PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 12, 2017) – Junior Lone Star FC will have to travel to Ocean City, NJ to face the Premier Development League (PDL)’s Eastern Conference Champions Ocean City Nor’easters in the First Round of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The Stars will be making their first ever appearance in this prestigious tournament after winning the Philadelphia Premier Soccer League (PPSL) Fall title and also defeating fellow league opponents Rising Stars FC (5-1) and New Jersey’s Brick Lions FC (3-2) in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First and Second Local Qualifying Rounds, respectively last Fall. The Nor’easters, meanwhile, will be making their eighth tournament appearance after winning the PDL’s Eastern Conference title last season.
The First Round match between the two sides will be played on Wednesday, May 10th at 7:30pm at the Carey Stadium in New Jersey. The winner will face the Harrisburg City Islanders of the United Soccer League (USL) on Wednesday, May 17th.
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 103 consecutive years dating from 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 104th edition of the tournament will have a record 99 clubs, with 21 Premier Development League (PDL) teams, 18 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) sides, and 17 Open Division local qualifiers entering the First Round on May 9-10. The Second Round follows on May 16-17 and introduces six North American Soccer League (NASL) teams and 18 United Soccer League (USL) clubs. The 19 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams will enter the Fourth Round on June 14.
FC Dallas is the defending Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion after defeating the New England Revolution 4-2 on Sept. 13, 2016 at a sold-out Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. This year’s championship game is scheduled for September 20.
This year’s winning team will receive $250,000, a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions’ League 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 earn $60,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $15,000 cash prize.