Davids, meet your Goliaths.
The 2023 U.S. Open Cup’s third round draw was conducted on Thursday, with 18 MLS teams entering the fray against the lower-division clubs that survived the tournament’s first two rounds.
The draw’s highlights include a Miami city derby between USL Championship side Miami FC and MLS’s Inter Miami. That will be one of five matches that sees an MLS team on the road against a USL Championship foe. One of the USL Championship’s hottest rivalries will be involved as well, as New Mexico United was drawn to host Phoenix Rising.
Open Cup rules require MLS teams to be paired against non-MLS opposition in this round, guaranteeing 18 chances for a team from another league to spring the kind of upset that makes knockout soccer so thrilling. 2022’s edition was a perfect example: Sacramento Republic FC of the USL Championship took down Sporting Kansas City, the LA Galaxy, and the San Jose Earthquakes before hanging with eventual winners Orlando City on level terms for over 70 minutes.
They weren’t alone: USL League One side Union Omaha knocked the Chicago Fire and Minnesota United out of the competition, advancing despite being the road team in both matches. Four MLS teams fell to lower-tier opponents in last year’s third round, while eight such upsets happened during the course of the tournament.
U.S. Soccer announced geographic pots earlier on Thursday, a long-standing practice designed to keep a potential away game from being too financially onerous on lower-division and amateur teams. The pots also allow U.S. Soccer to more easily guarantee MLS teams being separated, and prevent affiliated clubs (like D.C. United and Loudoun United FC) from being paired until the final.
48 teams will contest this year’s third round, with the 24 winners joining MLS’s top eight clubs from the 2022 regular season in next month’s round of 32.
2023 U.S. Open Cup third round draw
- Loudoun United FC vs. Flower City Union
- New England Revolution vs. Hartford Athletic
- D.C. United vs. Richmond Kickers SC
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Maryland Bobcats FC
- Charleston Battery vs. Charlotte Independence
- Charlotte FC vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC
- Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Houston Dynamo
- Miami FC vs. Inter Miami CF
- Atlanta United vs. Memphis 901 FC
- Nashville SC vs. San Antonio FC
- Birmingham Legion FC vs. Chattanooga FC
- Columbus Crew SC vs. Indy Eleven
- FC Cincinnati vs. Louisville City FC
- Detroit City FC vs. Minnesota United FC
- Chicago Fire FC vs. Chicago House AC
- St. Louis City SC vs. Union Omaha
- Sporting Kansas City vs. Tulsa Athletic
- Colorado Rapids vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
- Las Vegas Lights FC vs. Real Salt Lake
- New Mexico United vs. Phoenix Rising FC
- Sacramento Republic FC vs. Oakland Roots
- Monterey Bay FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- Portland Timbers vs. Orange County SC
- Seattle Sounders vs. San Diego Loyal SC
Home teams are listed first. Dates and kickoff times will be announced in the future.
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