The US Open Cup is back and the first round (which is all amateur!) is nearly upon us - a few of us Protagonist Staff members have picked out a match or two from the first round which stands out to us and hope you enjoy reading why.

West Chester United (Qual) v Ocean City Nor’easters (USL2)

March 21st, 7:30 pm (ET) at YC Sports - Wayne, PA

Ocean City, a club that tends to give teams in higher leagues fits in this tournament, was beaten at home by Lansdowne Yonkers on penalties in the first round last year. This time, the Nor’easters have to start on the road and face another regional powerhouse in West Chester United out of Pennsylvania. The Predators have already started collecting amateur cup tournaments in their region this year as well as playing Open Cup warmups. West Chester will be looking to erase the memory of last year’s tourney, when a 3-2 win over FC Motown in the First Rounds was overturned due to an upheld protest over a substitution violation. This will be the opening match of the First Round, and a date with Maryland Bobcats from NISA awaits the winner.

El Farolito (NPSL) vs Inter San Francisco (qual)

march 22nd, 6:00 PM (ET) at boxer stadium - sf, Calif

El Faro, backed by the Burrito Brava, who have won the SFSFL title 11 times; league playoffs 6 times, the National Amateur Cup Champions of 1992 and the winners of the US Open Cup in 1993 - let the story be told forever. El Farolito qualified for the 2023 US Open Cup by outlasting the Sacramento Gold in the 2022 NPSL season, and despite finishing behind them in the Golden Gate Conference - they beat Sacramento in the Western Conference Finals and earned the right to host a first round US Open Cup match on their home grounds, the historic Boxer Stadium.

Upstarts Inter San Francisco, who have recently won promotion in the SFSFL, from the Majors to the Premier Division, completely blew away the division with 68 goals and a +36 goal difference. This would be their theme as they entered the open qualifying rounds in September of 2022 - defeating Marin County of the NSL, 5-0; going to the South Bay and defeating Real San Jose 4-0 in October; hosted Davis Legacy of the NPSL in November and blasted them 5-0; finally smashed NISA Nation side Battleborn 5-1 in December to seal their spot in the 2023 US Open Cup. Inter SF are already underway in the SFSFL and will be in early season form and nonplused by playing in Boxer Stadium - a field in their own literal backyards.

The winner will take on USL Championship side Oakland Roots.

Manhattan SC (USL2) v FC Motown (NPSL)

march 22nd, 7:00 PM (ET) at Marillac Field - bronx, NY

The reigning NPSL champs FC Motown have to cross the Hudson for their First Round matchup with Manahattan SC out of USL League Two. The Morristown, New Jersey side made it to the Third Round last year before losing on penalties to Rochester New York FC from MLS Next Pro. Manhattan SC, a member of USL League Two since 2019, will be playing in its first Open Cup tournament. The winner of this match will face off against Flower City Union out of NISA.

Appalachian FC (NPSL) vs North Carolina Fusion U-23 (USL2)

March 22, 7:00 pm (ET) at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex - Boone, NC

Appalachian FC was created during the COVID-19 pandemic in response to the Appalachian State men's soccer team being cut. With a core fanbase and hip marketing, Appalachian launched in 2021 making the NPSL playoffs in its first season. The club qualified for this year's U.S. Open Cup by winning its division in 2022 and making a run to the NPSL's national quarterfinals.

The lineage of North Carolina Fusion U-23 runs 30 years to the founding of the Greensboro Dynamo in 1993. That team won back-to-back USISL championships in its first two years. The Dynamo dropped down to the amateur USL PDL (now USL League Two) in the early 2000s and has been a consistently top performing team since. Renamed in 2019, the Fusion had a successful run in last year's U.S. Open Cup. The team beat fellow USLL2 side South Carolina United in the First Round then upset Charlotte Independence of USL League One 4-2 in the Second Round. The Fusion almost scored another upset but was edged 1-0 by the Richmond Kickers, another USLL1 team, on a goal just before the end of added extra time. The Fusion qualified for this year's cup by winning their division last season and making a run to the USLL2 national semifinals.

