On September 13, 1999, the Rochester Raging Rhinos defeated the Colorado Rapids 2–0 to win the 1999 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, becoming the first non-MLS club to win the trophy since the Richmond Kickers won it all in 1995.

Since that final in 1999, zero non-MLS sides have win the U.S. Open Cup.

While the MLS has dominated the U.S. Open Cup, there have been plenty of lower-level sides, including some Carolina clubs, to make noise in the country’s oldest soccer tournament. Here is a brief history of those USL clubs whose Cinderella stories came just shy of perfection.

1996: Rochester’s run ends in defeat to D.C.

D.C. United would become the nemesis to many lower-level clubs through this tournament, and it all started in 1996 when Rochester’s run ended in the U.S. Open Cup Final at the hands of a 3–0 defeat to United.

1999: Rochester celebrates while Charleston falls in semis

While the Rochester Raging Rhinos won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, there was another lower-level side that also made a run for cup glory — our Charleston Battery.

The Battery’s run to the semifinals began with a 2–1 over the Wilmington Hammerheads. Then, Charleston stunned D.C. United 4–3 in sudden death on August 4, 1999. The Battery went down 3–2 in the 84th minute, but Ivalyo Ilarionov leveled the score three minutes later and scored the winner in the 100th minute to send Charleston to the quarterfinals.

The Battery then advanced to the semifinals after defeating Staten Island 2–1, only to have their Cinderella run cut short at the hands of the Colorado Rapids. The Rapids scored three goals in the second half, including two in the final 10 minutes to seal a 3–0 win.

2003: Wilmington hammers their way to the quarterfinals

The Chicago Fire won their third Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2003, but Wilmington wowed spectators with their Open Cup run that year. The Hammerheads entered the competition in the second round and barely survived the PDL’s Bradenton Academics, needing a goal in sudden death by Ryan Miller to send the Hammerheads to the next round.

Despite going down early in the second half to the Atlanta Silverbacks, Wilmington scored two goals in the final half hour to clinch their spot in the fourth round.

And it was in the fourth round where Wilmington stunned the soccer world as the Hammerheads throttled the MLS’s Dallas Burn 4–1. Dallas got on the board in the first 10 minutes, but Jeff Johnson equalized in the 33rd minute. Kevin Nylen put Wilmington ahead in the 52nd minute and Glenn Murray (yeah, the Glenn Murray leading Brighton & Hove Albion right now in the Premier League) notched two goals in the final 20 minutes.

The run for Wilmington ended against D.C. United after a 1–0 loss, but their three-goal win over Dallas was one of the highlights of the 2003 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

2004: Charleston returns to the semis

The Battery went on another run in the U.S. Open Cup just five years after their semifinal appearance. Charleston defeated Wilmington 2–0 thanks to a brace from Paul Conway, setting up a date with the MLS’s NY/NJ Metrostars. The Battery scored early in the second half of that contest and held on to secure a 1–0 win.

In the quarterfinals, Charleston took on A-League foe Rochester and an early goal from Gabe Valencia sent the Battery back to the semifinals. The Cinderella story ended there however, as the Chicago Fire scored in the 107th minute in sudden death to knockout the Battery.

2007: A run for the Railhawks starts something special

The 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup marked the beginning of Carolina clubs consistently making it to (and beyond) the quarterfinals. The Carolina Railhawks (now North Carolina FC) began this trend as the Cary, NC club outscored teams 8–1 in the first two matches that year.

A pair of 1–0 wins against the Chicago Fire and the Richmond Kickers helped the Railhawks reach the 2007 U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Despite scoring early, the New England Revolution played spoiler and ended the Railhawks run in sudden death.

2008: Charleston reaches the final and falls

The following year in 2008, the Charleston Battery became the fourth lower-level club since 1996 to reach the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.

The Battery breezed past the first round as Darren Spicer scored a first half hat-trick for a 3–0 win over ASC New Stars. Osvaldo Alonso notched a stoppage time penalty in the second half to get past the Charlotte Eagles. Alonso now plays for the Seattle Sounders and has won four U.S. Open Cup titles (2009–2011 & 2014) as well as the 2016 MLS Cup.

The Battery were forced to go to penalties with the Houston Dynamo, and they’d win the shootout 4–3 to advance to the quarterfinals. Charleston took down another Texas MLS club, FC Dallas, in the quarterfinals 3–1 to advance to their third semifinal in club history.

Charleston had to go to penalties again in the semifinals, this time against the Seattle Sounders. Kevin Forrest had his shot saved by Dusty Hudock, and Charleston advanced to their first-ever Open Cup final.

But the Battery’s Cinderella story once again came up short as D.C. United defeated the Battery 2–1 to win D.C.’s second Open Cup. The Battery’s run to the U.S. Open Cup Final was the last time any non-MLS side would reach the final.

It has now been a decade.

2010: Another deep Charleston Battery run

The Battery returned to the Open Cup quarterfinals for the third time in four years in 2010. Their Open Cup run began with a 4–2 win over CASL Elite. Charleston then defeated the Carolina Railhawks 2–1 in the second round, with one of those two goals being scored by eventual Sounder and D.C. United star Lamar Neagle.

