The United States Soccer Federation officially announced the First Round pairings for the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament.
The 111th edition of America's national soccer championship will commence with 32 matches across the country, with 10 games on March 17, 15 on March 18, then the final seven on March 19.
All matches feature professional teams from lower-division leagues taking on amateur sides. The winners will advance to the Second Round taking place on March 31 through April 1.
March's opening round of games includes six teams (four amateur, two professional) from the Tri-State Area. Among them are tournament regulars and teams making their first appearance in the competition since the 1970s.
Four matches from the First Round will be available to watch through the CBS Sports networks (Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, and the Golazo Network) while the other 28 will be streamed live on YouTube.
You can read more about all the matchups of local interest below, and you can click here to see the full list of First Round games.
Local match-ups
2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup First Round – Local matchups
(Home teams listed first)
Wednesday, March 18
- FC Motown STA (USL2) vs Hartford Athletic (USLC)
7:00 pm ET, Lubetkin Field (NJIT) in Newark, NJ
Watch: Paramount+/CBS Sports Network - SC Vistula Garfield (APSL) vs One Knoxville SC (USL1)
7:30 pm ET, Garfield High School in Garfield, NJ
Watch: YouTube
Thursday, March 19
- Westchester SC (USL1) vs NY Renegades FC (UPSL)
7:30 pm ET, Mount Vernon Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, NY
Watch: YouTube - Lexington SC (USLC) vs Flower City Union (NPSL)
7:30 pm ET, Lexington SC Stadium in Lexington, KY
Watch: YouTube
The local slate will begin with two New Jersey amateur teams hosting professional sides from the United Soccer League.
FC Motown will be competing in their ninth straight Open Cup tournament, and officially this is their 10th qualification in a row (counting the canceled 2020 tournament). They'll be seeking their second-ever win against a professional team and first since 2022. Motown has teams that compete in both the National Premier Soccer League and USL League Two, with this being the first time the USL2 team has qualified for the USOC.
(Editor's note: The USL2 team is known as FC Motown STA, however officially USSF will be referring to the team as just FC Motown.)
Hartford Athletic are coming off a hot 2025, winning the USL Cup and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Athletic has never lost to an amateur team in the Open Cup, being a perfect 4 and 0 since 2019.
Michael Battista
One Knox SC, the defending USL League One regular season and playoff champions, will descend onto a high school field in Bergen County to take on Polish heritage side SC Vistula Garfield. The local side is currently 10th out of 11 teams in the American Premier Soccer League's Metropolitan Conference with two wins through 11 games.
Vistula is making its first appearance in the tournament since the 1970s. They got here off a brace in the final qualifying round by Emiland Elezaj, who HRB readers might remember for his challenge to Emil Forsberg of Red Bull New York last tournament after qualifying with New Jersey Alliance FC. Maybe 2026 will be the year; after all, he's only two wins away.
Michael Battista
The only game to feature two teams from New York state will see USL League One's Westchester SC host NY Renegades FC of the United Premier Soccer League. Westchester finished its inaugural season USL1 season at the bottom of the league table, and followed that up by firing its entire coaching staff and losing its top goal scorer Juan Carlos Obregón to Brooklyn FC. They'll host NY Renegades who are in their second-straight Open Cup tournament. The Hicksville, NY team's UPSL season has been great recently, with a trip booked to the National Finals later this month in California.
Finally, everyone's favorite Rochester, New York soccer team is back. Flower City Union is traveling to Kentucky to face Lexington SC of the USL Championship. FCU had success in the NPSL last season, winning the Great Lakes Conference championship for the first time.
Other interesting games include Tennessee Tempo FC, the UPSL champions founded by former NYCFC cult hero Kwadwo Poku, visiting MLSNP side Chattanooga FC.
The defending USL League Two champion Vermont Green FC will host USL1's Portland Hearts of Pine in what I expect to be a sold out Virtue Field in Burlington, VT. Finally, defending National Amateur Cup champions West Chester United SC from the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA host the D.C. United partially owned Loudoun United FC of USLC.
Brooklyn, Cosmos, Connecticut not included
Due to the strain of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the soccer calendar in the United States, according to the USSF, the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup will not include every professional team in the country. Only 16 of the 25 teams competing in the USL Championship this season will take part in the tournament. That also goes for both USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro, which will see 13 of the 18 USL1 teams and only two of the three independent MLSNP teams.
Since the pro teams competing in the 2026 tournament were based on 2025 regular-season results, that means no expansion sides are taking part. For local competition, this eliminates three teams, one in each non-MLS professional league.
- Brooklyn FC - USL Championship
- Cosmos - USL League One
- Connecticut United FC (aka CT United FC) - MLS NEXT Pro
All three teams continue to build out their inaugural rosters prior to their first seasons kicking off in March.
Tyrese Alleyne-Davis
Michael Battista
MLS in the wings
As the lower divisions battle it out, teams from Major League Soccer will be waiting for winners down the line. In total, 16 MLS sides will take part in the competition beginning in the Round of 32 on April 14 and 15. That will be after two rounds of competition, narrowing the initial field from 64 down to just 16.
All MLS teams will play against a lower division team in their first game of the tournament.
Michael Battista
This list includes both New York City FC and Red Bull New York, who both qualified for the competition by virtue of their 2025 regular season performances.
NYCFC was one-and-done in the 2025 Open Cup, going on the road and losing to eventual USL Championship winners Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, 1-0. RBNY reached the Quarterfinals of the competition but lost to Philadelphia Union, 3-2.
We also already know that NYCFC will host its Round of 32 match in mid-April. In December, USSF announced the teams taking part in the tournament and the qualifying criteria for how they made it. Explaining that;
Teams not participating in the 2026 Leagues Cup qualify for the Open Cup, ranked based on 2025 Supporters Shield Standings. The top four teams from this list from each conference will be seeded as home teams.
Of the nine Eastern Conference taking part, New York City is the second highest place team. They will host their first Open Cup game since 2022, where they beat the New England Revolution at Belson Stadium in the Round of 16.
The other three seeded home teams from the Eastern Conference are Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire FC, and the Columbus Crew. The Western Conference's home seeds are Austin FC, Colorado Rapids, Minnesota United FC, and the San Jose Earthquakes.