Appalachian is an up-and-coming organization playing in its first U.S. Open Cup. NC Fusion U-23 is a seasoned club looking to add to its resume. And, in-state rival Charlotte Independence is waiting for whomever survives.

beaman united FC (qual) vs des moines menace (usl2)

March 22, 8:00 pm (ET) dean a hayes stadium - murfreesboro, tn

Whether you’ve followed the ebbs, flows, expansions, contractions, splits and merges of lower league soccer since the USA first hosted the world cup, or you’ve followed for just a year or two, you’re probably aware of Des Moines Menace. One of the true grandfather clubs in the modern era of amateur soccer in the country, the Menace will be celebrating their thirtieth (!!!) year next season.

The club has done far more than exist, as Des Moines has spent the last 28 seasons in competition amassing nine conference titles, eight conference final appearances, and two national championships. And, to top it off, the club has appeared in thirteen past US Open Cups! The Iowan juggernaut will make their fourteenth USOC appearance on March 22nd a bit further from home, as they visit the mid-south, and their hosts, Beaman United FC.

As new as the Menace are storied, Beaman United FC has no less decorated a history relative to their longevity. While the Iowans celebrate their fourteenth year in the tournament, Beaman will celebrate their fourteenth month as a club hosting them. Competing out of the UPSL, Beaman had to earn their berth in the USOC the hard way, grinding through open qualifiers. There too, they were as successful, to this point, as they have been in league competition. Beaman’s first season, the Spring 2022 campaign, saw them advance to the national final. The Fall 2022 season again saw the Murfreesboro, TN side atop the UPSL’s Kentucky-Tennessee conference and the several rounds into the postseason. The success of the team is mirrored by the club, and its growth, as Beaman has since expanded to fielding second, academy, and womens’ sides.

Going into the match, Des Moines will reload their roster, as pedigreed successful programs are expected, with both returning and new talent. The question for the Menace is whether they can assemble the individual pieces into a cohesive unit in time for their eleven-hour business trip to take on a veteran Beaman side already playing through a qualifying rounds schedule and a fall-winter league season. Some seasoned, professional-experienced, heavyweights lurk in both rosters (Des Moines’ Duran Lee, Pacific FC, and Beaman’s Kwadwo Poku, NYCFC) and the talent should be on equal footing to keep the game close. However, acknowledging the recent team playing experience edge of the host side, and the extensive travel of the visitors, should result in an “underdog” victory for Beaman United FC.

Chicago House AC (qual) vs Bavarian United (NAC)

March 22nd, 8:00pm (eT) at Elmhurst University's Langhorst Field - Elmhurst, Il

Chicago House began as a professional club which played during NISA's fall 2021 season. The team was kicked out of the league that winter due to a number of financial and legal issues. But, instead of folding, the club joined the Midwest Premier League coming in a respectable fourth for the 2022 season.

In early August of last year, Milwaukee Bavarian SC beat Northern Virginia FC 1-0 to win the 2022 National Amateur Cup. That win automatically qualified the Bavarians for the First Round of this year's U.S. Open Cup. Founded in 1929, the Bavarians have won six National Amateur Cups and were runners-up for the 1994 U.S. Open Cup. The club has won the MWPL Western two straight years and will join USL League Two this season.

A matchup of MWPL rivals and old versus new. The winner gets to face Forward Madison FC of USL League One.

Tulsa Athletics (NPSL) vs Brazos valley cavalry fc (USL2)

March 22, 8:00 pm (ET) at hicks Park - tulsa, ok

One of just five NPSL versus USL League 2 meetings in the opening round, there’s a case to be made that these matchups, while lacking in quantity, will more than make up for it in quality. None more so than the clash to take place in Northeastern Oklahoma, with host Tulsa Athletic making their 5th appearance in the USOC on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw them reach the NPSL national semifinals. Their visitors, the Brazos Valley Cavalry, are no newcomer to the stage either as they make their second appearance in the tourney, after a resurgent year in the USL 2’s Lone Star Division that saw them turn a last place finish in 2021 into a conference title and return to the postseason in 2022.

As for all clubs in predominantly summer-exclusive competitions, both these sides will be creating lineups a bit more hurried than is typical to accommodate play in the USOC a full two months ahead of schedule. For Brazos, that process remains under wraps, with the club’s social media accounts dormant since July of 2022. In Tulsa, the Athletic are welcoming a new head man in Coach Jason Rogers to the side with a date on the biggest stage for the club, but the manager will be backed by several returning starters to the lineup, including 5th season veterans Reed Berry (GK), Aaron Ugbah (F), and Joe Ruiz (D).

