The 2010 U.S. Open Cup tournament proper features teams from the top five levels of the American Soccer Pyramid. These five levels, namely Major League Soccer, the United Soccer Leagues (First Division, Second Division, and Premier Development League), and the United States Adult Soccer Association, each have their own separate qualification process to trim their ranks down to their final team delegations in the months leading up to the start of the tournament proper.

The 2010 Cup will feature 8 teams from the MLS, 9 from the USSF Division 2 (being all 9 US-based teams), all 6 teams from the USL Second Division, 8 teams from the PDL, 8 from USASA, and an additional team resulting from a single match between Sonoma County Sol of the National Premier Soccer League and PSA Los Gatos Storm of US Club Soccer. The eight clubs from MLS will receive byes into the Third Round.

Tier 1: Major League Soccer (MLS) The top six MLS clubs in the 2009 standings were given six of the berths into the Third Round while the nine remaining U.S.-based clubs will compete for the final two berths via a playoff.

Bracket

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

Play-in Round

Qualification Semifinals

Qualification Finals

New York Red Bulls qualify for the Round of 16.

D.C. United qualify for the Round of 16.

Tier 2: USSF D-2 Pro League and Tier 3: USL-2 Due to the reshuffling of teams and the compromise between the United Soccer Leagues and the breakaway North American Soccer League, there are only 6 teams in USL-2 and 9 eligible teams in the newly formed USSF Division 2 Professional League (Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Puerto Rico Islanders are not eligible because they are Canadian or Puerto Rican clubs). All 15 eligible teams will automatically qualify rather than 8 from each league as in years past, leaving an additional slot to be filled .

Tier 4: Premier Development League PDL eligible clubs (59 of 67) qualify by playing in PDL league matches in April and May that double as US Open Cup qualifying matches. The team with the best record in those games from each of the eight divisions will advance to the Cup.

The Abbotsford Mariners, Ottawa Fury, Toronto Lynx, Thunder Bay Chill, Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, Victoria Highlanders and Forest City London are not eligible because they are Canadian clubs. Also the Bermuda Hogges is not eligible because it is a Bermudian club.

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division Kitsap PumasSouthwest Division Ventura County Fusion Central ConferenceGreat Lakes Division Dayton Dutch LionsHeartland Division Des Moines Menace Southern ConferenceMid-South Division DFW TornadosSoutheast Division Central Florida Kraze Eastern ConferenceMid-Atlantic Division Reading UnitedNortheast Division Long Island Rough Riders

+Northwest DivisionTeamKitsap Pumas40012Portland Timbers U23's40012Tacoma Tide2026Yakima Reds1033Washington Crossfire1033Spokane Spiders0040

+Southwest DivisionTeamVentura County Fusion3019Orange County Blue Star2208Los Angeles Azul Legends2117Fresno Fuego1215Lancaster Rattlers1215BYU Cougars1124Hollywood United Hitmen1124Ogden Outlaws1124Southern California Seahorses1033

+Great Lakes DivisionTeamDayton Dutch Lions31010Michigan Bucks3019Chicago Fire Premier2117Indiana Invaders1114Cleveland Internationals1124Cincinnati Kings1033Kalamazoo Outrage0030

+Heartland DivisionTeamDes Moines Menace3019Rochester Thunder2117Real Colorado Foxes2117St. Louis Lions2026Kansas City Brass1124Springfield Demize0131

+Mid-South DivisionTeamDFW Tornados3019Rio Grande Valley Bravos2117Laredo Heat2026El Paso Patriots2026West Texas United Sockers2026Houston Leones0131

+Southeast DivisionTeamCentral Florida Kraze31010Mississippi Brilla31010Baton Rouge Capitals2208New Orleans Jesters2026Atlanta Blackhawks1215Bradenton Academics1124Nashville Metros1124Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy0030

+Mid-Atlantic DivisionTeamReading United40012Newark Ironbound Express40012New Jersey Rangers3019Carolina Dynamo1114Central Jersey Spartans1124West Virginia Chaos1033Ocean City Nor'easters0222Hampton Roads Piranhas0121Northern Virginia Royals0131

+Northeast DivisionTeamLong Island Rough Riders31010Albany BWP Highlanders31010Western Mass Pioneers2117Portland Phoenix1306New Hampshire Phantoms1215Vermont Voltage1033Westchester Flames0222Brooklyn Knights0040

Tier 5: United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) USASA is divided into four geographical regions, each of which will advance two teams to the US Open Cup. Assuming the continuation of recent seasons' format, the two finalists in each region will be awarded berths.

Region I Region I represents the northeastern region of the US. The regional tournament began April 10 and the remaining four teams will compete in the semifinals on May 23. The two regional finalists will advance to the 2010 US Open Cup. The quarterfinalists are:

Aegean HawksBrooklyn ItaliansCharm City FCDanbury UnitedFenerbahce USAGo Soccer FCNY Pancyprian-FreedomsUnited German Hungarians

Region II Region II represents the midwestern region of the US. The regional tournament began May 1 and the semifinal matches were played May 15. Both finalists qualified for the 2010 US Open Cup. The quarterfinalists were:

402 FCAAC EaglesDes Moines MenaceDetroit UnitedFire SC '00KC AthleticsMilwaukee KickersSt. Paul Twin Stars (NPSL)

Region III Region III represents the southeastern region of the US. The regional tournament was conducted from May 29 to May 30 at the University of Alabama. Though it was originally scheduled to feature nine clubs organized into three groups of three followed by an elimination bracket, a lightning storm canceled the first day of games and Brazil Soccer Academy was disqualified for failing to show. The tournament was reorganized into two groups of four with the winner of each group qualifying for the US Open Cup.

+Group ATeamLegends FC3009Pumas FC (NPSL)1013Lynch's Irish Pub0111Rocket City United (NPSL)0121

+Group BTeamCASL Elite2107FC Tulsa (NPSL)1114Atlanta FC (NPSL) Georgia1114ASC New Stars0121

Region IV Region IV represents the western region of the US. The regional tournament was conducted from May 21 to May 23 in Sacramento, CA. An initial eleven teams divided into three groups, each of which played round-robin, and the winner of each group as well as the best performing second place team advanced to a four team bracket. The two semifinal winners advanced to the regional final as well as the 2010 US Open Cup.

+Flight ATeamReal San Jose (NPSL)2006FC Hasental1013SF Italian Athletics0020

+Flight BTeamBay Area Ambassadors (NPSL)3009San Diego Boca FC (NPSL)1114French Soccer Academy 1114Arizona Pros0030

+Flight CTeamSacramento Gold (NPSL)3009Arizona Sahuaros (NPSL)1114Doxa Italia1114Yakima United0030

40th place Due to the 2010 restructuring of the USSF Division 2, only 15 US-based teams were available to take the USL and NASL's non-amateur slots. On May 5, 2010 the USSF announced that the remaining slot would be allotted to the winner of a game between the Sonoma County Sol and PSA Los Gatos Storm, two California-based clubs in the US Soccer amateur structure.

References

External links The Cup USSF Announcement