The U.S. Open Cup has finally hit the stage that draws the most buzz, with most of MLS’s clubs paired off with lower-level sides looking to make headlines with an upset.
The third round is where 18 of MLS’s 29 teams (the top eight sides from 2022 received a bye to the round of 32, while the Canadian sides do not participate in the U.S. Open Cup) jump into the fray. U.S. Soccer’s tournament format in recent years has mandated that in this round, all MLS teams must face non-MLS opposition, setting up the potential underdog stories that hold much of the Open Cup’s allure.
This year’s potential Cinderella stories include Tulsa Athletic, a semi-pro NPSL club, heading east to face Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. The Chicago Fire will host Chicago House AC, who despite playing amateur soccer this year while on hiatus from NISA have scrapped their way into a city derby against one of MLS’s historic cup specialists.
The third round contains 24 matches, all scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The winners will be joined by the final eight MLS teams in the round of 32, setting a course for this year’s final on September 27. First things first though: teams have to get through this week to get into the draw for the next round of matches in early May.
Here are all of the third round match-ups (home teams listed first, winners listed in bold as the tournament unfolds):
Tuesday, April 25
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2-0 Maryland Bobcats FC
- Charleston Battery 1-0 (AET) Charlotte Independence
- New England Revolution 2-1 Hartford Athletic
- Charlotte FC 4-1 South Georgia Tormenta FC
- Detroit City FC 1-3 Minnesota United
- St. Louis City SC 5-1 Union Omaha
- Sporting Kansas City 3-0 Tulsa Athletic
- Monterey Bay FC 1-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Wednesday, April 26
- Loudoun United FC 5-0 Flower City Union
- FC Cincinnati 1-0 Louisville City FC
- Atlanta United 1-2 (AET) Memphis 901 FC
- Miami FC 2-2 (AET) Inter Miami (Inter Miami advances 5-3 on penalty kicks)
- D.C. United 1-0 Richmond Kickers SC
- Tampa Bay Rowdies 0-1 Houston Dynamo
- Columbus Crew 1-0 Indy Eleven
- Birmingham Legion FC 1-1 (AET) Chattanooga FC (Birmingham Legion FC advances 4-3 on penalties)
- Chicago Fire 3-0 Chicago House AC
- Nashville SC 1-0 San Antonio FC
- Colorado Rapids 3-1 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
- New Mexico United 2-1 Phoenix Rising FC
- Sacramento Republic FC 1-0 Oakland Roots
- Seattle Sounders 5-4 (AET) San Diego Loyal SC
- Las Vegas Lights FC 1-3 (AET) Real Salt Lake
- Portland Timbers 3-1 Orange County SC
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