Minnesota United today learned that it will travel to FC Cincinnati for its opening match of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Loons enter the cup in the fourth round of the competition.
This will be the first meeting between Minnesota and Cincinnati and will take place on Wednesday, June 6 at Nippert Stadium.
Founded in 1914, the U.S. Open Cup is the third longest-running soccer competition in the world and the oldest annual tournament for team sports in the United States. It features a total of 94 teams from all levels of American soccer, with eight rounds of single-elimination play until a champion is crowned in September 2018. The winner receives $300,000 in prize money and earns a spot in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.
The 105th edition of the tournament kicked off on May 9, with amateur clubs from local qualifiers, Premier Development League and National Premier Soccer League teams entering the first round and United Soccer League sides joining in the second round (on May 16). The winners of the third round, which took place on May 23, were divided geographically into groups with 20 U.S.-based MLS clubs to determine pairings for the fourth round.
