The Independence take on Carolina Core FC as Open Cup Round Two Starts Tonight
Carolina Core FC travels to the Sportsplex at Matthews to take on the Charlotte Independence
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Six teams from North and South Carolina are left in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and three of them - the Charlotte Independence and Greenville Triumph SC of USL League One, and Carolina Core FC of MLS NEXT Pro - will play tonight and tomorrow to reach the third round of 110th Open Cup.
Tonight, the Independence host the Core at their old stomping ground, the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina. Tomorrow, the Triumph host One Knoxville at Paladin Stadium in Travelers Rest, South Carolina.
The prize for advancing from the second round is a matchup with USL Championship sides like North Carolina FC or the Charleston Battery next round, and possibly a fixture against a Major League Soccer (MLS) side like Charlotte FC in the Round of 32.
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round Two
Charlotte Independence vs. Carolina Core FC
Tuesday, April 1
7:30 PM EDT
Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews
Matthews, NC
Modest About their Chances, the Independence Still Have a Strong Open Cup Pedigree
“We always take the Open Cup seriously as an important competition,” Charlotte Independence head coach Mike Jeffries told Soccer Sheet in a March interview. “We are realistic enough to know we're not winning [the Open Cup], but we want to get as far as we can. We enjoy playing when you get the opportunity to play an MLS side. I think it's a coup for [a club] that's in the lower leagues, and it's a big night for players.”
Jeffries has years of Open Cup experience. As an assistant coach with Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire, Jeffries won Open Cup championships in 1998 and 2000. Then, in his first year as coach of the Independence in 2015, he defeated the New England Revolution in the fourth round of the tournament before falling to his old colleagues, the Fire, in the Round of 16.
Now in their 11th season, the Independence are yet to match their first Open Cup run, though last year they made it back to the Round of 32. After an easy first round match against amateur side Vereinigung Erzgebirge in Pennsylvania, the Indpendence hosted two matches that went to penalty kicks.
First, they played amateur side South Carolina United Heat, which had upset Charlotte FC reserve team Crown Legacy FC in the first round. After squeaking by with a 0 (4) - 0 (3) win after no goals were scored in regulation or added time, the Independence earned a “cupset” of their own, defeating new USL Championship Side Rhode Island FC in a chaotic, basketball-style match that saw six total goals in regulation and two in added time before the Independence eventually won 4 (5) - 4 (4).
The Independence would fall in the next round, losing 3-0 to MLS side Atlanta United FC in Georgia.
“For a lot of those players, [playing against an MLS team] is probably the peak of their career in terms of the level they played at the game, the atmosphere, everything else,” said Jeffries. “It's a huge event. So it is something we take seriously. Obviously, the prize money for being the best in your division is incentive as well. You never know what you're going to get.”
The Independence will have to play this year without their 2024 Open Cup heroes, who both moved to other USL League One teams. Goalkeeper Austin Pack, who had four penalty saves across the two shootouts, now plays for South Georgia Tormenta FC after Charlotte declined his contract option. Juan Carlos Obregón, whose brace kept them in the match against Rhode Island, transferred to new club Westchester SC at the end of last season to be closer to family.
Carolina Core Want to Show Four Goal Performance Wasn’t a Fluke
Though they play in different leagues, both the Charlotte Independence and Carolina Core FC are considered “Division III,” the third tier of the U.S. Soccer Pyramid - as is Greenville Triumph SC. The best-finishing team from each division in the Open Cup - including DIII - will win $50,000, up from $25,000 last year.
Last year - in their first ever Open Cup appearance - the Core made it to the third round, defeating amateur sides NoVa FC and Vermont Green FC, but falling to Division II team North Carolina FC from the USL Championship.
Most of the Core’s big stars returned this year, and their chemistry was evident during last month’s first round win over Soda City FC. The Foxes scored four unanswered goals before their amateur opponents made a late comeback attempt.
“We made sure we matched their energy and exceeded it,” Carolina Core FC head coach Donovan Ricketts told us after the match. “Anyone who comes [against us] in Open Cup, we’ll take care of that.”
Soda City coach George Trifos had a lot of respect for the side he faced in High Point.
“There's no doubt about it, the Core is a very good team … [they advanced] three rounds last year,” Trifos told Soccer Sheet in an interview the weekend after the match. “I really believe the C ore has the opportunity to probably go far in the tournament as well. You know they have a very good coach, they have some outstanding players.”
Tonight’s fixture will be the first-ever competitive match between the two sides. You can catch Soccer Sheet’s coverage live tonight across our social media platforms, and watch the match live for free on YouTube.
Greenville Looks to Advance after Close Call in Asheville
Amateur side Asheville City SC took Greenville Triumph SC to a penalty kick shootout in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup, but the club isn’t worried about facing One Knoxville in the second round - that’s just the magic of the cup.
“You can tell that the play is not always pretty at times, but both teams dug in and fought,” Greenville Triumph vice chairman and chief brand officer Doug Erwin told Soccer Sheet after the hard-fought win. “I love this, we love the Open Cup … We we hope it's here to stay.”
The Triumph last faced One Knox in last year’s USL League One playoffs, with Greenville prevailing 2-1 at home - their first playoff win since 2021. Much of Greenville’s success last year was thanks to Swiss international Lyam MacKinnon, who moved up to Orange County SC in the USL Championship after winning last year’s Golden Boot in League One.
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round Two
Greenville Triumph SC vs. One Knoxville SC
Wednesday, April 2
7:00 PM EDT
Paladin Stadium
Traveller’s Rest, SC
Other key players returned this year, including forward Ben Zakowski, who had 9 goal contributions in 31 appearances for the Triumph in 2024.
The Triumph are confident heading into the second round. Greenville goalkeeper Seth Torman thought Greenville could have scored at any second during their cup match against Asheville.
“We’ve got to get used to playing in cup games, so [Asheville City] was a good test for us,” Torman told Soccer Sheet after the match.
Just hours before Greenville’s last Open Cup match, the Triumph and a supermajority of USL teams voted to introduce promotion and relegation into the USL leagues - and U.S. Soccer - for the first time. Erwin sees the same kind of egalitarian competition in the Open Cup.
“What's the dream in the Open Cup? It's getting to host an MLS club, which we've got to do once before,” said Erwin. “So I think the same way that [promotion and relegation] helps the openness of soccer in America, the Open Cup does the same, and I hope it hope sticks around for years to come.”