FC Tucson can make history with another U.S. Open Cup win

On Tuesday night, Tucson’s pro soccer team will host the California United Strikers FC in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup — a single-elimination, take-all-comers tournament featuring teams from all levels of competition.

Win, and FC Tucson will advance further than it ever has in the U.S. Open Cup. The club has played in the third round just once before: In 2013, FC Tucson — then an amateur team — reached the third round before falling to Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, 2-0.

This time, FC Tucson will be at full strength. The club was without midfielder Charlie Machell and forward Deri Corfe in their second-round match, a 3-2 upset of the Las Vegas Lights of USL Championship on April 6. Rather than play a Cinderella amateur team or a big boy from the MLS, Tucson will face a team from roughly its own level. The Strikers play in the National Independent Soccer Association, a rival league on the same tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid as FC Tucson’s USL League One. Four NISA clubs have reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. The other three are playing MLS sides.

Playing in the U.S. Open Cup is “massive,” Machell said.

“You have to be in it to win it and the boys — I wasn’t here last game — did a great performance against a team in a higher league,” Machell said.

“Now, we’re playing a team that we have to treat exactly the same — we have to treat them as if they’re an MLS team, USL team, whatever it is we have to treat them all the same. We’re getting more players back now, for injury, from illness, players who have been away like myself, Deri coming back from injury, so it’s gonna be interesting.

“I’m really looking forward to that game.”

FC Tucson is 5-2 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup. This year marks the first time since 2016 that it has hosted two U.S. Open Cup matches.

“That’s awesome,” said FC Tucson defender Tyler Allen. “If we can get past into the next round again, it’ll only add to the momentum going into the league games too.”

Youth movement

Strikers forward Marcus Lee made history during the team’s second-round U.S. Open Cup win. The 15-year-old Lee became the youngest player in the 109-year history of the Open Cup to score a goal. He also an assist in the Strikers’ 5-0 win over San Fernando Valley FC.

Lee, who is of Korean and Hmong descent, is with the Strikers on an amateur deal.

Enter the MLS

The third round marks the first entry of Major League Soccer sides into the tournament. Seventeen MLS clubs will play in the round, with eight more scheduled to enter the tournament in the round of 32.

Atlanta United of MLS is the reigning U.S. Open Cup champion, having won the 2019 final at home before 35,709 fans — a record for the tournament. The annual event was not held in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

All-pro — almost

Just two amateur teams remain in the U.S. Open Cup, and both will face former champions.

FC Motown plays Rochester New York FC, which was the last non-MLS team to win the cup in 1999 and the only team from outside the top flight to win in the MLS era.

The other amateur side is NC Fusion (U23) from USL League Two. The club will face USL League One’s Richmond Kickers, one of FC Tucson’s rivals. Richmond was an amateur club in 1995 when it won the U.S. Open Cup.