In what amounts to a high stakes pre-season match, expect the sides to come out of the gate as cagey, defensive, fighters for the first twenty-thirty minutes. From there, look for Tulsa, backed by their loud and loyal home crowd filling the club’s expanded, proudly built-from-scratch Hicks Park, to turn decidedly on their front foot. Once holding a lead, Athletic’s experience in all levels of the lineup should constrict hopes of a successful Cavalry charge.

A Tulsa victory here would hopefully bring about a second thrilling iteration of the ‘Tulsa Derby’, which debuted in last year’s USOC between the Athletic and FC Tulsa. The lower league side gave the professional team all the could handle in 2022, falling by just a single goal, 2-1. When looking for a potential break-through lower side in 2023, it’d be wise to notice the Green and Gold (and Pink) in Oklahoma.

*Look for live reporting, and a recap, of this contest from Ryan as he’ll be attendance at this match. Could this be the final charge of the Cavalry? An inadvertent reveal earlier this year potentially hinted at a rebrand that you too-can draw conclusions of.

Project 510 (USL2) vs Crossfire premier (npsl)

March 22, 10:00 pm (ET) at ohlone college soccer field - fremont, Ca

Project 51O are set to host Crossfire Redmond in a First Round Pick ‘em - the Oakland Roots’ developmental program won their 2022 USL League 2 Southwest Division with 2.27 points per game; putting up 25 goals and a fair +12 goal difference. As an aside, they won the UPSL Autumn’s Norcal Division - the long and short of it is that they’re pretty good and can score. The club was founded in 2019, during covid and is just now hitting its stride.

To play them is Crossfire Redmond; a team who finished in 2nd place of the NPSL North Division of the Pacific Conference - in a year when the West was diminished, they were second place out of three teams in their table. Crossfire finished the season scoring only 16 goals and gave up 10 in returned - it was in the playoffs, however, when the team just switched on and took the league by surprise. They defeated 1st place IPS FC in added time of a first round playoff match then Crossfire defeated El Farolito in the next round of playoffs. They went on to surprise number one seed Muskegon Risers in the league semifinals and made it to the NPSL Final, where they went out in a blaze of glory, losing 3-4 to the league winners FC Motown.

The winner will take on 2022 US Open Cup Finalists Sacramento Republic.

jacksonville Armada (npsl) vs miami united fc (qual)

March 23, 7:00 pm (ET) at hodges stadium - jacksonville, FL

Perhaps no club in recent memory evokes, and evades, the realities of USA soccer “wars” and lower league existence across its many loosely idealized levels as does Armada FC of Jacksonville. Launched in 2015 as a professional second division side in the NASL, the club’s first match was a 3-1 preseason victory over MLS’s Philadelphia Union in front of nearly fourteen thousand fans (full disclosure, I was one of them). From that opening salvo, the club’s fortunes seemed to mirror the NASL’s, a slow slide downward in results, attendance and league fortunes that left the Armada scrambling to find a new home once the NASL essentially dissolved prior to the 2018 season.

That home was found in the NPSL, where an under-23 side, a sort-of resurrection of former NPSL champion Jacksonville United, would become the face of the club that has defiantly held out as other sides have long folded. That dogged mentality, from the Armada’s downsized but not out managerial leadership to their amateur side’s players, has earned them a return to the USOC just as brighter fortunes look to be ahead for the return of the club to professional play. The First Coast side isn’t content to rest on laurels of an appearance however, and their goal is set on advancing to the second round. To do that, they’ll face a somewhat familiar foe in Miami United.

The Hialeah, Florida based club have a winding lower league history of their own. Now entering their tenth season, a feat in it’s own right in pre-professional soccer in the US, the club has built a large fanbase while often competing in the shadow of larger professional sides. While an application for professional status with NISA in 2017 eventually fizzled, the club has continued to attract high level international friendlies and feature in multiple metro and regional competitions while continuing to excel in the NPSL. A sixth league qualification for the USOC frustrated by an uncharacteristic early departure in the league playoffs, that extensive competition participation provided the route for a return nonetheless through open qualifiers.

That return means a 336-mile trip north to Hodges Stadium, scene of Miami United’s last meeting with the Armada. While their last visit ended in a 4-1 league postseason defeat in 2018, United will look to recreate their USOC visit to Jacksonville when they knocked off the hosts 2-0 that same year. With year-round conditioning, qualifying and competition to back them against an NPSL season-structured side, the South Floridians should be dancing into a second-round date with a professional team.

by Dan Creel, John H Fusco, Ryan Stallings, and Josh Duder