May 9, 2018
I am joined on the road from Erie with Coach Doug Miller, as the River Dogz prepare to take on the Erie Commodores FC in the opening Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
Rochester has played Erie Commodores FC 4 times in the last 2 seasons in the NPSL. The series is tied at 1-1-2.
The winning of tonight's game will host professional side Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who are led by former Rochester Rhinos coach Bob Lilley.
About The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knock-out cup competition in American soccer. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. 2018 is the 105th edition, and is being contested by 94 clubs from the two professional leagues sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation: Major League Soccer (MLS), and the United Soccer League (USL), and amateur clubs from the National premier Soccer League (NPSL), the Premier Developmental League (PDL) as well as local amateur teams qualifying through their leagues. The tournament winner qualifies for the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League.
The competition was first held during the 1913–14 season as the National Challenge Cup, with Brooklyn Field Club winning a trophy donated by Thomas Dewar for the promotion of American soccer. It was renamed and then dedicated to MLS owner Lamar Hunt by the United States Soccer Federation in 1999.