D.C. United Set to Compete in 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
MLS D.C. United

D.C. United Set to Compete in 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Published on December 4, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
D.C. United News Release


WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. United has announced that the club will participate in the 111th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the nation's most historic soccer competition. The three-time U.S. Open Cup Champions will be one of 16 Major League Soccer clubs competing in this year's tournament. U.S. Soccer has confirmed the official format and schedule, with D.C. United set to be one of eight MLS teams seeded to host the Round of 32 in April 2026.

This match will be included in all 2026 D.C. United Season Ticket Memberships. Additional ticketing information, including general on-sale dates, will be announced at a later time.

D.C. United has lifted the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup three times in club history, first capturing the trophy during the inaugural 1996 MLS season with a 3-0 victory over the Rochester Rhinos behind goals from Raul Diaz Arce, Eddie Pope, and Jaime Moreno. The Black-and-Red claimed their second title in 2008, defeating the Charleston Battery 2-1 thanks to goals from Luciano Emilio and Fred. The club secured its third Open Cup championship in 2013, topping Real Salt Lake 1-0 with Lewis Neal scoring the decisive goal.

D.C. United advanced to the Quarterfinals of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after defeating the Charleston Battery (USL Championship) and Charlotte FC. The Black-and-Red opened their tournament run with a 2-0 win against the Battery, with goals from Jacob Murrell and Jared Stroud. United then earned a dramatic 2-1 penalty shootout victory over Charlotte FC, highlighted by goalkeeper Jordan Farr, who made four penalty saves - the first time in U.S. Open Cup history a goalkeeper has recorded four stops in a shootout. The Black-and-Red forced extra time with goals from David Schnegg, Garrison Tubbs, and Jackson Hopkins. The Black-and-Red then lost 5-2 in the Quarterfinals to eventual champions Nashville SC.

U.S. Soccer's historic national club championship, that celebrates elite amateur and pro soccer in communities across the country, begins in mid-March and will conclude with a showpiece final on October 21.

A field of 80 teams will contest for a $1 million purse with a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup also up for grabs. CBS Sports will return as the multi-media rights partner for the 2026 competition.

The U.S. Open Cup format will feature seven rounds - one fewer than recent editions - to avoid overlap with the FIFA Men's World Cup™ calendar.

Because the competition features one fewer round than recent editions, the field of professional teams has been reduced from 64 to 48, with slots for each professional division allocated as evenly as possible. League standings will serve as qualifying criteria to determine which professional teams are eligible, therefore all teams participating in 2026 U.S. Open Cup must have played a league season in 2025.

In addition to the qualifying criteria for the professional divisions, the competition has adjusted two rules to align with the current ecosystem for professional and amateur clubs.

First, a one-club, one-entry rule applies to all divisions. Under this rule, a professional club must enter its highest-level professional team. For the Open Division, the National League qualifying track was eliminated and all amateur teams are entered directly via U.S. Soccer.

Second, all numerical limits to the number of players that can be eligible for a competition roster have been removed across all divisions. All players from a club are eligible to participate, and players can be added up to one day prior to a match -- subject to league and U.S. Soccer player registration regulations as well as competition eligibility rules related to cup-ties, length of loan and disciplinary action.

The First Round will be played on March 17, 18 & 19 and will continue its format of 32 matches featuring teams from the Open Division facing off against a professional opponent. The amateurs will face off against one of 17 professional teams from Division II or 15 professional teams from Division III. The 32 winners from the First Round will then face off in a Second Round matchup on March 31 or April 1.

Each of the 16 teams that advance from the Second Round will face one of the 16 Division I professional teams from Major League Soccer in the Round of 32 on April 14 or 15. Eight of the MLS teams will be seeded as home, and eight will be seeded as away ahead of this draw based on the qualifying criteria.

The final 32 teams will play down to a field of four semifinalists in May before the competition breaks until the semifinals on September 15 or 16. The final match is slated for Wednesday, October 21.

2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule

First Round: Tuesday, March 17 - Thursday, March 19

Second Round: Tuesday, March 31 - Wednesday, April 1

Round of 32: Tuesday, April 14 - Wednesday, April 15

Round of 16: Tuesday, April 28 - Wednesday, April 29

Quarterfinals: Tuesday, May 19 - Wednesday, May 20

Semifinals: Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Wednesday, Sept. 16

Final: Wednesday, October 21

First and Second Round draws and schedule will be announced by U.S. Soccer in January. The first live draw will be held Tuesday, April 2, when the Round of 32 and subsequent round pairings will be determined.

The overall format, draw groups and pairings will be based on geography, along with the basic mathematic principles of a single-elimination competition. Random selection will be used to solve a lack of logical geographic fit. Draw groups may be created to account for venue availability in any round, based on the league schedule of competing teams or other conditions per tournament regulations.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer's Club Championship and has crowned a Champion annually since 1914 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). The historic tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer.

It is the longest running national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third longest continuously run national cup tournament. It is the only competition in USA-based team sports where amateurs have the chance to play professionals in direct competition.

