Ventura County FC to Compete in 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

Thousand Oaks, California (Jan. 28, 2025) – Ventura County FC will join nine other MLS Next PRO clubs and compete in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. VCFC will enter the competition in the Round of 32, scheduled for Tuesday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 7.

The 2025 edition of the U.S. Open Cup will also feature 16 Major League Soccer clubs: Atlanta United FC, Charlotte FC, D.C. United, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Austin FC, Houston Dynamo FC, FC Dallas, Minnesota United FC, Portland Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes, and St. Louis CITY SC.

The Open Cup, which begins first round play on Tuesday, March 18, will be the 110th edition of the competition, making it the longest-running soccer tournament in the United States. The knockout style competition crowns U.S. soccer’s national champion from a field featuring professional clubs and affiliated amateur teams that meet eligibility requirements.

2025 Open Cup Format Details

The First Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will consist of 32 games with 32 amateur clubs from the Open Division going up against 32 professional teams.

The Open Division representatives include 14 Qualifying Round winners, nine USL League Two teams, seven NPSL teams, the USASA National Amateur Cup champion (NY Pancyprian Freedoms) and the UPSL Spring Champion (Soda City FC). Pro representatives entering in the First Round include 14 USL League One teams, 10 MLS NEXT Pro teams and the eight lowest-ranked sides from the USL Championship’s 2024 regular season.

The winners of the First Round will play each other in a Second Round consisting of 16 games.

The 16 Second Round winners will then be matched up against the 16 highest-ranked professional teams from the USL Championship in the Third Round. USL Championship Teams were seeded by conference, with the top eight clubs in each conference entering in the Third Round.

Third Round-winners will square off against the teams of Major League Soccer (MLS).

There will be 16 MLS teams competing in the 2025 Open Cup – up from eight in 2024 – and they will all enter the competition in the Round of 32. MLS teams qualified for U.S. Open Cup based on the following criteria:

• Teams participating in Concacaf Champions Cup are excluded from the Open Cup
• Teams not participating in the 2025 Leagues Cup qualify for the Open Cup, ranked based on 2024 Supporters Shield Standings
• The next best teams in the Supporters’ Shield Standings that are not in the Concacaf Champions Cup will enter the Open Cup.

In addition to the two independent MLS NEXT Pro teams, eight teams affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs qualified based on the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular season standings, with teams whose first-team affiliates qualified excluded from the competition.

New for the 2025 edition of the Open Cup, there will be eight seeded teams – divided into four teams from the East and four teams from the West – predetermined to host from the teams entering in the Third Round and Round of 32, respectively. The eight lowest-seeded teams entering in the Third Round and entering in the Round of 32 will be predetermined to be away. This change was made to add operational and financial certainty, while the opponents will still be determined by random draw.

Ticketing information will soon be available as opponent is determined.