Another MLS team, Orlando City, winning the 2022 Lamar Hunt Open Cup is a distant memory - and these are the final qualifying matches for amateur clubs, not already qualified through their respective leagues, who are looking forward to the 2023 tournament. There are 18 teams left, reduced from a starting number of 107 amateur squads, who entered in either the first or second qualifying rounds back in early Autumn. Seven of these teams started with a first round bye; 10 different amateur leagues are still represented - UPSL(6), BSSL(1), MWPL(1), NISAN(3), CSL(1), SFSFL(1), EPSL(2), USLofP(1), GSSL(1), and NSL(1). Only 9 of these teams can move on to the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup proper.

While all of the matchups are interesting and have compelling narratives, here are four which stand out as must-see streaming:

Orange County FC of the UPSL, travelled less than an hour across Los Angeles, from Lake Forest to Duarte in Round One and came away 3-1 winners - they followed that up with a 7-1 shellacking of Temecula FC and a 7-3 hiding of Escondido FC in Rounds Two & Three. Their aggregate total goals scored in qualifiers so far is 17-5 with a +12GD. They host yet another home match and this time it will be a largely untested Capo FC of NISA Nation who won their First Round match by default as well as their Third Round match by default and haven’t run out in the cup since their 4-1 win, away to Laguna United. This has the potential to be either an absolute blowout for Orange County FC or one of the most unexpected cupsets in recent qualifying memory.
West Chester United, who have multiple squads, are competing in the qualifiers with their United Soccer League of Pennsylvania group and have had, perhaps, the toughest test of all the remaining teams. They have managed to go away to Philadelphia and beat the Ukrainian Nationals 2-1 in Round One; again, away to United German Hungarians and win convincingly 4-0; out to Warminster, PA to beat Vereinigung Erzgebirge 4-0 as well. On Saturday, they head out to Leesburg, Virginia to take on Northern Virginia FC’s EPSL squad. These two teams meet regularly in the USL League 2 as well and this match could be a defensive spectacle to behold; while West Chester’s +9 goal difference with two away shutouts is impressive, it will be fun to see if they can get past an iron-clad NoVa defense who have only scored 7 goals themselves, but allowed absolutely none.
The San Francisco Soccer Football League is the oldest league in the United States in continuous operation, and has fielded several memorable teams in the US Open Cup, including Open Cup winners SF Italian Athletic Club and Club Deportivo Mexico, now known as El Farolito - this year the two-year-old club, Inter San Francisco has entered the fray and has won round after round to get to this final hurdle. We would be remiss not to note that they have done this in absolute style, with an impressive 5-0 tonking of NSL club Marin County Union; an away win to Real San Jose, shutting them out 4-0; and a shredding of UPSL club Davis Legacy 5-0. Only Orange County FC have scored more goals, and these guys from San Francisco have allowed zero goals. They travel away to BattleBorn FC of NISA Nation, who had a First Round bye, beat Modesto City FC 4-2 on the road and travelled to Seattle, Washington to beat upstarts Legend Football Gold 1-0 on a dreary night in the Pacific Northwest.
Lastly, Miami United FC of NSL, who have had the benefit of not having to leave their state at all during qualifying and have been able to host two of the three matches so far. They kicked off the first round with a win over fellow NSL side Florida Brothers, 3-1 at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah; 5-0 away to International Soccer Association of the UPSL at the titular UPSL Stadium in Pembroke Pines; and another home win in Round Three, 3-2 over City Soccer SC. Miami United will be hosting once again in the fourth round, this time at another familiar venue for them, Milander Park, where support has turned up in numbers for matches in the past. They will play yet another Floridian club and their second UPSL side in this run, Naples City FC - who look to be a solid side. They had a first round bye, but have shutout their in town rivals Naples United of NSL, 4-0 and away to Miami Soccer Academy, 3-0. This is a great test for both clubs who would absolutely love to get into the tournament proper.

Brockton FC United host Chicago House in the first qualifying match of the weekend.

All the Must Watch Matches in the fourth Qualifying Round: december 17 & 18

Brockton FC United (BSSL) vs Chicago House AC (MWPL) - Saturday, December 17th
- 2:00 pm (ET) / 11:00 am (PST) from Randolph HS, Randolph, MA
South Carolina Utd Heat (UPSL) vs Club de Lyon (NISA Nation) - Sat, December 17th
- 3:00pm (ET) / 12:00 pm (PST) from SE Freight Lines Soccer Center, Columbia, SC
Azteca FC (CSL) vs UDA (UPSL) - Saturday, December 17th
- 3:00pm (ET) / 12:00am (PST) from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
BattleBorn FC (NISA Nation) vs Inter San Francisco (SFSFL) - Saturday, December 17th
- 3:00pm (ET) / 12:00pm (PST) from Douglas High School, Minden, NV
NoVa FC (EPSL) vs West Chester United (USLofP) - Saturday, December 17th
- 7:00pm (ET) / 4:00pm (PST) from VA Revolution Sportsplex, Leesburg, VA
SC Vistula Garfield (GSSL) vs Lansdowne Yonkers (EPSL) - Saturday, December 17th
- 7:45pm (ET) / 4:45pm (PST) from Athenia Steel Recreation Complex, Clifton, NJ
Beaman United FC (UPSL) vs D’Feeters Kicks SC( UPSL) - Sunday, December 18th
- 2:00pm (ET) / 12:00pm (PST) from Richard Siegel Soccer Complex, Murfreesboro, TN
Miami United (NSL) vs Naples City FC (UPSL) - Sunday, December 18th
- 7:00pm (ET) / 4:00pm (PST) from Milander Park, Hialeah, FL
Orange County FC (UPSL) vs Capo FC (NISA Nation) - Sunday, December 18th
- 9:00 pm (ET) / 6:00pm (PST) from Lake Forest Sports Park, Lake Forest, CA

Look for some US Open Cup Qualifiers on Youtube: HERE
Search for other US Open Cup Qualifiers on Eleven: HERE

by Joshua Duder