PORTLAND, Ore. – T2 will open play in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against PDL side Michigan Bucks in a second round match at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Mich., on Tuesday, May 19; kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Michigan Bucks beat Detroit City FC (NPSL) 3-0 in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup to advance to play T2. T2, and all USL clubs, enter this year’s U.S. Open Cup in the second round.
Should T2 defeat the Michigan Bucks in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, Portland would then face the winner of the second-round meeting between Seattle Sounders FC 2 and the Kitsap Pumas on May 27. If Sounders 2 win, T2 would play at S2. If Kitsap Pumas win, T2 would host Kitsap Pumas.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer's National Club Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 101 consecutive years dating back to 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
Ninety-one teams will compete in the 102nd edition of the tournament in 2015, the largest field in the modern era (1995-present) and the fourth consecutive year that a participation record has been set. This year also marks the fourth consecutive year in which all U.S.-based Division I, II and III professional teams will participate in the tournament.
The winner of the U.S. Open Cup earns a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, receives $250,000 and will have its name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports. The runner-up will take home $60,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will earn a $15,000 cash prize.
