U.S. Soccer announced the third-round pairings for the U.S. Open Cup tournament on Thursday, and they include a huge plum for the Austin Aztex: a potential home date with the Houston Dynamo on Tuesday, June 30 at Nelson Field … IF the Aztex can get past the El Paso Patriots this coming Tuesday (7:30pm, Nelson field, $15 general admission).
The Aztex led an 8-0 sweep by USL-1 teams in the tournament’s first round, beating the PDL (amateur) Mississippi Brilla, 2-0, on Tuesday; in El Paso, the Aztex face another PDL opponent. The Open Cup is a knockout tournament, so the game will go to overtime and shootouts, if necessary.
Below: a U.S. Open Cup primer and first-round summary.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, played since 1914, is one of the oldest sports tournaments in the world. It’s open to all affiliated soccer teams in the country, from the elite adult rec teams, through the United Soccer Leagues’ amateur and pro teams, up to Major League Soccer. Through various qualification processes, eight teams from each of five levels advance to the tournament itself. It’s a knockout tournament; every game is decided, by overtime and shootouts, if necessary.
Here’s how the various leagues did in the first round:
1-7 – U.S. Adult Soccer Association (USASA)
3-5 – USL Premiere Development League (PDL)
4-4 – USL Second Division (USL-2)
8-0 – USL First Division (USL-1)
0-0 – Major League Soccer (MLS) (bye until the third round)
See the bracket and first-round results at the U.S. Open Cup official site.
This article appears in June 12 • 2009.