Four of the seven teams from the USL Championship in action in the Second Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup emerged victorious on Tuesday and Wednesday night, including a pair of impressive displays from two of the surprise packages to start the league campaign and a much-needed win for one of the league’s winless clubs.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, however, with three teams falling to lower-division opponents and missing out on the chance to join the other 16 teams in Thursday’s draw for the Third Round (1 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Golazo Network).

Here are six storylines from the USL Championship’s clubs we took away from the round.

1. Tulsa unlocked its attacking potential in Madison

We asked before the round if FC Tulsa could start turning its opportunities into goals as it visited Forward Madison FC on Wednesday night. The side emphatically delivered as Taylor Calheira’s influence shone brightly in a 3-1 win that needed some early heroics by goalkeeper Bryan Dowd, but by the end was well deserved.

In each of Tulsa’s first-half goals, the chemistry that’s starting to develop among the club’s new pieces was evident. Check out John Morrisey’s great video breakdown of Owen Damm’s opening goal here, incidentally, the former LouCity Academy product’s first goal in the professional ranks. The second was just as nicely produced, with Tulsa electing to go long over Madison’s pressure with Dowd’s precise long ball to Patrick Seagrist on the left flank and his header into space getting the visitors on the front foot, from where Stefan Lukic set up Kalil ElMedkhar’s stylish finish.

Tulsa has made a strong start this season because of its defensive strength, but this was a more complete performance that illustrated the potential to be a serious challenger.

2. El Paso Locomotive’s corner kicks are a weapon

No side scored fewer goals than El Paso Locomotive FC during the 2024 USL Championship regular season, but this year that’s well on the way to changing and a big reason is their execution on set pieces, and corner kicks in particular.

Locomotive’s opening two goals against Ventura County FC in their 3-0 win on Wednesday night came from corners, with Tony Alfaro picking up an assist and a goal in the process. The combination of the size El Paso possesses – in addition to Alfaro at 6-foot-2, there’s the imposing figure of Noah Dollenmeyer at 6-foot-6 as a target – and quality set piece takers such as Memo Diaz or Ricky Ruiz, it shouldn’t be a surprise this is working well early in the season.

Across all competitions, Locomotive has recorded seven goals from corner kicks this season, including a league-best three in the USL Championship. That’s an area opponents are going to have to lock in on quickly, starting with Lexington SC on Saturday night.

3. Loudoun United makes its pressure count

There will be areas for Loudoun United Head Coach Ryan Martin to pick at from his side’s 4-2 victory against a game Virginia Dream side on Wednesday night, but the way the side attacked and made its pressure count was a beautiful thing to watch once again, and helped the side navigate its tie against the amateur outfit well enough.

Loudoun created six big chances overall per Opta, put up 17 shots inside the penalty area and as the game opened up in the second half produced some beautiful sequences of play that reflect the talent this side has. Ben Mines’ goal to restore the side’s lead off a good pass by Zach Ryan and leading first to put him through to finish smartly was an example of that, as was the tic-tac-toe final goal that saw Abdellatif Aboukoura and Mines combine to set up Ryan for the final blow.

Loudoun has already set out its stall as one of the fun teams to watch this season, and this performance was no different.

4. Miami FC wasn’t pretty, but it was effective

Miami FC headed to Fort Lauderdale to square off with Inter Miami CF II on Tuesday with an experienced lineup – the average age of the starting 11 was 28 years old – and the sort of plan that allowed IMCF II to take the lions’ share of possession but end up on the wrong end of the result.

There was risk to that idea – IMCF II certainly showed it had some talent in its squad – but overall Miami executed well. It was direct as often as it could be, attempting to break the press by employing Francisco Bonfiglio’s strength and willingness to chase as its outlet – the center forward took more touches (53) than anyone else in Miami’s lineup – and use that to generate opportunities.

It wasn’t the prettiest soccer you’ve seen, but it got Miami into far more dangerous positions than its hosts. They outshot IMCF II 13-7 – including 7-1 in shots on target – and recorded more touches inside the penalty area (13-7) and shots inside the box (7-2).

It took a neat flick by Bonfiglio off Deian Verón’s corner kick to send Miami through, Matias Marin was stellar in the IMCF II net, but it was good enough to get a first win against professional opposition since August 31, 2024 against Monterey Bay FC.

5. Lexington’s talent couldn’t save its lack of energy

Before the Second Round, our question for Lexington SC was whether it could sustain a fast start.

Against the Columbus Crew 2, the side came up dramatically short, and it cost them. Columbus scored on its first official shot of the game in the seventh minute, took four of the five shots of the contest overall, and used that as the foundation for a 3-0 victory that for Lexington felt like a throwback to the 2024 season as opposed to the bright start the side had made to life in the USL Championship this spring.

It speaks volumes that Head Coach Terry Boss felt the need to make four substitutions at the halftime break, and while that seemed to have some effect, the energy level for LSC felt off throughout the 90 minutes as key mistakes proved costly, allowing Crew 2 to pull away.

6. Monterey Bay, Hartford let opportunity slip away

Both Monterey Bay FC and Hartford Athletic were in control of their respective contests – Monterey Bay holding a lead at home at halftime and Hartford up a goal and a player in extra time on the road at Portland Hearts of Pine – but each side managed to let things get out of hand and it resulted in their exit from the tournament at this stage.

For Monterey Bay, the question is likely one of timing. At the halftime break, they made what appeared at the time to be reasonable substitutes, introducing Carlos Guzmán and Adrian Rebollar. But when El Farolito swept into the second half with an energy they’d not really presented before the break, it caught Monterey Bay in its wake. The challenge? Having already introduced its most experienced defender in Guzmán, there was no-one to help stem the tide off the bench when it was clear something was needed – the 30-year-old was already lost in the tide.

For Hartford, the game appeared to be in hand after Portland’s Azaad Liadi foolishly earned a second yellow card in extra time with his side trailing to Jordan Scarlett’s 107th minute goal. Instead, a lapse of defensive judgement let one of League One’s best veteran forwards in Jake Keegan capitalize, sending the game to a shootout. From there, Athletic couldn’t deliver from the spot, and suffered their exit.