After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is underway with its 107th edition — and Louisville City FC’s run begins this week.
Teams from all levels of American soccer will battle to win the nation’s largest knockout tournament that culminates in a final in September. Amateur clubs have already kicked off the event, which LouCity starts in the Second Round when Division II (USL Championship) and Division III (USL League One, NISA and MLS Next Pro) clubs join the competition.
The boys in purple host USL League One’s Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday inside Lynn Family Stadium. Should LouCity advance, it would move on to the Third Round as Major League Soccer clubs enter the competition.
Wednesday’s game will stream live via ESPN+. For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram.
Here’s what to know ahead of the opening whistle…
Open Cup history: LouCity won at least one Open Cup game in each of its previous five tries at the tournament, advancing as far as the quarterfinal round in 2018 thanks to a Fourth Round victory over MLS’ New England Revolution. All Open Cups have been claimed by Division I sides since MLS launched except for the 1999 edition won by the Rochester Rhinos. That same year, the Charleston Battery also made the semifinal round.
Know the foe: City and Chattanooga will meet for the first time since the two sides played a friendly in the early part of Louisville City’s 2019 regular season campaign. One of the founding members of the USL League One, the Red Wolves have posted winning records in all three of their seasons, but just last year qualified for their first playoff run that ended in the semifinals. Led by head coach Jimmy Obleda, the side kicked off its 2022 season last weekend with a 1-1 draw against Forward Madison FC.
New digs: Wednesday will mark the first U.S. Open Cup game to be played at Lynn Family Stadium, as the 15,304-capacity venue had yet to open when the knockout tournament was last played in 2019. Previously, City played its Open Cup home games at the University of Louisville’s soccer-specific Lynn Stadium, where the boys in purple also lifted the club’s second USL Championship trophy in 2018. LouCity has lost just once at Lynn Family Stadium dating back to last June when capacity limits were lifted.
