recently implemented rule that forces amateur versus professional matchups in the First Round.
"For the 2025 First Round, teams were paired on a geographic basis with the restriction that each professional team was matched with a team from the Open Division," the announcement said. "Hosts were determined by random selection when each team applied to host with a venue that met the competition standard. Random selection was also used in cases where there was no logical geographic fit or there were more than two teams from the same proximity."
While a variety of local amateurs qualified for the 2025 tournament, only two professional sides are in their general area. This meant four of the six teams were going to be drawn with professional clubs from outside the Northeast region.
NJ Alliance and the Long Island Rough Riders are both hosting Southeast-based USL League One teams. Charlotte Independence faces a 10-plus-hour, 670-mile drive for their game in Nassau County. The Chattanooga Red Wolves, meanwhile, will be making an 800-mile trek from Tennessee.
The New York Renegades and New York Pancyprian Freedoms both drew the short end of the stick and will head to Ohio for their games. The UPSL Renegades from Hicksville, NY face a 569-mile trip to Columbus, and the three-time Open Cup champion Pancyprian Freedoms from Astoria, NY don’t fare much better heading to Cincy's second home in Kentucky, a short 665-mile hop.
To borrow the phrase made famous by a billboard on an Ohio interstate, and the one that coined the FC Cincy vs. Crew derby: Hell is Real for those two locals if they want to advance to April's Second Round.
Michael Battista
