The 2015 Cinderella story, Chula Vista FC, is back for the 2025 US Open Cup’s qualifying round!
Chula Vista FC will be hosting Desert FC in the first qualifying round for the US Open Cup this Saturday, October 5th, at O’Farrell Charter School.
Back in 2015, Chula Vista FC grabbed national attention as they advanced all the way to the US Open Cup’s Third Round by beating FC Tucson, 2-1, and Arizona United, 3-0, before losing to Sacramento Republic. The last time Chula Vista FC participated in the US Open Cup, was back in 2020 when they qualified to the tournament by beating the LA Monsters, 5-4, in PKs. Unfortunately, the Covid virus caused the US Open Cup to be cancelled.
This year, Chula Vista FC won the Southwest Premier League (SWPL) championship, and they are ready to go to try and emulate their 2015 efforts.
This year’s tournament will start with 32 matches that will be played on Oct. 5 and 6 as part of the first match window of 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Qualifying.
US Soccer describes this year’s format: “The historic annual tournament, entering its 110th edition, is the only high-profile event in American team sports where amateur sides have the potential opportunity to face professionals in meaningful competition. A record 114 teams have entered the competition via the Qualifying Rounds this fall, vying for 14 available slots in the Tournament Proper, which kicks off next spring.
With the goal of minimizing overall total travel distance across the Qualifying Rounds, groups (14 in total spread across the country), matchups, and byes for the Qualifying Rounds are determined by a combination of geographical considerations and by random selection. Host teams are determined by random selection.
Based on team counts and byes, only eight games are required in the First Qualifying Round on Oct. 5-6. To balance the remaining competition calendar, seven groups have been selected to play Second Qualifying Round Matches also on Oct. 5-6. These seven groups – Northeast, New York, Pennsylvania, DMV, Mid-Atlantic, East and Colorado – will play their Final Qualifying Round matches on Nov. 16-17. Seven remaining groups – Texas, West, California-North, California-South, Midwest and two from Florida will decide their Tournament Proper berths on Dec. 7-8.
The majority of the 114 teams – 92 in total – face a three-game path to the Tournament Proper. There will be 16 that face a four-game path to the Tournament Proper, and a lucky six teams with a draw that will require just two wins to advance to the Tournament Proper.”
Chula Vista is ready for the challenge once again.
Go CVFC!! #CVFC4Life