The USL Championship was founded in 2010 as a Division II league in the American pro soccer system. It’s proven to be a successful and important layer in the soccer infrastructure of this country – and one with obvious staying power. Filled with clubs with histories that extend back well before the founding of the league, the Championship is home to plenty of competitive teams in U.S. Open Cup play. With two conferences that reach across the country, let’s take a look – starting in the East – at each club and how they’ve fared in their respective appearances in the Cup.
Loudoun United (Leesburg, VA)
Founded in 2018 as the reserve side for MLS outfit D.C. United, the team was ineligible to compete in the Open Cup prior to 2023 and has a limited history in the competition. That year, they won their first two matches before bowing out to the Columbus Crew in the Round of 32. Last year, Loudoun made their deepest-ever run in the Cup. After entering in the Third Round and knocking off the Richmond Kickers via shootout, United beat fellow Championship club Orange County SC 2-1 in the Round of 32. However, in the resulting Round of 16 game, Loudoun lost to eventual Champions LAFC 3-0. This year, they’ve advanced past two amateur sides and will face Louisville City in a Clash of Championship Titans in the Third Round.
Louisville City (Louisville, KY)
Always competitive in the Open Cup, Louisville City’s best run came in the 2018 edition – and it wasn’t terribly deep. In that year’s run to the Quarterfinals, the attack couldn’t have been more balanced with nine different players scoring goals across five matches. They’d finish that 2018 Open Cup as the farthest-advancing USL Championship team, losing in the Quarters to four-time Champions Chicago Fire. That 2018 City team’s quality would continue to shine in the league that season as they went on to win the USL Cup. Longtime Coach Danny Cruz will be hoping to combine his consistent success in the league with a deep run in the Open Cup this year (after all, it’s a tournament he reached the Final of as a player).
North Carolina FC (Cary, NC)
Originally founded as the Carolina RailHawks, who developed a reputation as giant-killers in the Open Cup, the club rebranded in 2017 to become the less-mythical North Carolina FC. That name change is only part of the history of NCFC. The team has played in five different leagues, including two different stints in the Championship. North Carolina FC also has the distinction of being one of the 12 clubs that played in the single season ‘D2 Pro League’ that was formed by USSF when USL and NASL were feuding in 2010. The club has twice made it to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup.
Detroit City FC (Detroit, MI)
Since launching to the USL Championship three years ago, Detroit City FC has been incredibly competitive, qualifying for the league playoffs each season. Last season was the strongest finish for the club as they finished fourth in the regular season. That squad also delivered the club’s best U.S. Open Cup run in 2024. After entering the Cup and earning a 1-0 win in the Third Round against frequent local rival, Michigan Stars, Detroit City scored a Cupset via penalties against reigning Open Cup Champions Houston Dynamo. That win put DCFC into the Round of 16, where they lost to eventual Semifinalists Indy Eleven. However, if you wanted to point to the match that defines Detroit City’s ethos in the Open Cup, you’d have to highlight the Third Round matchup with MLS’ Columbus Crew in 2022. That 2-1 win, with Maxi Rodriguez scoring twice in front of a raucous Keyworth crowd, is the stuff of legend.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds (Pittsburgh, PA)
The Riverhounds have played in various leagues for the better part of three decades and twice have managed to reach the Quarterfinals of the Open Cup. The first time came in the early years of MLS dominance (in 2001). That squad faced the Chicago Fire, getting goals from Welton and Paul Dougherty, but lost in sudden-death OT on a goal by Amos Magee in the 111th minute. It would be more than twenty years before Pittsburgh got another shot at the Quarterfinals. That year (2023) the team got a break when their Second Round opponent, the Rochester Rhinos, ceased operations and the Riverhounds got a bye. After beating Maryland Bobcats (NISA) and Columbus Crew (MLS), Pittsburgh would lose to former USL rival FC Cincinnati (now of MLS) in the Quarters.
Charleston Battery (Charleston, SC)
Few teams in the United States have the pedigree and history of the Charleston Battery. Founded in 1993, the club has seen it all over the years in this country’s lower leagues. The Battery have played in seven different leagues, winning four league titles over those 30 years. In the Open Cup, the club’s been incredibly successful, finishing in the Semifinals a further six times, including an impressive four-year run from 2007-2010 when they made the Quarterfinals of all four Open Cups. The best finish for the club was in 2008. The Black and Yellow lost to D.C. United in the Open Cup Final, finishing Runner-up in that year’s competition.
