UPDATE (5/4/14): The Maryland Bays and Mass Premier Soccer advanced to the USASA Region I Open Cup Final to be held on June 15, 2014, at the Ukrainian Americans Sports Center in Horsham, PA.

The 2014 edition of the US Open Cup is nearly upon us, but qualifying for 2015 is already nearing completion for Region I of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).

Originally 17 teams were competing for two guaranteed spots over two separate qualifying tournaments. Now, the field is down to seven, as the Region I Open Cup and Amateur Cup are in their semifinal stages. The recent news that Region I was awarded an extra spot in the 2014 Open Cup makes these semifinals even more important—if the format holds true for next year, both Region I Open Cup semifinal winners could end up in the 2015 tournament.

2014 USASA Region I Open Cup

Mass Premier Soccer (MA) at Lansdowne Bhoys (East NY)

May 4, 2 p.m. – Tibbets Brook Park, Yonkers, NY

Mass Premier Soccer might just be the luckiest team in Region I. A 2013 Open Cup entrant, MPS lost in last year’s qualifying final to miss the 2014 tournament and fell to Rhode Island side AC Blaugrana in the play-in game of this year’s qualifying tournament. However, USASA earned two extra berths in the 2014 tournament—one of which went to MPS—and AC Blaugrana was disqualified for using a cup-tied player. MPS went on to beat Icon FC 5-0 in the first round of Open Cup qualifying, meaning they will take part in the 2014 Open Cup and still have a chance for 2015.

Just three days after its qualifying match-up against Lansdowne Bhoys, MPS will take on the Western Mass Pioneers of the PDL in Round One of the 2014 US Open Cup. If MPS was to win, it would travel to Rochester to take on the Rhinos of USL Pro in Round 2.

Lansdowne Bhoys president and ESPN commentator Tommy Smyth must be happy with how much his team is putting “a bulge in the old onion bag.” Through 13 Cosmopolitan Soccer League games, Lansdowne has scored 42 goals—good enough for a 12-1-0 record. To qualify for this tournament, the Bhoys won the Eastern NY title, scoring 13 times in four games. In the first round of the Region I tournament, the high-scoring side put five past Newtown Pride FC in a shutout victory.

This is the first Open Cup qualifying attempt for the Bhoys, who get to play host for the second round in a row.

Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks (DC/VA) at Maryland Bays (MD)

Calvert Hall High School – Baltimore, MD – May 4, 3 p.m.

The Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks will be hoping a win will be good enough to qualify for the 2015 Open Cup. Coach Jon Knight told TheCup.us that his team will struggle if it makes the final, as many of his players are going to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.

The Aegean Hawks and Maryland Bays are the only teams who competed in both tournaments. The Hawks breezed past Oak Avalon 3-1 in the first round of Open Cup play, but they lost to Vereinigung Erzgebirge in the Amateur Cup in the penalty kick shootout.

Unlike the Hawks, the Bays remain alive in both tournaments. On the Open Cup side of things, the Bays earned their first-ever Region I Open Cup qualifying victory in the first round against Eastern PA squad West Chester United.

Maryland earns another first in the semifinal, as this will be the first time it hosts a Region I qualifying game.

2014 USASA Region I Amateur Cup

Danbury United (CT) at New York Greek American Atlas (NY)

Randall’s Island – Field No. 75 – May 11, 4 p.m.

Usually home-field advantage means something, but it meant little in the first round of the 2014 Amateur Cup. In fact, Danbury United was the only host to win its game, a 6-0 shellacking of Manzanillo Deportivo.

United won’t necessarily be happy to face a New York team in the second round however. After qualifying for the 2007 Open Cup, Danbury has fallen to teams from the Empire State in two straight Region I competitions (2011-12).

New York Greek American Atlas is no stranger to the US Open Cup. The club won the championship four times (1967-69, 1974), and in 2014 will compete in its fifth Open Cup in the Modern Professional Era (1995-present). They will travel to take on the Ocean City Nor’easters of the PDL in Round Two.

As they look to defend their Region I Amateur Cup title, in Round 1, the Greek Americans dispatched Mass United FC 5-0. Last year’s victory earned them an Open Cup berth, which is the first time the Amateur Cup champion was sent to the tournament.

Vereinigung Erzgebirge (Eastern PA) at Maryland Bays (MD)

Calvert Hall High School – Baltimore, MD – May 11, 4 p.m.

Vereinigung Erzgebirge was founded in 1931, and is looking to qualify for the Open Cup for the first time since 2002. To do that, it will have to do something its fellow Pennsylvania side West Chester United couldn’t do—defeat the Maryland Bays.

VE knocking the Aegean Hawks out of the Amateur Cup tournament was the only close game of the first round. After a 3-3 draw, VE won the ensuing penalty kick shootout 4-3 to advance to the second round.

The Maryland Bays had attempted Open Cup qualification several times over several years without hosting a game. This matchup will be its second home contest in as many weeks.

Traveling to New Jersey in the first round didn’t seem to hurt the Bays any, as they emerged 6-1 winners over FC Motown. Couple that with a 3-1 win in the first round of Open Cup qualifying, and Maryland looks to be a tough out for any team it may face.