The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 99th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, the annual national

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

championship of the United States. It ran from May to August and was organized by the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

entered the competition as the three-time defending champions and appeared in their fourth consecutive U.S. Open Cup Final, losing to

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

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 bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and Nor ...

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

, 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 stadi ...

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

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur 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 the ...

, Dayton Dutch Lions, and the

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were 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 ...

, 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 soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, playing in Saginaw, and began playing in 1996. In ...

, who advanced to the 4th round after beating an MLS club. An amateur club, Cal FC of the USASA, won 1–0 away to MLS's

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

in a third round upset. The winner, Sporting Kansas City, received a cash prize of $100,000 and also qualified for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League (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 soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

United States Adult Soccer Association The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for Amateur sports, amateur Association football, soccer in the United States. It consists of 54 state associations in four regions, as well as national, regional, and ...

, and

US Club Soccer National Association of Competitive Soccer Clubs (US Club Soccer) is a national non-profit organization and member of the United States Soccer Federation that works to develop and support soccer clubs in the United States. Organization US C ...

.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 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2012 domestic association football cups