2021 U.S. Open Cup qualification

The 2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament proper was to feature teams from all five tiers of the men's American soccer pyramid.

2021 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification

Dates	July 18, 2020 – May 2, 2021
← 2020 2022 →

Main article: 2021 U.S. Open Cup

Qualification for the 2021 tournament was drastically altered due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament itself was downsized to 16 teams, before ultimately being canceled for the second consecutive season due to the pandemic.

Major League Soccer

Main article: 2021 Major League Soccer season

The top eight American-based teams based in the regular season standings after three weeks of the season, taken on a points-per-game (PPG) basis, were set to qualify for the tournament before its cancellation.^[1] Qualification began on April 16, 2021, and concluded on May 2, 2021.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Real Salt Lake	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	6	3.00	2021 U.S. Open Cup
2	Seattle Sounders FC	3	2	1	0	8	1	+7	7	2.33
3	New England Revolution	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7	2.33
4	New York City FC	3	2	0	1	8	2	+6	6	2.00
5	San Jose Earthquakes	3	2	0	1	8	4	+4	6	2.00
6	Austin FC	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	2.00
7	LA Galaxy	3	2	0	1	6	7	−1	6	2.00
8	Orlando City SC	3	1	2	0	4	1	+3	5	1.67
9	Los Angeles FC	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2	5	1.67
10	FC Dallas	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4	1.33
11	Atlanta United FC	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4	1.33
12	Inter Miami CF	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4	1.33
13	Houston Dynamo FC	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4	1.33
14	Sporting Kansas City	3	1	1	1	4	5	−1	4	1.33
15	Colorado Rapids	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	4	1.33
16	New York Red Bulls	3	1	0	2	5	5	0	3	1.00
17	Nashville SC	3	0	3	0	4	4	0	3	1.00
18	Columbus Crew SC	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	1.00
19	Portland Timbers	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3	3	1.00
20	D.C. United	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3	3	1.00
21	Philadelphia Union	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1	0.33
22	Chicago Fire FC	3	0	1	2	3	7	−4	1	0.33
23	FC Cincinnati	3	0	1	2	2	10	−8	1	0.33
24	Minnesota United FC	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0	0.00

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) goal differential per game; 3) goals scored per game; 4) disciplinary points per game; 5) away goal differential per away game; 6) away goals scored per away game; 7) home goal differential per home game; 8) home goals scored per home game; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots^[2]

USL Championship

Main article: 2020 USL Championship Playoffs

The four semifinalists from the USL Championship playoffs qualified. Qualification retroactively began on October 10, 2020, and ended on October 17, 2020.

Groups A and B

	Qualification semi-finals					Qualification finals
	A1	Reno 1868	4
	B2	LA Galaxy II	1
						A1	Reno 1868	2 (4)
						B1	Phoenix Rising (p)	2 (5)
	B1	Phoenix Rising (a.e.t.)	1
	A2	Sacramento Republic	0

Phoenix Rising qualify

Groups C and D

	Qualification semi-finals					Qualification finals
	C1	El Paso Locomotive (p)	2 (4)
	D2	FC Tulsa	2 (2)
						C1	El Paso Locomotive (p)	1 (5)
						C2	New Mexico United	1 (3)
	D1	San Antonio FC	0
	C2	New Mexico United (a.e.t.)	1

El Paso Locomotive qualify

Groups E and F

	Qualification semi-finals					Qualification finals
	E1	Louisville City	2
	F2	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	0
						E1	Louisville City	2
						E2	Saint Louis FC	0
	F1	Hartford Athletic	0
	E2	Saint Louis FC	1

Louisville City qualify

Groups G and H

	Qualification semi-finals					Qualification finals
	G1	Charlotte Independence	1
	H2	Charleston Battery (a.e.t.)	2
						H2	Charleston Battery	0
						H1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	1
	H1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	4
	G2	Birmingham Legion	2

Tampa Bay Rowdies qualify

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	4	3	1	0	7	3	+4	10	Finalists; 2021 U.S. Open Cup
2	Phoenix Rising	4	1	3	0	4	3	+1	6
3	Louisville City	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6	Semi-finalists; 2021 U.S. Open Cup
4	El Paso Locomotive	3	0	3	0	4	4	0	3
5	Reno 1868	2	1	1	0	6	3	+3	4	Quarter-finalists
6	New Mexico United	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
7	Charleston Battery	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
8	Saint Louis FC	2	0	1	1	2	4	−2	1
9	FC Tulsa	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1	Round of 16
10	Charlotte Independence	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	0
11	Sacramento Republic	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0
12	Hartford Athletic	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0
13	San Antonio FC	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0
14	Birmingham Legion	1	0	0	1	2	4	−2	0
15	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0
16	LA Galaxy II[a]	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	0

Source: USL Championship
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points; 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.11).^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Professional teams that are owned by teams playing in a higher division are ineligible for the U.S. Open Cup.

