Chaotic, Sicko, Beautiful Goals: The US Open Cup Third Round begins today

Open Cup Digest #14

The Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is here. Sixteen teams from the second-division USL Championship will join the tournament and play the 16 survivors of the last two rounds.

Only one amateur team, El Farolito SC from San Francisco, remain from the group that started the tournament back in March. And Westchester SC from just north of New York City are still kicking: The USL League One side are eyeing their first-ever cupset over a higher-division opponent.

The winners in this round will go on to face Major League Soccer teams on May 6 and 7. Those matchups will be determined when the Round of 32/Round of 16 Draw takes place on CBS Sports Golazo Network’s flagship program, Morning Footy, on Thursday at 9:15 am ET.

The CBS integration doesn’t stop there. The 2025 US Open Cup was broadcast on YouTube these last two rounds, but starting today the tournament is back on CBS for the first time since 2023. Beginning with the entire 16-game Third Round slate, every match through to the 2025 US Open Cup Final will be broadcast on Paramount+. Six Third Round games will also be simulcast on additional CBS platforms: Four matches for free on CBS Sports Golazo Network and two on CBS Sports Network. CBS will also be producing more content over the next two days including preview shows and in-studio content.

Read on as we take you through each match of local interest in this week’s Third Round, before making some iron-clad Open Cup predictions.

This is a win-win situation for Westchester SC. Playing in this high of a profile game this early in the team’s existence means no result is bad. Lose? All good, no shame in falling to Detroit City FC, which have beaten MLS teams before. Win? Holy crap, this is now a real run.

Westchester, the first-year USL League One side from Mount Vernon, New York, didn't get here the easy way. A First Round win over FC Motown from Morristown, New Jersey came down to a late penalty kick. The Second Round win over the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms from Astoria saw three first-half goals from the home side, before allowing two unanswered in the second half.

When playing against amateur teams, Westchester didn't looked like world-killers. Even the team’s first-ever league win over Texoma FC last month feels more like an indictment of the winless Texas side.

If anything, WSC are very average right now. Defender Tobi Adewole and forward Juan Carlos “JC” Obregón will both need to lock in if they are to get a positive result.

Detroit City are as good of a challenge as any new team can face in the US Open Cup that isn’t from MLS. Founded in 2012, Le Rouge have some of the most dedicated soccer fans in all of the United States. The historic confines of Keyworth Stadium regularly see over 6,000 spectators, many of whom live the motto of “Detroit City ‘Til I Die.” It also helps that the team’s most fervent fans, the Northern Guard Supporters, are vehemently anti-MLS, and want the world to know that.

DCFC have only one loss this season in the USL Championship, a 2-0 defeat on the road to Louisville City FC. But a comeback win against Phoenix Rising FC on the road last weekend helped right the ship for head coach Danny Dichio.

South African forward Darren Smith arrived from Finnish top-flight club FC Inter Turku at the start of this year, and already has four goals this season. Meanwhile, the team also recently signed former Zimbabwe goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva from arch-rivals Michigan Stars FC of NISA.

Prediction: Westchester have a chance to take down their first-ever giant and achieve their first-ever cupset, so Detroit need to focus on the present and save their dreams of playing an MLS team in the next round for later. DCFC will come away with the win and advance, 3-1.

Another all-New England match for Portland, and another trip to the Franklin Athletic Complex in Lewistown, Maine. After thrashing amateur side CD Faialense, and upsetting Connecticut rivals Hartford Athletic, Portland Hearts of Pine will face their biggest challenge in the defending USL Championship finalist Rhode Island FC.

The Dirigo Union, Hearts’ supporters group, have created some of the best atmospheres in the competition this year. They crowded behind the goal during the penalty kick shootout versus Hartford, forcing a rare instance of a referee clearing the space behind the net in a game that drew just over 3,000 people to a venue that’s a 40-minute drive from Portland.

It's the second straight year in which a green-themed New England team captured the hearts of US Soccer fans. In the last tournament, Vermont Green FC’s run to the Second Round put a spotlight on soccer in the Green Mountain State. Last year, the University of Vermont went on to win their first-ever NCAA Men’s Soccer National Championship. These are good omens.

The main concern remains Hearts’ offense. The squad has yet to win a USL League One game, and it took the team three matches to score their first goal — it happened just last weekend. All those games were played on the road, but the problem stands. Still, they can take comfort in the fact that goalkeeper Hunter Morse was just named Player of the Round for his performance against Hartford.

