2011 U.S. Open Cup qualification

The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament proper features teams from four of the five tiers of the American Soccer Pyramid. These four levels—Major League Soccer, United Soccer League's Pro League, the USL's Premier Development League, the National Premier Soccer League, and the United States Adult Soccer Association— each have their own separate qualification process to trim their ranks down to their final club delegations in the months leading up to the start of the tournament proper.

The event will feature 40 teams. Eight clubs from Major League Soccer will participate, six that automatically qualify based on last season's league position and two that qualify through a play-in tournament. In addition, 11 USL Pro League clubs, 9 clubs from the USL Premier Development League, 4 clubs from the National Premier Soccer League,^[1] and 8 USASA clubs and will also qualify.^[2]

The provisional second tier of the soccer pyramid, a reincarnation of the North American Soccer League, was disallowed by the United States Soccer Federation for the American-based clubs to participate into the tournament, mainly due to scheduling conflicts it would cause.^[3]

Major League Soccer

The following MLS clubs have already qualified for the 2011 US Open Cup:

Los Angeles Galaxy – 1st overall in 2010
Real Salt Lake – 2nd overall in 2010
New York Red Bulls – 3rd overall in 2010

FC Dallas – 4th overall in 2010
Columbus Crew – 5th overall in 2010
Seattle Sounders FC – 6th overall in 2010

The following MLS clubs are attempting to qualify for the tournament:

Colorado Rapids – 7th overall in 2010
San Jose Earthquakes – 8th overall in 2010
Sporting Kansas City – 9th overall in 2010
Chicago Fire – 10th overall in 2010
Houston Dynamo – 12th overall in 2010

New England Revolution – 13th overall in 2010
Philadelphia Union – 14th overall in 2010
Chivas USA – 15th overall in 2010
D.C. United – 16th overall in 2010
Portland Timbers – Expansion club

Bracket

The bracket is loosely based on geography, rather than seeding. This is the first time qualification is bracketed geographically. In the previous years, teams were bracketed strictly according to seeding. Seeds 7–10 play an extra round. All teams in the top bracket are the westernmost teams, except for Chicago. All teams in the bottom bracket are easternmost teams, except for Houston.

Play-in Round			Qualification Semifinals			Qualification Finals			Qualifiers

			2	San Jose Earthquakes (a.e.t.)	1
8	Chivas USA	0	10	Portland Timbers	0
10	Portland Timbers	2				2	San Jose Earthquakes	2 (4)
						4	Chicago Fire (a.e.t.) (p)	2 (5)
			1	Colorado Rapids	1
			4	Chicago Fire	2
									4	Chicago Fire
									3	Sporting Kansas City
			3	Sporting Kansas City (a.e.t.)	1
7	Philadelphia Union	2 (2)	5	Houston Dynamo	0
9	D.C. United (a.e.t.) (p)	2 (4)				3	Sporting Kansas City	5
						6	New England Revolution	0
			6	New England Revolution	3
			9	D.C. United	2

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

Play-in round

March 29, 2011	Chivas USA	0–2	Portland Timbers	Portland, Oregon
19:00 PDT	Mondaini 14' Boyens 35' 43' Braun 49'	Report	Purdy 74' Jewsbury 84' Brunner 86' Hall 89'	Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 5,061 (SO) Referee: Juan Guzman

April 6, 2011	Philadelphia Union	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p)	D.C. United	Boyds, Maryland
19:30 EDT	Ruiz 18' Ruiz 73' Valdes 39' 86' Nowak 118' Carroll 118'	Report	Fred 25' Wolff 45' Jaković 70' Woolard 111'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 2,347 Referee: Andrew Chapin
	Penalties
	Le Toux McInerney Torres Nakazawa		Pontius Barklage Najar Bošković

Qualification semifinals

March 30, 2011	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Chicago Fire	Peoria, Illinois
	Akpan 46'	Report	45' Puerari 61' Anibaba	Stadium: Shea Stadium

April 6, 2011	Sporting Kansas City	1 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Houston Dynamo	College Station, Texas
19:00 CDT	Bravo 46+' Sapong 92'	Report	Sarkodie 5' Palmer 43' Chabala 65' Boswell 73'	Stadium: Aggie Soccer Stadium Attendance: 2,383

April 26, 2011	New England Revolution	3–2	D.C. United	Boyds, Maryland
19:30 EDT	Dube 37', 47' Koger 67'	Report	Bošković 73', 83'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Referee: Juan Carlos Rivero

May 3, 2011	San Jose Earthquakes	1 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Portland Timbers	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PDT	Opara 120'	Report		Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 11,412 Referee: Alejandro Mariscal