Division III

NISA

Main article: 2020–21 National Independent Soccer Association season § Playoffs

The NISA Fall Champion, Detroit City FC, retroactively qualified on October 2, 2020.

Bracket

	Semifinals September 30, 2020					Finals October 2, 2020
	A1	Oakland Roots SC	3
	B2	Chattanooga FC	2
						A1	Oakland Roots SC	1
						A2	Detroit City FC	2
	B1	Los Angeles Force	0
	A2	Detroit City FC	1

Bold = winner
* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout score
Source: nisaofficial.com

Matches

Semifinals

Oakland Roots v Chattanooga FC

September 30, 2020	Oakland Roots	3–2	Chattanooga FC	Hamtramck, Michigan
5:00pm (EDT)	Rodriguez 6' Heredia 19' Pearson  31' Fondy 48' Irwin  85' McInerney  90+4'	NISA Report FotMob Report Broadcast	McGrath 46' Marcano 77' Russell  90+4'	Stadium: Keyworth Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Samuel Pizzimenti
Note: Game was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Los Angeles Force v Detroit City

September 30, 2020	Los Angeles Force	0–1	Detroit City	Hamtramck, Michigan
8:00pm (EDT)		NISA Report FotMob Report Broadcast	Todd  22', 29'	Stadium: Keyworth Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Carter Brochu
Note: Game was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Final

Oakland Roots v Detroit City

October 2, 2020	Oakland Roots	1–2	Detroit City	Hamtramck, Michigan
6:00pm (EDT)	Rodriguez 26' Harish  54' Navarro  77' Wier  80' Irwin  90'	NISA Report FotMob Report Broadcast	Saydee  16' Lawson 65' Peterson 85'	Stadium: Keyworth Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Nicole Green
Note: Game was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic

USL League One

Main article: 2020 USL League One season

The 2020 USL League One champion, Greenville Triumph SC qualified.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Greenville Triumph SC	16	11	3	2	24	11	+13	35	2.19	Final, 2021 U.S. Open Cup
2	Union Omaha	16	8	3	5	20	15	+5	29	1.81	Final
3	North Texas SC[a]	16	7	3	6	27	19	+8	27	1.69
4	Richmond Kickers	16	8	6	2	22	22	0	26	1.63
5	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	15	6	5	4	21	17	+4	22	1.47
6	FC Tucson	16	6	6	4	21	19	+2	22	1.38
7	Forward Madison FC	16	5	5	6	20	14	+6	21	1.31
8	Tormenta FC	16	5	7	4	19	22	−3	19	1.19
9	New England Revolution II[a]	16	5	8	3	19	26	−7	18	1.13
10	Fort Lauderdale CF[a]	16	4	9	3	19	28	−9	15	0.94
11	Orlando City B[a]	15	1	11	3	10	29	−19	6	0.40

Source: 2020 USL League One standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:

1. Professional teams that are owned by teams playing in a higher division are ineligible for the U.S. Open Cup.

Final

The game was canceled the day before because several Union Omaha players tested positive for COVID-19. Greenville was awarded the title based on points per game average (2.188 to 1.825), and reached the Open Cup.^[3]

Greenville Triumph	3–0 (walkover)	Union Omaha

October 30, 2020

8:00pm (EDT)

Legacy Early College Field, Greenville, South Carolina

Open Division (IV and V)

Two slots will be selected from the Open Divisions:

• One Open Division Local Qualifier drawn randomly from among 12 eligible
• One National Premier Soccer League team drawn randomly from among 13 eligible
• One USL League Two team drawn randomly from among 10 eligible
• 2019 U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup champion Newtown Pride FC (Conn.)

The draw awarded the slots to Newtown Pride FC (NAC) and FC Golden State Force (USL2).