CHICAGO – The official draw for the fourth and final round of Open Division local qualifying for the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has been completed.
The draw determined the home and away sides for the seven match-ups at this stage in the single-elimination competition, with each team one step away from a place in the Open Cup proper. The pairings were determined geographically in advance of the draw per tournament regulations.
The draw was live-tweeted from Soccer House, U.S. Soccer’s headquarters in Chicago, following Wednesday night’s completion of the third qualifying round, where 2012 Cinderella side Cal FC survived cold, rainy conditions and a stiff challenge from local rivals California United FC II, prevailing 7-6 in a penalty shootout after finishing 90 minutes and extra time tied, 1-1.
The fourth qualifying round, to be played over the weekend of April 6-7, will decide which seven teams from the Open Division local qualifying pool will take part in the 2019 Open Cup, scheduled to begin May 8. Open Division local qualifying began in September 2018 with a total of 94 teams. The exact dates, times and venues for the fourth qualifying round matches will be announced later in January.
The seven qualifying winners will join the Milwaukee Bavarians, who qualified directly for the tournament as winners of the 2018 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup, in the 2019 Open Cup.
The schedule and competition format for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup will be announced in late January with a modern-era record number of professional teams set to take part.
2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Draw (games scheduled for April 6-7)
Region Game (home team listed first) Northeast Safira FC (Mass.) vs. West Chester Predators (Pa.) Mid-Atlantic Virginia United (Va.) vs. World Class Premier Elite FC (Md.) Southeast Florida Soccer Soldiers (Fla.) vs. America Soccer Club (Fla.) Central NTX Rayados (Texas) vs. FC Maritsa (Mo.) Mountain Southwest FC (Texas) vs. FC Denver (Colo.) Southern California Santa Ana Winds FC (Calif.) vs. Cal FC (Calif.) West Academica SC (Calif.) vs. IPS/Marathon Taverna (Ore.) Third Qualifying Round Results
Northeast Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 17 GPS Omens (Mass.) vs. Safira FC (Mass.) 2-2, 2-2 AET (6-7 PKs) Rotch Field; Boston, Mass. Nov. 17 New York Pancyprian Freedoms (N.Y.) vs. West Chester Predators (Pa.) 0-3 Belson Stadium (St. John’s Univ.); Jamaica, N.Y. Mid-Atlantic Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 18 Rochester Lancers 2 (N.Y.) vs. World Class Premier Elite FC (Md.) 1-3 Roberts Wesleyan Turf Field; Rochester, N.Y. Nov. 18 Virginia United (Va.) vs. Christos FC (Md.) 2-1 Howison Homestead Soccer Complex – Field 1; Woodbridge, Va. Southeast Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 17 America Soccer Club (Fla.) vs. Soda City FC Sorinex (S.C.) 2-1 West Orange High School; Winter Garden, Fla. Nov. 18 Hurricane FC (Fla.) vs. Florida Soccer Soldiers (Fla.) 0-6 Seacrest Soccer Complex – Field 1; Delray Beach, Fla. Central Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 17 Livonia City FC (Mich.) vs. FC Maritsa (Mo.) 0-0 AET (6-7 PKs) Schoolcraft College Sports Complex; Livonia, Mich. Jan. 12 Motagua New Orleans (La.) vs. NTX Rayados (Texas) 1-1, 1-1 AET (9-10 PKs) Pan American Stadium; New Orleans, La. Mountain Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 17 Southwest FC (Texas) vs. San Juan FC (Utah) 3-0 Pebble Hills High School; El Paso, Texas Dec. 2 FC Denver (Colo.) vs. Gam United Football Club (Colo.) 4-1 Regency Athletic Complex; Denver, Colo. Southern California Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 17 Santa Ana Winds FC (Calif.) vs. Buena Park FC (Calif.) 1-1, 3-2 AET Lake Forest Sports Park – Field A; Lake Forest, Calif. Nov. 18* Cal FC (Calif.) vs. California United FC II (Calif.) 2-2 Rolland Stadium (Cal Lutheran Univ.); Thousand Oaks, Calif. Jan. 16 Cal FC (Calif.) vs. California United FC II (Calif.) 1-1, 1-1 AET (7-6 PKs) Orange County Great Park – Field 18; Irvine, Calif. * Game abandoned after 89′ due to field curfew
West Region
Date Game (home team listed first) Result Venue Nov. 18 IPS/Marathon Taverna (Ore.) vs. JASA RWC (Calif.) 3-2 Buckman Field Park; Portland, Ore. Jan. 5 Oakland Stompers (Calif.) vs. Academica SC (Calif.) 0-1 Raimondi Park; Oakland, Calif.
