CHICAGO – The eight clubs from the USL Championship entering the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the First Round learned their opponents on Wednesday as the draw for the opening round of U.S. Soccer’s annual club championship was officially unveiled.

Five clubs were handed home-field advantage in the draw, while one of the highlight games of the round will see 2023 Quarterfinalist Birmingham Legion FC begin its journey this year on the road against USL League Two club Little Rock Rangers FC as the Rangers return to the tournament for the first time since 2019.

The 32-game First Round between March 18 and 20 is made up exclusively of Professional vs. Amateur contests, with the opening game of the round set to feature Hartford Athletic as it welcomes the New York Shockers to Trinity Health Stadium on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Elsewhere on the opening night of the tournament, Miami FC will play host to Naples United FC at FIU Soccer Stadium (7 p.m. ET), while Loudoun United FC will visit West Chester United SC at YSC Sports (7:30 p.m. ET) and FC Tulsa will head across town to face Tulsa Athletic at Athletic Community Stadium (8:30 p.m. ET).

Wednesday night's action will feature the clash between Little Rock and Birmingham Legion at Wildcat Stadium (8 p.m. ET), while Lexington SC plays host to Southern Indiana FC at Lexington SC Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET) and El Paso Locomotive FC hosts Harpos FC at Southwest University Park (9 p.m. ET). The night concludes as Monterey Bay FC hosts International San Francisco at Cardinale Stadium (10 p.m. ET).

In the 2025 First Round, teams were paired on a geographic basis with the restriction that each professional team was matched with a team from the Open Division. Hosts were determined by random selection when each team applied to host with a venue that met the competition standard. Random selection was also used in cases where there was no logical geographic fit or there were more than two teams from the same proximity. 

The winners of the First Round will play each other in a Second Round consisting of 16 games. The 16 Second Round winners will then be matched up against the 16 highest-ranked professional teams from the USL Championship in the Third Round. USL Championship Teams were seeded by conference, with the top eight clubs in each conference entering in the Third Round.

Third Round-winners will square off against the teams of Major League Soccer (MLS). There will be 16 MLS teams competing in the 2025 Open Cup – up from eight in 2024 – and they will all enter the competition in the Round of 32. 

2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round
Tuesday, March 18
Hartford Athletic vs. New York Shockers, 6:30 p.m. ET
Sarasota Paradise vs. FC Naples, 7 p.m. ET
Miami FC vs. Naples United FC, 7 p.m. ET
New Jersey Alliance vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, 7 p.m. ET
FC Motown vs. Westchester SC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Asheville City SC vs. Greenville Triumph SC, 7:30 p.m. ET
West Chester United SC vs. Loudoun United FC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Texoma FC vs. FORO SC, 8 p.m. ET
Tulsa Athletic vs. FC Tulsa, 8:30 p.m. ET
AV ALTA FC vs. Ventura County Fusion, 10:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday, March 19
Columbus Crew 2 vs. NY Renegades, 6 p.m. ET
Chattanooga FC vs. Corpus Christi FC, 6:30 p.m. ET
Appalachian FC vs. One Knoxville SC, 7 p.m. ET
Richmond Kickers vs. Virginia Dream, 7 p.m. ET
Inter Miami CF II vs. Miami United FC, 7 p.m. ET
Sporting Kansas City II vs. Des Moines Menace, 7:30 p.m. ET
Lexington SC vs. Southern Indiana FC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Little Rock Rangers FC vs. Birmingham Legion FC, 8 p.m. ET
El Paso Locomotive FC vs. Harpos FC, 9 p.m. ET
Real Monarchs vs. El Farolito, 9:30 p.m. ET
Monterey Bay FC vs. International San Francisco, 10 p.m. ET
Ventura County FC vs. Laguna United FC, 10:30 p.m. ET
Ballard FC vs. Spokane Velocity FC, 10:30 p.m. ET
Los Angeles FC 2 vs. FC Arizona, 10:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, March 20
Portland Hearts of Pine vs. CD Faialense, 6:30 p.m. ET
Long Island Rough Riders vs. Charlotte Independence, 7 p.m. ET
Forward Madison FC vs. Duluth FC, 7 p.m. ET
South Georgia Tormenta FC vs. Harbor City FC, 7 p.m. ET
Carolina Core FC vs. Soda City FC, 7:30 p.m. ET
FC Cincinnati 2 vs. NY Pancyprian Freedoms, 7:30 p.m. ET
Flatirons FC vs. Union Omaha, 9 p.m. ET
Tacoma Defiance vs. Washington Athletic Club, 10 p.m. ET