U.S. Open Cup Round 1: Cupsets & Trends | OneFootball

In our Tuesday preview, we neglected to provide a summary on the one subject most fans care most about: cupsets. So here you are, a complete high level rundown of Round One, focused on celebrating the #cupset and highlighting some other trends.

USL Championship Was Perfect

Sixteen teams competed. Sixteen teams advanced. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as the Round 1 seeding rules guaranteed that all professional sides (i.e. USL-C, USL-1 and MLS Next Pro) would compete against “amateur” sides (USL-2 and lower). 

Of course, not every side had a walk through the park. Lexington shipped nine goals past Flower Union, San Antonio scored six over ASC All-Stars and Detroit City put five on Michigan Rangers, but these were the only real “blowout” wins from Championship sides.

Sacramento Republic needed extra-time to defeat El Farolito 2-0, and this was with most of their regular starters. Charleston Battery needed a goal in the 12th minute of stoppage time to take down Florida Badgers 2-1. New Mexico United’s second stringers barely scraped fast the NPSL’s Cruizers FC 3-2.

#Cupsets Up!

There were seven #cupsets in the opening round, comprising 22% of the matches. This exceeded last year’s Round 1 total of five. Unlike Birmingham in 2025, none of the Championship sides suffered the indignity of an early round exit. Six of the eliminated sides came from USL-1; one from MLS Next Pro. One cupset occurred due to forfeit, as South Georgia Tormenta ceased operations only weeks before the start of the March season.

Home Teams Had the Advantage

The host teams won 68% of the matches. This is in stark contrast to last year, when only 53% of home sides won. Four of the seven cupsets went to the amateur team who played on their home pitch, which frankly was lower than I thought it would be. Those were:

And let’s give props for the three amateur teams who went on the road and triumphed!