Crew SC to Host Rematch of 2014 USOC Meeting on April 25 or 26
CHICAGO/INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, April 6, 2023) – U.S. Soccer has announced the pairings and hosting scenarios for the Third Round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The 24-game Third Round slate will include Indy Eleven heading east on I-70 to square off against Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew SC, which will host the second-ever meeting between the two sides on April 25 or 26.
Date, kickoff time, broadcast information, and ticketing details surrounding the Third Round affair will be announced in the coming days.
Indy Eleven will renew acquaintances with Crew SC for the first time in official competition since the Eleven’s initial U.S. Open Cup run during its inaugural 2014 season. That year on June 17, the Boys in Blue took their Fourth Round affair at FirstEnergy Stadium in Akron into added extra time, but Blake Smith’s 62nd minute equalizer was ultimately for naught as Indy fell 1-2 after conceding in the 112th minute.
The match will mark only Indy Eleven’s third against MLS competition in the U.S. Open Cup, and its first in nearly seven years dating back to a 4-3 penalty kick defeat at Chicago Fire FC following a 1-1 draw on June 16, 2016.
U.S. Open Cup Third Round games will be played across the country from April 25-26 and feature teams from every division of professional and amateur soccer in the United States, including 18 lower-seeded Division I (MLS) clubs. Teams in the Third Round were pooled geographically and with the Div. I clubs distributed as evenly as possible among the groups. All Div. I sides will be drawn to face a Second Round winner and not another Division I club.
Visit ussoccer.com/us-open-cup to find a full listing of Third Round fixtures.
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Now in its 108th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship – has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2023 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2024 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.
Orlando City SC are defending Open Cup champions, having earned the club’s first tournament title thanks to a 3-0 victory against second-division (USL Championship) side Sacramento Republic FC last September 7, in a Final played before a capacity crowd at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium.usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.