Rhode Island FC will need to show they still have a spark after last year’s run to the title game. A staggering 15 draws last season helped the squad reach the playoffs, where the stout defense did their thing. The thing is, 2025 is different. Through four games the team only have one win, a 3-0 victory last weekend in the Oakland Coliseum against Oakland Roots SC. 

All four of Rhode Island’s games have been on the road, where they’ve been shut out twice. This is crazy considering the team brought in forward Maxi Rodriguez from Detroit City, where he logged 34 goal contributions (23 goals, 11 assists) in 98 appearances in the USL Championship. He needs to find his groove, and soon.

Prediction: It's dumb to pick against a hot hand, and the Hearts are scorching. It's another home game for them, and Rhode Island aren’t playing like the team we saw last season. Give me Portland, 2-1.

Why these games matter for soccer in New York City

As mentioned above, the Round of 32/Round of 16 draw will take place on Thursday following the scheduled conclusion of this round of games. That draw will create brackets for the next two rounds. Both New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls were designated as unseeded in the initial US Open Cup announcement, which means that both MLS sides are designated as away teams against the lower division opponents unless the other team cannot host.

Because a maximum of two MLS teams can be drawn into a single, that leaves the Northeast with two likely outcomes. 

1. The New England Revolution and NYCFC are paired together, joined by the winner of Portland Hearts of Pine vs Rhode Island FC, along with another lower division team (potentially Westchester SC). In this case, the New York Red Bulls would be paired with either the Philadelphia Union or DC United.
2. NYCFC and RBNY are paired together, potentially with Westchester SC should they win. That means the Round of 16 could feature a Hudson River Derby should both MLS teams advance. In this case, New England would probably be paired with Chicago Fire, although they could be put in another group. Last year, NYCFC II was placed in a group with Colorado Switchbacks FC and New Mexico United.

It’s a little too early to know what will happen – the winners of Tuesday's and Wednesday's games will solidify the groupings, with teams such as Columbus Crew 2 and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC factoring into the draws – but it's hard not to get excited about the potential matchups.

If Detroit City FC host the New York Red Bulls at Keyworth Stadium, I will be there.

US Soccer finalize teams participating in 2025 US Open Cup

As we reported last week, New York City FC are among the 96 teams participating, and one of 16 MLS clubs that will join the tournament in the Round of 32.

Hudson River BlueHudson River Blue Staff

Wait, I get to watch a National Premier Soccer League team on television? Sign me up! Seeing that one lone El Farolito fan, a proud member of the Burrito Brava, waving his giant flag no matter where the team goes, is always a treat.

This is a perfect US Open Cup game. El Farolito, a team I saw beat FC Motown for the 2024 NPSL National Championship last year, is just dumb good. For a second straight year, the side have beaten two professional teams to reach the Third Round.

Last year, it was Portland Timbers 2 and Central Valley Fuego FC, both Division III teams. This year, the Burrito Boys knocked off another MLS Next Pro side in Real Monarchs, 3-1, to kick off the run. But followed it up with a huge come-from-behind cupset over Division II's Monterey Bay FC, 2-1.

That game included one of the most chaotic, sicko, beautiful goals I have ever seen scored by Edgard Kreye in the 83rd minute to secure the win. It included three saves – by the goalkeeper, defender, and post – before Kreye collected his ownrebound to score.

This is a team with pedigree. Dembor Benson is back after leading El Faro to the Third Round last year and joining – then leaving – Fuego FC, one of the teams he helped beat. He already scored again, in the opener against Monarchs in the First Round, and contributed to the late game-winner against Monterey Bay. 

If you want a decent burrito from one of the family-run Mexican taquerias in the Bay Area, El Farolito is your place. But step inside the original bar on 24th and Mission, and look up atop the bar to see the 1993 US Open Cup trophy, won by the team under the name Club Deportivo (CD) Mexico.

I don’t think anyone expects a second trophy to join that one in the bar’s gallery. But El Farolito already won the $50,000 prize for being the longest-surviving amateur team for a second year in a row. That’s double last year’s $25,000 winnings.

This round, they’ll be facing Sacramento Republic FC, who are off to a slow start in 2025. Through five games, the former MLS expansion team and 2022 USOC runner-up have one win and seven goals allowed. But after a 2-1 loss to Orange County SC over the weekend, the Republic are looking to bounce back.

Prediction: El Farolito beat Monterey Bay last round, and Monterey Bay beat Sacramento Republic earlier this season 2-1. By the law of transitive property, El Faro is better than Sacramento: Give me the Burrito Boys, 2-1.