Division I -16 Teams entering in the Round of 32

Major League Soccer

Qualifying Criteria:

Teams participating in Concacaf Champions Cup are excluded from the Open Cup

Teams not participating in the 2026 Leagues Cup qualify for the Open Cup, ranked based on 2025 Supporters Shield Standings. The top four teams from this list from each conference will be seeded as home teams.

The next best teams in the Supporters' Shield Standings that are not in the Concacaf Champions Cup will enter the Open Cup.

Atlanta United

Austin FC

Charlotte FC

Chicago Fire FC

Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

Houston Dynamo FC

Minnesota United FC

New England Revolution

New York City FC

Orlando City SC

Red Bull New York

San Jose Earthquakes

St. Louis CITY SC

Sporting Kansas City

Division II - 17 teams entering in First Round

USL Championship

Qualifying Criteria:

2025 League Standings will be used to determine Open Cup qualifiers.

Positions allocated evenly between East & West Conferences based on conference standing, with total points serving as a tiebreaker in the case of an odd number of teams.

Charleston Battery

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

Detroit City FC

El Paso Locomotive

FC FC Tulsa

Hartford Athletic

Indy Eleven

Lexington SC

Loudoun United FC

Louisville City FC

New Mexico United

Orange County SC

Phoenix Rising FC

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Rhode Island FC

Sacramento Republic FC

San Antonio FC

Division III - 15 teams entering in the First Round

MLS NEXT Pro

Note: Players from 15 MLS NEXT Pro teams affiliated with Division I entrants may appear in the competition for their MLS Division I affiliate in the Round of 32 (subject to competition roster regulations)

Qualifying Criteria:

MLS NEXT Pro teams that are part of a club that plays in Division I Major League Soccer are not eligible based on the one club, one entry principle.

Because fewer than 16 teams participating in 2026 Division III leagues have results in the 2025 League Standings, both returning, eligible teams will qualify.

Carolina Core FC

Chattanooga FC

USL League One

Qualifying Criteria:

Because fewer than 16 teams participating in 2026 Divison III leagues have results in the 2025 League Standings, all 13 returning teams otherwise eligible teams from the 2025 season will qualify.

AV ALTA FC

Charlotte Independence

Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

FC Naples

Forward Madison FC

Greenville Triumph SC

One Knoxville SC

Portland Hearts of Pine

Richmond Kickers

South Georgia Tormenta FC

Spokane Velocity FC

Union Omaha

Westchester SC

Open Division/Amateur - 32 teams entering in the First Round

Qualifying Criteria:

Half of the Open Division slots have been allocated to teams advancing from the Qualifying Rounds played in Fall 2025.

Half of the Open Division slots have been filled with teams awarded byes into the First Round based on strong performance in 2025 competitions.

2026 Qualifying Rounds Participants (16)

ASC New Stars (Houston, Texas; Houston Football Association)

Azteca FC (Denver, Colo.; Colorado Premier League)

Badgers FC (Boynton Beach, Fla.; UPSL)

BOHFS St. Louis (Saint Louis, Mo.; Midwest Premier League)

CD Faialense (Winthrop, Mass.; Bay State Soccer League)

FC America CFL Spurs (Orlando, Fla.; UPSL)

Kalonji Pro-Profile (Dacula, Ga.; UPSL)

Laguna United FC (Laguna Niguel, Calif.; UPSL)

NY Renegades FC (Jericho, N.Y.; UPSL)

Red Force (Miami, Fla.; Premier Futbol League)

San Ramon FC (San Ramon, Calif.; The League for Clubs)

SC Vistula Garfield (Garfield, N.J.; APSL)

Southern Indiana FC (Corydon, Ind.; UPSL)

Steel City FC (Pittsburgh, Pa.; USL League Two)

Valley 559 FC (Fresno, Calif.; UPSL)

Virginia Dream FC (Arlington, Va.; UPSL)

Earned Byes to First Round via League/Competition Play (16)

Asheville City SC (Asheville, N.C.) - USL League Two Qualifier

Des Moines Menace (Des Moines, Iowa) - USL League Two Qualifier

El Farolito (NPSL - San Francisco, Calif.) - 2025 John Motta Trophy Winner

FC Motown (Morristown, N.J.) - USL League Two Qualifier

Flint City Bucks (Flint, Mich.) - USL League Two Qualifier

Flower City Union (Rochester, N.Y.) - NPSL Qualifier

Hickory FC (Hickory, N.C.) - NPSL Qualifier

Laredo Heat SC (Laredo, Texas) - USL League Two Qualifier

Little Rock Rangers (Little Rock, Ark.) - USL League Two Qualifier

Michigan Rangers (Hudsonville, Mich.) - NPSL Qualifier

Northern Virginia FC (Leesburg, Va.) - USL League Two Qualifier

Ristozi FC (Baltimore, Md.) - NPSL Qualifier

Tennessee Tempo FC (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) - UPSL Spring Champion

Ventura County Fusion (Ventura, Calif.) - USL League Two Qualifier

Vermont Green FC (Burlington, Vt.) - USL League Two Qualifier

West Chester United SC (West Chester, Pa.; United Soccer League of Pennsylvania) - 2025 USASA National Amateur Cup Champion

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