The United States Open Cup, the only soccer competition that gives all American soccer teams the chance to prove themselves as the best, is the oldest soccer competition in the United States. Established in 1914 as a minor tournament for only ameatur teams, it has became more important when professional teams were given the chance to compete in it in 1995 and became even more prestigious when Major League Soccer was established in 1996.
Today, qualified American teams in Major League Soccer and the three divisions that make up the United Soccer Leagues (USL) join qualified ameatur clubs of the United States Adult Soccer Association every year to compete for the title of best soccer team in America. Ever since professional teams had the chance to qualify, USL First Division and MLS teams have pretty much dominated the last two or three rounds of the competition while only MLS clubs have made it to the final.
2006 Defending champion Chicago Fire has lost their chance to defend their title after a 1-0 upset against USL Division 1 club Carolina Railhawks in the third round. The semifinalists included two USL Division 1 teams (Carolina Railhakwks and Charleston Battery) and Major League Soccer teams (New England Revolution and FC Dallas). As always, the USL teams have once again been defeated by the MLS clubs as Carolina played a hard fought game against the New England Revolution and lost 2-1 after extra time. The result was the same between Charleston and FC Dallas as FC Dallas scored the winning second goal during extra time. The final between the New England Revolution and FC Dallas will take place on October 3 and will be televized on Fox Soccer Channel in New England's second apperance in the competiiton. The last time they qualified was in 2001 when they made it the final and were defeated by the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in overtime. See this article for more information regarding this year's US Open Cup title match.
For results and other information regarding the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, check out the offical website.
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