Detroit City FC Hosts Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew in Upcoming Round Three of U.S. Open Cup
A team from Detroit has made the U.S. Open Cup finals twice, both coming well before the MLS era — in the 1927’s edition of the Cup and in 1941. Now the USL Championship club is making history ... this club originally played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPLS) from 2012 to 2019 and in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in 2020 and 2021.
Detroit City Football Club will be bringing the MLS to Detroit in Round Three of the 107th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as Le Rouge hosts the Columbus Crew at historic Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck. Kick off time and date have yet to be announced.
Detroit City advances into the third round of U.S. Soccer’s national championship for the first time in Club history.
Le Rouge has made four appearances in the Open Cup – all coming as an amateur side – most recently in 2018 (DCFC qualified for the 2020 and 2021 tournaments that were not played due to COVID).
In round two of this season’s tournament, Detroit City FC knocked off the Michigan Stars, 3-0. DCFC tallied two goals in the 45th minute – both off midfielder Maxi Rodriguez’ corner kicks. Centerback Matt Lewis – who scored the matches’ second tally – added an insurance in the 63rd off a volley from forward Connor Rutz to complete his brace.
Seventeen MLS clubs enter the tournament in the third round, with the remaining teams to kick off Open Cup play in the Round of 32.
Columbus was announced as one of the MLS’ original 10 clubs back in 1994 with play beginning in 1996. Lamar Hunt, the tournament’s namesake since 1998, was one of the original owners of the club.
The Crew have won two MLS Cups, most recently in 2020, and finished runners-up in 2015.
In the 2019 Open Cup, the Crew moved out of round four with a 1-0 decision over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds before falling to the defending champs, Atlanta United, 3-2 in the round of 16.
Columbus has made the finals of the Open Cup on three occasions – most recently 2010 – and have lifted the trophy once in 2002 with a 1-0 victory over the LA Galaxy.
Any Open Cup matches played at Keyworth Stadium are not included with season ticket purchases. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.detcityfc.com.
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup:
Heading into its 107th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship – is the only high-profile competition in American team sports where amateur sides can face professionals in meaningful competition. The history-filled tournament, conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, crowned a champion annually from 1914 until 2019, with a hiatus for the last two years due to the pandemic.
In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world’s third-longest continuously running open soccer tournament was renamed to honor United States soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2022 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2023 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.
For more info, read the article on The Detroit News
