The Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup will take place Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16. There will be 16 matches all of which will be free to stream on the US Soccer Youtube channel. This round will see the entrance of all remaining USL Championship sides. Some of 2024’s lowest ranked clubs in the Championship had entered in Round 2, but the majority of the league will enter here. The rest of the pack is made up of USL League One and MLS Next Pro sides aside from one club out of NPSL, El Farolito.
The winners of these matches will advance to the Round of 32 where they will play away from home against one of 16 participating MLS clubs.
El Farolito Travels from the Bay to the Delta to Keep Cinderella Run Alive
Sacramento Republic FC vs El Farolito SC
Wednesday, April 16, 7 p.m. PDT
El Farolito have become something of a mascot for the Open Cup over the last couple of seasons. The club that is named after and uses the colors of a taqueria in San Francisco’s Mission District is in its second year of pulling off “cupsets.” In 2024 the club pulled off come-from-behind victories over MLS Next Pro’s Portland Timbers 2 and Central Valley Fuego FC who was then playing in USL League One. Both matches ended 2-1. This year Farolito’s victims have been Real Monarchs of MLS Next Pro who was taken care of in a 3-1 win in extra-time and USL Championship’s Monterey Bay FC who was taken out 2-1, in a game where Farolito again came from behind. Last year it was a Third Round meeting with a USL Championship club that saw El Farolito’s run come to an end as Oakland Roots ran out 2-1 winners in extra-time. This year, however, having already knocked out one Championship club, the affectionately nicknamed, “Burrito Boys” will be feeling like another cupset is possible. If they can, who knows how deep their run can go. In 2024 they turned their Open Cup momentum into an NPSL national title. The club even won the U.S. Open Cup in 1993 under the name Club Deportivo Mexico, however since MLS was founded in 1996 there has only ever been one winner outside of America’s first tier.
Since Rochester Rhinos won it in 1999, only two clubs outside of MLS have even made it to the final. The most recent of those was Sacramento Republic in 2022. Before falling 3-0 to Orlando City in the final the club had managed to knock-out the San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, and Sporting Kansas City on its way. As one of the USL Championship’s biggest franchises the Republic will be hoping to take advantage of a smaller than usual field of MLS teams for this year’s Open Cup. Especially as they start their run against a side from NPSL, they will have big dreams. But, underestimating El Farolito has been the death of teams. Will it be the Republic’s?
A New Derby in Greater LA?
AV Alta FC vs Orange County SC
Tuesday, April 15, 7 p.m. PDT
Last round the Antelope Valley got its first taste of Open Cup magic as an 80th-minute equalizer against LAFC 2 sent the Second Round clash to extra-time before a 120th-minute winner saw the home team advance 2-1. A 3-1 win against USL League Two’s Ventura County Fusion in Round One was the club’s first ever home match and first ever win. Just four days after their Round Two win AV Alta had their first ever home league match and first ever league win, 2-0 over Westchester SC. The USL League One expansion team has momentum behind it. Maybe more importantly it has the backing of an excited fanbase in an area previously underserved of professional soccer. The club from very far North LA County already took down a team from the city, now they will host one from under the county line.
Orange County famously resents its brother to the north. But, those thoughts are typically reserved for those in the city, on Tuesday they will be going to the High Desert. 2021’s USL Championship winners will not want to be shown up by a new club in a league below their own. Competing under a different name until 2016, OCSC has been around USL since 2010 and will want to remind their new SoCal neighbors who has been around the block and who has not. However, Orange County SC has not won a match in the US Open Cup Third Round since a 1-0 win against LA Wolves in 2017. The club was given a bye to the Round of 32 in 2024, but were beaten 2-1 by Loudon United.
With talks of promotion and relegation coming to USL, the Championship and League One statuses of AV Alta and Orange County could change, meetings could become more frequent. Could these two clubs separated by 120 miles, but only one county line, be about to form a new rivalry?
Portland Hearts of Pine Look to Rip Out Heart of Northeast Rival Again
Portland Hearts of Pine vs Rhode Island FC
Tuesday, April 15, 4 p.m. PDT
Portland Hearts of Pine, another USL League One expansion franchise, also got a taste of Open Cup magic last round. The club from Portland, Maine went down to 10 men in extra-time before an 107th-minute goal for the visiting Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship seemed to win the game. Yet, Hearts of Pine found an equalizer in the 116th-minute and won the game 4-2 in penalty-kicks. A 4-0 win against amateur side, C.D. Faialense, in the First Round was the first win in the club’s history. They will be looking to see how deep their inaugural run can go.
