The 2012

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

was the 99th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from May through early August. The

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

entered the competition as the three-time defending champions, making this tournament the first domestic tournament since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

that a team enters the tournament as the three-time defending winners. They appeared in their fourth consecutive U.S. Open Cup Final, losing to

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

on August 8, 2012. For the 2012 tournament, U.S. Soccer increased the main tournament from a 40-club tournament, to a 64-club tournament. All

clubs based in the U.S. received automatic berths. This made the U.S. Open Cup very similar to other domestic knock-out competitions where all top tier clubs earn automatic berths. The farthest advancing NASL teams were the

Minnesota Stars FC Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

, and

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

(all beat 1 MLS team), while the farthest advancing USL Pro teams were the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

Dayton Dutch Lions Dayton Dutch Lions is an American association football, soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the ...

, and the

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer ...

, who beat 2 MLS sides. All three USL Pro teams advanced a round past their division two NASL counterparts. The farthest advancing USL PDL team was the

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American association football, soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mi ...

, who advanced to the 4th round after beating 1 MLS club. The winner, Sporting Kansas City, received a cash prize of $100k and will also qualify for the

2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League The 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 49th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North ...

(placed in Pot B).

Qualification

For the first time, all 32 professional teams from the first 3 tiers of American Soccer will be participating. Additionally, 32 teams will also qualify from the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

United States Adult Soccer Association The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NISA ...

, and

US Club Soccer US Club Soccer is a national organization and member of the United States Soccer Federation that works to develop and support soccer clubs in the United States. It was founded in 2001 as the National Association of Competitive Soccer Clubs (NA ...

.Format, Composition and Schedule Finalized for 99th Edition of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
† League Champions in 2011
‡ League Premiers in 2011
* Stanislaus United Turlock Express defeated the

Bay Area Ambassadors Bay Area Ambassadors was an American soccer team based in Hayward, California, United States. Active from 2009 to 2012, the team played in National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer ...

of the NPSL in a play-in game on April 28 to qualify for the First Round.

Brackets

Home team is listed first, winners are in bold.

Schedule

Note: Scorelines use the standard U.S. convention of placing the home team on the right-hand side of box scores.

First Round

32 Teams from USL PDL, NPSL, and USASA begin competition.2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Pairings Announced for First and Second Rounds

Second Round

16 teams from NASL and USL Pro enter.

Third Round

16 teams from MLS enter.

Fourth Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Top scorers

Statistics current through the Cup Final.

References

External links

The Cup.us – Full Coverage of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 2012

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2012 domestic association football cups