United States’ oldest tournament returns to Richmond Wednesday

Professional soccer has a long history of ups and downs in the United States. There has been one constant in the U.S., the Open Cup. The first Open Cup competition was held in 1914 and has been held every year since. This makes the tournament not only the oldest cup competition for soccer in the United States but also the country’s oldest annual tournament for team sports.

In its current form, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as it’s formally called, is a single-elimination tournament comprised of 80 teams. What makes this tournament unique is that teams come from all levels. Tune into the Open Cup and you might find an MLS team with a budget exceeding $22 million facing a team that plays on the similar field as your son/daughter and whose star striker bears a striking resemblance to your bartender at Sticky Rice.

All the teams that started in the Open Cup.

Amateur teams are usually weeded out in the early rounds but nearly every year one or two make a push deep into the tournament. Last year Christo’s FC was the Cinderella of the Open Cup Ball. Christo’s FC defeated the Richmond Kickers along the way much to the embarrassment of the local supporters.

As you’d expect the MLS has dominated this tournament in recent history. No lower division team has won since the Rochester Rhinos in 1999. The Rhinos managed to beat four MLS teams to claim the prize. The Charleston Battery managed to get into the final in 2008 but lost to semi-local D.C. United.

The Richmond Kickers own a bit of Open Cup history as well. In 1995, a year before MLS formed, the Kickers an amateur team went on an amazing run and captured the Open Cup. They are the last amateur team to achieve that feat.

USSoccer.com has an excellent article on the run titled OPEN CUP REWIND: ’95 KICKERS – ‘LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE’. If you’re at all familiar with MLS and/or the current Kickers team you’ll recognize a few names including current Kickers’ coach Leigh Cowlishaw. Even if you don’t follow soccer you’ll recognize the last name of striker Rob Ukrop.

Chemistry was fostered off the field as well as on. After all, these were young men in the prime of their lives. They were out of school and away from home for the first time. “We all lived together in the same apartment complex – the whole team – and we had a lot of fun that year,” said Causey, a future MLS goalkeeper who was given the nickname Tex by Bruce Arena during his UVA days. “We all knew each other, either as teammates or opponents,” added Williams. “We had a lot of fun hanging around the pool in the complex where we all lived.”

Ukrop doesn’t remember the nightlife getting in the way of their play. “We’d go to dinner, go to the bars, go dancing,” he said. “But when it was time to play, we were all business.”

On the field, the 1995 Kickers were indomitable. They won the USISL Premier League (today’s Premier Development League – PDL), edging Florida-based Cocoa Expos in the League Final. As momentum began to pick up, talk of a ‘Double’ began to seep into training and among the boys out by the pool. “We knew it would be a challenge to win two titles,” Williams said. “But we wanted to win trophies and everything that was out there to be had.” And those Kickers also had a little chip on their shoulder, according to Causey: “We knew we’d be mixing in with the pro players from the A-League in the Open Cup and we were excited to take on the big guys. We wanted to show them up.”

This is what makes the Open Cup worthy of your attention. It’s a tournament in which a group of guys hanging out at the pool can take on the pros and win. In the 2nd Round of a total of seven amateur teams pulled off upsets. Only one of those upsets was on the East Coast where Ocean City defeated Charlotte Independence 3-1. There are still a few East Coast amateur teams in the mix but they haven’t face any pro opponents yet.

It’s also worth noting that the Kickers made another strong run in 2011 and knocked off two MLS sides, the Columbus Crew in the third round, and Sporting Kansas City in the quarterfinals. Both those games were on the road which makes the wins all the more impressive.

On Wednesday the Richmond Kickers which play in the United Soccer League (USL) will take on USL rival Penn FC. The Kickers got to this point by barely beating amateur team Reading United in penalty kicks. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com. 

A more complete preview will be up on the site tomorrow.

If you’d like to learn more about the US Open Cup and follow along in future rounds head to the US Soccer website.