Qualification finals

May 24, 2011	Chicago Fire	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	San Jose Earthquakes	Santa Clara, California
19:30 PDT	Barouch 61' Cuesta 76'	Report	McLoughlin 14' Morrow 43'	Stadium: Buck Shaw Stadium Attendance: 4,124 Referee: Daniel Radford

May 25, 2011	New England Revolution	0–5	Sporting Kansas City	Overland Park, Kansas
		Report	Myers 9', 19' Sapong 24', 88' Collin 81'	Stadium: Blue Valley District Athletic Center Attendance: 1,228 Referee: Sorin Stoica

North American Soccer League

USSF President Sunil Gulati announced that NASL teams were being denied entry due to the lateness of their provisional sanctioning.^[3]

USL Professional League

All eleven U.S.-based clubs qualified for the tournament.

Premier Development League

The PDL received nine berths to the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. One entrant from each division will be determined based upon the results of four PDL divisional games also serving as U.S. Open Cup qualifiers. Canadian and Bermudan PDL sides are not eligible for U.S. Open Cup play.

As part of PDL qualification, the Northwest Division spot was completely deadlocked between Portland Timbers U23's and Kitsap Pumas. Instead of going to a lottery, the two sides mutually agreed to hold an unprecedented "fifth game" tiebreaker, using their regular season game on June 3, 2011, to determine the slot.^[4]

Qualified clubs

Eastern Conference
Mid Atlantic Division	Reading United
Northeast Division	Western Mass Pioneers
South Atlantic Division	Carolina Dynamo
Central Conference
Great Lakes Division	Chicago Fire Premier
Heartland Division	Real Colorado Foxes
Southern Conference
Mid South Division	Chivas El Paso Patriots
Southeast Division	Central Florida Kraze
Western Conference
Northwest Division	Kitsap Pumas
Southwest Division	Ventura County Fusion

For standings see 2011 PDL season.

National Premier Soccer League

In contrast to prior years, where NPSL teams had to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup through the USASA Regional tournaments, the NPSL was awarded four entries to the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. The NPSL elected to give one berth to each of its four divisions.

Northeast Division

The Northeast Division representative was determined by a three-team tournament played on May 7 and May 27, 2011.

Semifinal			Final

				Brooklyn Italians	2
	FC Buffalo	0		FC Sonic Lehigh Valley	1
	Brooklyn Italians	1

Brooklyn Italians qualify.

Southeast Division

The Southeast Division's qualifier was determined in a six-team tournament held at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 27–29, 2011.

First round May 27, 2011		Semifinals May 28, 2011		Finals May 29, 2011

Jacksonville United	1
Knoxville Force	0	Jacksonville United	1
		Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves	3
				Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves	0
FC Tulsa	1			Chattanooga FC (a.e.t.)	1
Rocket City United	7	Rocket City United	0
		Chattanooga FC	2

Midwest Division

The Midwest Division slot was automatically awarded to the Madison 56ers. The 56ers earned the bid as 2010 U.S. Open Cup division qualifying champions, as well as the fact none of the other divisional rivals had expressed interest in a qualifying tournament.^[5]

West Division

The West Division representative was awarded to the club with the highest point total after its first seven league matches. The berth was clinched by the Hollywood United Hitmen after the San Diego Flash had two games forfeited by the NPSL for the use of an illegal player.

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Hollywood United Hitmen*	7	7	0	0	34	3	+31	21
Santa Ana Winds	6	5	1	0	15	6	+9	15
San Diego Flash*	7	5	2	0	14	9	+5	15
Sonoma County Sol	6	3	2	1	16	10	+6	10
San Diego Boca	7	3	4	0	14	16	−2	9
Sacramento Gold	6	2	2	2	10	8	+2	8
FC Hasental	7	2	4	1	13	17	−4	7
Bay Area Ambassadors*	7	1	5	1	9	22	−13	4
Lancaster Rattlers	4	1	3	0	4	9	−5	3
Real San Jose	7	1	6	0	4	32	−28	3

Updated to games played May 19, 2011.
Tiebreakers: (1) Points; (2) Goal difference; (3) Goals scored
*-Includes 3–0 forfeitures imposed on San Diego Flash for using an illegal player

USASA

For qualification into the U.S. Open Cup, the United States Adult Soccer Association organizes a series of state and regional tournaments to determine its regional participants. Each individual region's National Cup doubles as the qualification process for the U.S. Open Cup.^[6]

Qualified Clubs

Region I
Bracket A	NY Pancyprian-Freedoms
Bracket B	Phoenix SC
Region II
Bracket A	Iowa Menace
Bracket B	A.A.C. Eagles
Region III
Bracket A	ASC New Stars
Bracket B	Regals FC
Region IV
Bracket A	Doxa Italia
Bracket B	DV8 Defenders