Indy Eleven (Indianapolis, IN)
Originally an NASL club, Indy joined the USL Championship in 2018. The club has never won a league title and last year’s Semifinal run was the farthest they’ve ever finished in the Open Cup. That team was led by the timely scoring of Augustine Williams who scored in three consecutive Rounds of the competition. Indy were the farthest-advancing non-MLS club last year, losing to Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer in a rain-soaked Semifinal match.
Rhode Island FC (Pawtucket, RI)
A USL Championship expansion side last season, Rhode Island lost in their Open Cup debut against Charlotte Independence (Div III, USL League One) on penalties. The match was a classic Cupset, featuring four goals by both teams and a dramatic shootout. In this year’s competition, Rhode Island will face Maine-based League One darlings Portland Hearts of Pine (who Cupset USL Championship side Hartford Athletic in Round Two) when they enter competition in the Third Round.
Tampa Bay Rowdies (St. Petersburg, FL)
Featuring the same name and vivid colors as the old NASL club from the 1970s and 80s, the current USL Championship side is technically a different organization. With their bright green and yellow jerseys, the Rowdies are a throwback to the wild years of the old NASL and have been just as competitive as their namesake since joining the USL ranks. In the Open Cup, their farthest finish has been the Round of 16, both in 2013 and 2024. Last year, in the Round of 32, the Rowdies contested an absolute barn-burner at their Al Lang Stadium, winning 6-4 over fellow Championship club Birmingham Legion. Cal Jennings scored a hat-trick in the win and Manuel Arteaga scored twice in extra-time to break the deadlock. Tampa Bay lost in the next round to FC Dallas of MLS.
Birmingham Legion (Birmingham, AL)
Birmingham Legion launched as a professional club in the USL Championship in 2019. But it wasn’t until 2023 that the club reached their zenith in the Open Cup. Previously exiting in the Third Round twice, the 2023 squad went on a tear, knocking out both Chattanooga teams (Red Wolves and Chattanooga FC), Memphis 901 and MLS’s Charlotte FC. In the Quarterfinals, Birmingham faced Inter Miami CF, who, at the time, had just been announced as the destination of one Lionel Messi (he’d be on the squad in their next USOC match). Birmingham lost 1-0 on a second-half goal from Nicolás Stefanelli. Alas, the Legion – who recently parted company with long-time coach and Open Cup hero Tom Soehn – were one of three USL Championship teams (the other two being Hartford Athletic and Lexington SC) to be eliminated in this year’s Second Round. They’ll play no further part in the 2025 Open Cup.
Miami FC (Miami FL)
Like a few of the other clubs in the USL Championship, Miami FC doesn’t have an extended history in the Open Cup. Since joining the Championship in 2020 (nothing complicated about that first Covid year, right?) Miami FC have struggled in the competition, never advancing beyond the Third Round. In fact, this year’s edition saw the club double their total wins in the Open Cup (4) and crown a new all-time USOC scoring leader in Forward Francisco Pancho Bonfiglio, who’s scored three times in Miami’s two wins in the First and Second Rounds.
Hartford Athletic (Hartford, CT)
Since entering the USL Championship in 2019, the Nutmeg Staters have struggled to achieve success in both league play and the Open Cup. While qualifying for the post-season USL Championship playoffs only once, Hartford have never advanced beyond the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup. In this year’s edition, the 110th in history, Athletic lost to Portland Hearts of Pine (USL League One) via a penalty shootout in the Second Round to join Birmingham Legion, Monterey Bay FC and Lexington SC as the only USL Championship teams to be eliminated before the Third Round. Fun fact: Elvis Amoh is the team’s all-time leading goal-scorer (3) in the Open Cup, due to his hat-trick against amateur New Yorkers Lansdowne Yonkers in 2023.
Dan Vaughn is a veteran soccer journalist and the founder and editor of Protagonist Soccer. Follow him at @TheDanVaughn on X/Twitter.
