This was confirmed this yAccording to sources at the United Soccer Leagues’ annual general meeting in Tampa, Fla., the Premier Development League will have 16 entries into the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the second consecutive year.

Last year the US Soccer Federation expanded the Open Cup field to include all US-based Major League Soccer teams and increased the number of amateur teams to a Modern Pro Era-record 32. The upcoming tournament, the 100th consecutive running of the Open Cup, appears to be following a similar format, but the official announcement is yet to be made.

With the date of the 2013 tournament expected to be earlier for the second year in a row, the PDL has decided to base their entries on the previous season’s results once again. The official announcement came nearly a year ago exactly with two berths, with one exception, going to each division.

A dozen clubs are making a return appearance in the event, including 10 that were in the tournament this past year. Four sides will be making their US Open Cup debuts in 2013. The foursome is comprised of the River City Rovers, Ocala Stampede, FC Tucson and Seattle Sounders U-23s.

According to sources, here are the teams that will be taking part in the 2013 US Open Cup (we will be updating with brief summaries of each team’s tournament history):

Central Conference



Michigan Bucks

1st place in Great Lakes Division (13-1-2)

Record 10th appearance, 2nd straight appearance

All-time Open Cup record: 12-8-1 (0-1 in PKs)

Last appearance: 2012

The Bucks will make their record 10th appearance in the US Open Cup and are the league’s most successful team in the tournament. With a record 12 Open Cup wins, 9 of them against professional opponents, they bring the strongest resume of any amateur team in the country. Last year, they bolstered their reputation as giant killers with their second win in franchise history over a Major League Soccer team, defeating the Chicago Fire 3-2 in extra time. Combined with their 1-0 road win over the New England Revolution in 2000, they are the only amateur team to defeat multiple MLS teams.

Last year, they crushed Jersey Shore Boca (USASA) 6-0, before upsetting the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL Pro) 1-0 on the road in Round 2. In the Third Round they defeated the Chicago Fire at home in just the fourth Open Cup game in history to be played indoors. In Round 4, their Cinderella story came to an end in front of their home fans (this time outdoors at Oakland University) by another unlikely team, the USL Pro’s Dayton Dutch Lions who converted a penalty kick in extra time to win the game 2-1.



River City Rovers

3rd place in the Great Lakes Division (7-7-2)

1st appearance in the US Open Cup

The Louisville, Kentucky-based River City Rovers have qualified for the tournament for the first time, benefiting from the fact that Forest City London, the team who finished in second place in the division, are Canadian and are not eligible for the Open Cup. Forest City finished with a 7-5-4 record, two points ahead of River City, and made an improbably run through the PDL playoffs to win the championship. River City had a chance to overtake Forest City for the last playoff spot, but they lost their season finale to the Michigan Bucks 4-0.

River City becomes the first Kentucky-based club since 1993 to qualify for the Open Cup. That year, the Louisville Alliance reached the Regional Semifinals before falling to Milwaukee’s Bavarian SC, 2-0.



Real Colorado Foxes

2nd place in the Heartland Division (8-4-4)

3rd appearance in the US Open Cup, 3rd straight appearance

All-time Open Cup record: 1-2-0

Last appearance: 2012

The Real Colorado Foxes (no relationship with the Colorado Foxes who took part in the 1995 US Open Cup), have qualified for the third year in a row as the second place team in the Heartland Division (Division champion Thunder Bay Chill are from Canada). The Foxes won their first-ever tournament game in 2011 when they defeated USASA’s DV8 Defenders from San Jose, Calif. 5-0. Then after being eliminated by fellow PDL side Kitsap Pumas the next round, they suffered another defeat at the hands of an amateur team, losing 3-1 to the KC Athletics (USASA) at home.

Des Moines Menace

3rd place in the Heartland Division (8-5-3)

7th appearance in the US Open Cup , 2nd straight appearance

All-time Open Cup record: 7-6-1 (1-0 in PKs)

Last appearance: 2012The Des Moines Menace are back in the competition for the second year in a row, making their seventh all-time appearance. Only the Michigan Bucks (10) have qualified for the Open Cup more times among PDL teams. They enter the tournament as a 3rd place team because the Heartland Division champion, Thunder Bay Chill, are based in Canada. Aside from their consistent success in the league, the Menace are best known for their back-to-back cup runs in 2005 and 2006 when they four professional teams in two years, only to fall to the Kansas City Wizards (Sporting Kansas City) both years on the road. Last year, they picked up their first Open Cup victory since 2006 with a 3-1 extra time road win over the NPSL’s Milwaukee Bavarians, only to fall to the NASL’s (2nd Division) Minnesota Stars 2-0 in Round 2. The Menace are tied with the Ocean City Nor’easters for second place among PDL teams with 4 professional team upsets (Michigan Bucks have 9). According to TheCup.us records, the Menace are the only Iowa-based team (aside from the Iowa Menace who qualified out of the USASA in 2011) to qualify for the US Open Cup in the Modern Professional Era, and even before that, there are no records of any Iowa team qualifying (records incomplete). Eastern Conference Ocean City Nor’easters

1st place in the Mid-Atlantic Division (13-3-0)

6th appearance in the US Open Cup (5th as PDL)

All-time Open Cup record: 7-5-0 (6-4-0 as PDL)

Last appearance: 2009 The Nor’easters are back in the tournament as another PDL team with a giant killer reputation. This is their first appearance since 2009, when they defeated two Division 3 professional teams to reach the Third Round where they lost a close 2-0 decision to Major League Soccer’s DC United on the road. Only the Michigan Bucks (12) and the Des Moines Menace (7) have more Open Cup wins as a PDL team than the Nor’easters (6), who were known as the Barons the last time they entered the competition. The Bucks are also the only team with more professional team upsets in the tournament (9) than the Nor’easters (4). Ocean City ranks right near the top along with the Menace and the Bucks as one of the best teams in the PDL, and are back in the Open Cup thanks to last season’s division title, their first since 2004. Despite only winning two division titles since they joined the league back in 2003, they are 87-40-37, which is the sixth best record during that span. The Nor’easters qualified as the team in the Eastern Conference with the best record (13-3-0). Reading United AC

2nd place in the Mid-Atlantic Division (11-2-3)

7th appearance in the US Open Cup (5th as PDL), record 5th straight appearance

All-time Open Cup record: 1-6-0 (1-4-0 as PDL)

Last appearance: 2012 For the first time in the Modern Professional Era, an amateur team will be making their fifth straight appearance in the US Open Cup. Reading United will attempt to put the past behind them, as the tournament has not been kind to United. Last year’s 2-1 home win over four-time Open Cup champion New York Greek American Atlas, was their first tournament win in franchise history. They would lose in the next round, 2-1 to the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium. Reading has their friendly rivals, Ocean City, to thank for keeping their streak alive. The Nor’easters, by virtue of finishing with the Eastern Conference’s best record, earned a berth, leaving the second place team, Reading, as the Mid-Atlantic’s representative.