Region I

The USASA Region I Cup determines two qualifiers for the U.S. Open Cup. The first round of qualifying begins on May 1, 2011.^[6] The national finals prior to the third round proper are scheduled between July 15–17, 2011.^[6]

Each of the states in Region I conduct their own state qualification propers from February to March 2011 to send representatives to the regional tournament. Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia did not enter a club into the 2011 Region I Tournament.^[7]

Qualification Semifinals		Qualification Finals		Qualified

Danbury United	0

NY Pancyprian-Freedoms	4
		NY Pancyprian-Freedoms	4

		MPS	2
East Providence Sports	1

MPS	4
				NY Pancyprian-Freedoms

				Phoenix SC
Maryland Bays	2

Phoenix SC (aet)	3
		Phoenix SC	3

		Go Soccer FC	0
Atletico Virginia	1

Go Soccer FC	2

Region II

Each of the states in Region II conduct their own state qualification propers from to send representatives to the regional tournament. Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin did not enter a club into the 2011 Region II Tournament.^[8]


Round One			Round Two



				Iowa Menace	7

				KC Athletics	1


	RWB Adria	6

	Detroit United	4
				RWB Adria	1

				A.A.C. Eagles	4
	FC Indiana	2

	A.A.C. Eagles	7

Region III

Teams that qualify in Region III were invited to play in the Region III National Cup in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Memorial Day Weekend. The draw for the tournament took place on May 26, 2011, the night before play bega. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee did not enter teams into the Region III Tournament.^[9]

Group A	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
ASC New Stars	3	3	0	7	2	+5	9
Greenville Eagles	3	2	1	12	4	+8	6
Florida Gators	3	1	2	1	3	−2	3
Boston Avenue ACR	3	0	3	1	12	−11	0

Group B	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Regals FC	2	1	1	5	4	+1	3
CASL Elite	2	1	1	5	4	+1	3
Royal Eagles	2	1	1	2	4	−2	3

Regals FC win tiebreaker penalty shootout with CASL Elite to advance.

Region IV

Group A	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
DV8 Defenders	3	2	0	1	14	2	+12	7
Albuquerque Metro SC	3	1	1	1	7	8	−1	4
SF Italian AC	3	0	3	0	1	15	−14	0

Group B	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Doxa Italia	3	2	0	1	25	1	+24	7
San Francisco Rosal FC	3	2	0	1	16	3	+13	7
Tracy CV Eagles FC	3	0	3	0	1	35	−34	0

References

^ "NPSL In The US Open Cup - National Premier Soccer League". Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
^ "2011 USOC team allocations, dates set".
^ ^a ^b Hakala, Josh (February 14, 2011). "USSF: NASL teams will not be eligible for 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup". TheCup.us. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
^ http://thecup.us/historic-%E2%80%9Cfifth-game%E2%80%9D-tiebreaker-to-decide-northwest-pdl-us-open-cup-berth/^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Anderson, Eric. "Madison 56ers awarded NPSL Midwest US Open Cup spot". TheCup.us.
^ ^a ^b ^c "USASA Region I: 2011 National Cup dates". USASA. November 14, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
^ Hakala, Josh (March 25, 2011). "2011 US Open Cup qualifying update: USASA Region I tournament field set". TheCup.us. Archived from the original on March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
^ Barnhart, Gerald. "USASA Region II format set for 2011 US Open Cup Qualifying". TheCup.us.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Barnhart, Gerald. "USASA Region III field set for 2011 US Open Cup qualifying". TheCup.us.

External links

[1] "NPSL In The US Open Cup - National Premier Soccer League". Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2011.

[2] "2011 USOC team allocations, dates set".

[ussf-bans-nasl-3] Hakala, Josh (February 14, 2011). "USSF: NASL teams will not be eligible for 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup". TheCup.us. Retrieved February 15, 2011.

[4] ttp://thecup.us/historic-%E2%80%9Cfifth-game%E2%80%9D-tiebreaker-to-decide-northwest-pdl-us-open-cup-berth/^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[5] Anderson, Eric. "Madison 56ers awarded NPSL Midwest US Open Cup spot". TheCup.us.

[USASA_Region_I_qualification-6] "USASA Region I: 2011 National Cup dates". USASA. November 14, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2011.

[7] Hakala, Josh (March 25, 2011). "2011 US Open Cup qualifying update: USASA Region I tournament field set". TheCup.us. Archived from the original on March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.

[8] Barnhart, Gerald. "USASA Region II format set for 2011 US Open Cup Qualifying". TheCup.us.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[9] Barnhart, Gerald. "USASA Region III field set for 2011 US Open Cup qualifying". TheCup.us.

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