With a history dating back more than a quarter-century, the Coffee Pot Cup has become legendary for fans of the Charleston Battery, D.C. United and the U.S. Open Cup at large.

Its creation came in the aftermath of one of the iconic games of the Open Cup’s modern era, when a star-studded D.C. lineup that included Eddie Pope, Jaime Moreno and Roy Lassiter was stunned by the Battery, who took an epic 4-3 victory after extra time in the Third Round before a sold-out Blackbaud Stadium.

D.C.’s players took out their frustrations in the locker room after the game, damaging among other things a coffee pot. Thus, a legend was born. United’s Screaming Eagles and the Battery’s Regiment supporters groups came together to create the iconic Coffee Pot Cup, which has been up for grabs whenever the two teams have subsequently met in preseason and Open Cup competition.

Ahead of the sides squaring off in this year’s Open Cup, the USL’s Dan Lucas spoke with The Regiment’s Mikey Buytas, former Battery player and current D.C. Head Coach Troy Lesesne, and the Screaming Eagles’ Lonnie Hovis, the current keeper of the Cup, to learn more about the history of the trophy and why it holds a special place in the histories of both clubs.