Sports stats



USL1 South Georgia Tormenta FC

South Georgia Welcomes USL Championship Side RGVFC as it Enters Cup Play

April 4, 2023 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
South Georgia Tormenta FC News Release


STATESBORO, Ga. - The 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup makes its return to Statesboro, Georgia, this Wednesday, when South Georgia Tormenta FC begins play in the Second Round of the national tournament to take on USL Championship side Rio Grande Valley FC at 7:30 p.m. ET from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium.

Tormenta FC made its professional debut in the 106th edition of the US Open Cup in 2019, which resulted in a 1-0 defeat against Greenville Triumph. In 2022, South Georgia entered the national competition after the competition's two-year hiatus. The Statesboro side had its best cup run in club history after defeating Championship side Charleston Battery in the Second Round and the Birmingham Legion in the Third Round. South Georgia ultimately fell to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami CF in the Fourth Round.

South Georgia opened its 2023 League One regular season on the road with a 0-1 win at North Carolina FC. Despite two consecutive defeats at home, South Georgia will look to get back on track and obtain its first home victory of the season this Wednesday. In 2022, the Statesboro side obtained two consecutive wins against Championship sides and will look to continue its winning ways against the second-tier teams.

The fixture will be a first for both sides as the teams look to start off its cup run the best way possible. Rio Grande Valley will travel 1,262 miles for its Second Round fixture against the reigning USL League One Champions.

Fans not able to make it to Wednesday's match can stream the match domestically via Tormenta FC's Twitch and Youtube Channels.

Rio Grande Valley kicked off its eighth season as a professional club in 2023 with a 1-1 draw against Las Vegas Lights. Rio Grande is currently ranked fifth in the USL Championship Western Conference and is undefeated after four games with three consecutive draws at home and a win on the road to Detroit City FC.

Rio Grande currently rosters Liga MX veterans Francisco "Paco" Torres, who is a three-time Liga MX Apertura Winner with Tigres UANL and a Clausura winner with CF Pachuca. Paco Torres is also a Copa Sudamericana and Concacaf Champions League winner with Pachuca.

Rio Grande also rosters Erik Pimentel, a Club America youth product with whom he obtained two Liga MX titles and two Concacaf Champions League titles.

Now in its 108th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - U.S. Soccer's National Championship - has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and is open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

The 2023 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2024 Concacaf Champions League, and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy - one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports - now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.

Orlando City SC are defending Open Cup champions, having earned the club's first tournament title thanks to a 3-0 victory against second-division (USL Championship) side Sacramento Republic FC on September 7, 2022, in a Final played before a capacity crowd at Orlando's Exploria Stadium.

usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.

Wednesday's match versus Rio Grande Valley Toros FC will be streamed live through Tormenta FC's Twitch Channel and Youtube Channel. For live updates and highlights throughout the match, fans can follow Tormenta FC on Twitter.

Check out the South Georgia Tormenta FC Statistics



United Soccer League One Stories from April 4, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central