Rhode Island FC are only in their second year of existence, yet are defending USL Championship Eastern Conference champions. Only Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the final were able to stop the Northeastern club from taking the Championship title in their first season. In the club’s inaugural U.S. Open Cup run, it was an away game to USL League One club, Charlotte Independence, that eliminated RIFC. It was a 4-4 thriller that saw the Independence win 5-4 on penalties. But, RIFC won’t want a thriller this time out. Last year they were the new kids on the block, this year they are a team coming off of a Conference title. They will surely believe that they can make this simple. But, Hearts of Pine already put one Championship club from the Northeast in its crosshairs against Hartford. Can a club from League One take the crown as USL’s kings of New England?
Red Hot Naples Look to Down Historic Tampa Bay
FC Naples vs Tampa Bay Rowdies
Wednesday, April 16, 4 p.m. PDT
Another USL League One expansion team against an established USL Championship club, but with one major difference: FC Naples are red hot. The club has not lost in its first eight games in all competitions. Six wins (two of which came in the Open Cup) and two draws is an impressive enough record, but in that time the club has also only conceded three goals. They sit top of the table after five games in USL League One while also sitting atop the attendance table. So far they have averaged over 4,500 spectators to a match in the league and will hope to top that as they take on well-established opposition in the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Rowdies have existed in their current form since 2010, but are a phoenix club of the NASL side that existed from 1975-1993. It is this history that Rowdies fans will be hoping can propel them over their new neighbor to the South. Recent form does not bode well for Tampa Bay as after five games in the league this year they have won just once while losing the other four. That singular win, however, was against fellow Floridian club, Miami FC, away from home. FC Naples are playing well, but for Rowdies fans, a loss to a new rival playing in a league below their own would be a tough pill to swallow. After beating Miami FC, can Tampa Bay establish Floridian dominance amongst those in the USL?
Old Foes Meet Again in Charlotte
Charlotte Independence vs North Carolina FC
Tuesday, April 15, 4 p.m. PDT
The last time these two clubs faced off was the 2023 USL League One final. That game happened in Cary, North Carolina and after a 1-1 draw it was the home side, North Carolina FC, who would take a 5-4 win on penalties. That would be the club’s last match in League One before moving up to the USL Championship. That meant there was no North Carolina Derby in 2024 and no chance for the Independence to get revenge. The chance has now fallen into the lap of Charlotte who will get to take on their old rivals at home this time around.
Last round Charlotte squeaked by another in-state rival, MLS Next Pro’s Carolina Core, 2-1 in extra-time. They will need to up their standard if they are to advance again. North Carolina FC has not been particularly impressive, the team has two wins, two draws, and two losses after six league matches. But, that has been in the Championship. Currently, the Independence has one win, two draws, and one loss after four League One matches. In 2024 both clubs’ Open Cup runs ended in the Round of 32, but only one team from the Tar Heel State can even get that far this time. Will it be revenge for the 2023 League One final or the same old story?
Other Matches
Columbus Crew 2 vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds – Tuesday April 15, 3 p.m. PDT
Louisville City FC vs Loudon United FC – Tuesday April 15, 4 p.m. PDT
Charleston Battery vs South Georgia Tormenta FC – Tuesday April 15, 4:30 p.m. PDT
Union Omaha vs San Antonio FC – Tuesday April 15, 5 p.m. PDT
Tacoma Defiance vs Oakland Roots – Tuesday April 15, 7:30 p.m. PDT
Detroit City FC vs Westchester SC – Wednesday, April 16, 4 p.m. PDT
Indy Eleven vs Miami FC Wednesday, – April 16, 4:30 p.m. PDT
FC Tulsa vs Phoenix Rising FC – Wednesday, April 16, 5 p.m. PDT
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs One Knoxville SC – Wednesday, April 16, 6 p.m. PDT
New Mexico United vs El Paso Locomotive FC – Wednesday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. PDT
Las Vegas Lights vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC – Wednesday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. PDT
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