MoCo Soccer Team Vies For A Spot In U.S. Open Cup

BETHESDA, MD — Nearly 90 amateur soccer teams have been approved to compete in the 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - U.S. Soccer's National Championship qualifier, including one team from Montgomery County. A total of five teams from Maryland will be competing in the first qualifying round scheduled for Sept. 21-22. Matchups will be announced by U.S. Soccer at the end of August.

According to U.S. Soccer, this is the only high profile event in American team sports where amateurs have the opportunity to advance and square off against professionals in a national competition. The teams from Maryland who will be competing are:

Maryland Major Soccer League (Md. State Soccer Assn./USASA)

Christos FC; Ferndale, Md.
Izee Auto FC; Columbia, Md.

United Premier Soccer League (U.S. Adult Soccer Assn.)

FC Millenium International; Hyattsville, Md.
**World Class Premier Elite FC; Boyds, Md.**

Open division local qualifying is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis. Matchups are determined geographically to minimize travel time and expense, with random selection used when practicable to determine opponent pairings. Home teams are determined by coin flip. Pairings for the second (Oct. 19-20), third (Nov. 23-24) and, if needed, fourth (Dec. 21-22) qualifying rounds will be determined and announced after each preceding round of games has taken place. The survivors will advance to the first round of the 2020 Open Cup next spring.

The first round of 2020 local qualifying takes place less than four weeks after the 2019 Final between Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC (Aug. 27 at 7:45 p.m. ET on ESPN+), with both clubs playing in their first Open Cup Final in just their third season at the Division I level.