RICHMOND, VA – (Wednesday, May 14, 2014) – The Richmond Kickers will face RVA FC of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in the Second Round of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight, Wednesday, May 14. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Sports Backers Stadium and the match will be broadcast live on USSoccer.com. The winner will advance to the Third Round to either host the New York Greek American Atlas of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association or travel to the Ocean City Nor’Easters of the Premier Development League on Wednesday, May 28.
The 2014 season marks the 16th time the Richmond Kickers have qualified for the U.S. Open Cup over the past 21 seasons, with an overall record of 24-14 during tournament play. The Kickers claimed the U.S. Open Cup title the first year of the Professional Era in 1995 and have since made it to the quarterfinal round five times (1995, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011) and the semifinal round twice (1995, 2011). Ousting five Major League Soccer teams along the way, including Colorado Rapids in 2000, D.C. United in 2004, LA Galaxy in 2007 and Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City in 2011, the Kickers became the first lower division team to defeat back-to-back MLS teams on the road.
RVA FC qualified for the U.S. Open Cup tournament after claiming the NPSL Championship title during their inaugural 2013 campaign. Kicking off their sophomore season this May, RVA FC competes in the National Premier Soccer League, one of the top amateur leagues in the country, with a roster comprised of mainly of local college players.
The 101st edition of the tournament features 80 teams, an increase from the then-record 68 that took the field last year. The expansion results in both the largest number of amateur teams (42) in the tournament proper-exceeding the previous record of 34 set last year-as well as the largest contingent of pro clubs (38, surpassing last year’s record of 34), with all Division I, II and III professional sides participating for the third consecutive year.
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 100 consecutive years dating back to 1914. This year’s winner will earn $250,000 and 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. D.C. United is the defending U.S. Open Cup champion, having won its third tournament title (following triumphs in 1996 and 2008) after a tense 1-0 road victory over Real Salt Lake on Oct. 1, 2013.
The 2014 U.S. Open Cup will be conducted on a single-elimination, one-game-knockout basis utilizing a tiered-bracket format. Teams will be paired geographically. In the event that three or more teams are from the same proximity, pairings for these teams will be made by random selection. Pairings will be arranged to prevent the possibility of a lower division team playing a parent club, should both teams be in the competition in the same round) except for the Final.