The Battery forced penalties with the Chicago Fire and survived the shootout 3–0 to advance to the quarterfinals. But the chance for a second semifinal appearance in three years was shattered when the Columbus Crew defeated Charleston 3–0.

2012: The Charlotte Eagles go for glory in Texas

Five years before their first PDL National title, the USL’s Charlotte Eagles soared through the U.S. Open Cup and made their only U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal appearance. The Eagles played all four of their U.S. Open Cup matches on the road, three of them in Texas.

It was in Texas where the Eagles had all the luck.

A late own goal in the second round gave the Eagles a 1–0 win over the El Paso Patriots. In the third round, Nathan Thornton scored a stoppage-time sealer to secure a 2–0 win over FC Dallas. And in the fourth round, it was the late show as Mauricio Salles scored in the 117th minute to send the Eagles to the quarterfinals over the San Antonio Scorpions.

However, the Eagles’ run to cup glory ended in heartbreaking fashion in a 2–1 loss to now-defunct Chivas USA. After going down in the 65th minute, Salles came to the rescue in the 89th to possibly send the match into added extra time. But Chivas found the back of the net in the fourth added minute of stoppage time, crushing the Eagles’ spirits and knocking Charlotte out of the Open Cup.

2013 & 2014: The Railhawks make some history

The Carolina Railhawks beat the Carolina Dynamo 3–1 and blanked two-time defending MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy 2–0 on their journey to the 2013 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. They’d then pull out a hard fought 3–1 win against Chivas USA to reach the quarterfinals, but that year’s run ended against Real Salt Lake. Still, three games against MLS sides and two wins made for a good tournament for the boys from Cary.

The following year was almost identical to 2013, as the Railhawks opened their Open Cup campaign against Carolina PDL-side Charlotte Eagles. After a 2–0 win, the Railhawks knocked out Chivas USA (again) on penalties and then followed that win up with an added extra time victory over LA Galaxy (again). The Railhawks then bowed out of the Open Cup in the quarterfinals in a difficult 5–2 home defeat to FC Dallas.

2015–2017: Only One…

After that incredible run of Carolina clubs making a name for themselves in the Open Cup, the furthest any Carolina club has gone since 2015 is the fifth round, the final 16 teams. The Charlotte Independence made their fifth round appearance in 2015 after stunning the New England Revolution in Boston in the Jacks’ inaugural season. They’d lose to the Chicago Fire 3–1 in Bridgeview, but it was a great first effort for the Charlotte club.

But that is the furthest any Carolina club has gone in the last three U.S. Open Cups. From 2004 to 2011, there were seven non-MLS clubs to reach the semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup, and three of those were from the Carolinas.

Since the Richmond Kickers semifinal appearance in 2011, the U.S. Open Cup semis have been dominated by MLS clubs… until a team from southern Ohio made an improbable run last season…

USL club FC Cincinnati was led by Baye Djiby Fall in their memorable run in last year’s U.S. Open Cup. Their run began with a 1–0 win against AFC Cleveland, with Fall scoring in the 117th minute. Cincinnati took down USL foe Louisville City FC in a 1–0 Third Round win. Then Fall scored his third goal of the Open Cup campaign in a 1–0 battle for state bragging rights against Columbus Crew in round four.

The lower-division U.S. Open Cup dream seemed to be coming true after a win over Bastian Schweinsteiger and the Chicago Fire in the Round of 16. FC Cincinnati was held scoreless but efforts from Mitch Hildebrandt kept the score level at 0–0 and was able to save three Fire penalties, giving the 30,000+ fans in attendance a night they’ll never forget.

They then topped Miami FC 1–0 in the quarterfinals, and then fell to the New York Red Bulls in the semis 3–2 in added extra time.

While FC Cincinnati were unable to defeat Bradley Wright-Phillips and company, the USL side proved last year that no club is too small to stop a giant.

Today, 22 United Soccer League clubs begin their quest to slay the MLS dragons that have been guarding the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the last 19 years. Here is a list of the third round matches that feature USL clubs:

Charleston Battery v. South Georgia Tormenta FC

Charlotte Independence v. Ocean City Nor’easters

North Carolina FC v. Lansdowne Bhoys FC

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC v. FC Denver

FC Cincinnati v. Detroit City FC

Fresno FC v. Orange County FC

Indy Eleven @ Mississippi Brilla

Las Vegas Lights FC v. FC Tuscon

Louisville City FC v. Long Island Rough Riders

Nashville FC v. Inter Nashville FC

Oklahoma City Energy FC @ NTX Rayados

Penn FC @ FC Motown

Phoenix Rising FC @ Sporting Arizona FC

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC @ Erie Commodores FC

Reno 1868 FC v. Portland Timbers U-23s

Richmond Kickers @ Reading United AC

Sacramento Republic FC v. San Francisco City FC

Saint Louis FC @ Duluth FC

San Antonio FC @ Midland-Odessa Sockers FC

Tampa Bay Rowdies @ Jacksonville Armada FC

Tulsa Roughnecks v. FC Wichita

Will one of these USL clubs make the run that ends the mighty MLS reign? We’ll find out who will not be making that run tonight.

Good luck to the three Carolina clubs; here’s hoping we’re writing about at least one of you in the 2018 Final come September.