The United States Soccer Federation announced today that nine local clubs are among the 92 amateur teams that have been approved for entry into the qualifying rounds for the 107th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Their goal is to advance to the 2022 Open Cup First Round, set for March 22-23.
Four of the eight local National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) clubs have entered the tournament:
- El Farolito won the U.S. Open Cup in 1993, when the tournament was comprised of the best amateur clubs from all over the United States. Most recently, Farolito qualified for the tournament in 2019 and defeated Academica SC before losing to Fresno FC in the second round. Farolito also qualified for the tournament in 2018, but were not allowed to compete because they had switched leagues in the course of qualifying.
- FC Davis was the regular season champion of the NPSL Golden Gate Conference in both the 2019 and 2021 seasons. They qualified for the U.S. Open Cup in 2020, but their match with Olympic Club of San Francisco was canceled due to the pandemic.
- Contra Costa FC was founded in 2015 and recently completed its first season as an NPSL member. They competed in U.S. Open Cup qualifying in both 2018 and 2019.
- Oakland Stompers won two matches to reach the Open Cup’s third qualifying round in 2019 and made it to the second qualifying round in 2020.
Real San Jose will represent the National Soccer League (NSL). The club was founded in 2007 and is a regular participant in U.S. Open Cup qualifying.
Metro FC and Inter San Francisco will represent the San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL). Metro recently completed its fourth full season in the SFSFL and were promoted from the First Division to the Majors Division to the Premier Division over the course of two seasons. Inter San Francisco was founded in May 2021 and recently completed its initial season in the First Division.
Oakland SC won the SFSFL Premier Division title in the recently concluded 2021 summer season, but decided not to enter the competition. They are hoping to participate next year, once they are able to raise additional funding.
Davis Legacy SC and JASA RWC of Redwood City will represent the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL). Davis Legacy recently qualified for the UPSL National Playoffs while JASA has been a perennial contender in the UPSL Wild West Division. Both clubs have a track record of success in Open Cup qualifying. Davis Legacy made it to the second qualifying round in 2016, losing to San Francisco City FC in overtime. JASA made it to the third qualifying round in 2019 before losing to International Portland Select FC.
The first qualifying round is set for Sept. 18-19, with matchups to be announced on Wednesday. Pairings for the second (Oct. 16-17), third (Nov. 20-21) and fourth (Dec. 18-19) qualifying rounds will be determined later.
