Multiple USL League Two clubs to withdraw from U.S. Open Cup

Claim structural changes make competing impossible for college-reliant amateur clubs

As a result of changes made by U.S. Soccer to the U.S. Open Cup schedule, several qualified USL League Two clubs are planning to withdraw from the competition entirely, citing a lack of available players in the early spring.

The shift in schedule placing the first three rounds of the annual tournament in March and April, combined with the NCAA’s athlete release date of May 1, creates significant difficulties for many USL League Two, NPSL and some UPSL teams that rely on collegiate athletes in the summer offseason. The issue has been well covered, but now some of the consequences are coming to bear.

Among those forced to withdraw are USL2 Eastern Conference champions Reading United AC, which released a statement outlining its intent and issues with the new structure:

“This abhorrent scheduling decision forces the top USL League Two and NPSL teams, who afford an Open Cup playing opportunity to NCAA and U23 players in the USA, to completely modify how they structure a team, or worse, forces them to relinquish their deserved spot to a lower ranked team. The lack of consideration for such a large player pool is astonishing. We are very concerned this is another example of the public perception of the ‘tone deafness’ that exists within US Soccer. We truly do not understand why US Soccer would essentially eliminate the playing opportunity for what is truly the best soccer player pool, outside of the professional ranks, in the United States.”

Soc Takes has learned that additional qualified clubs are set to follow suit in the coming days for similar reasons, including the USL League Two champion Flint City Bucks. The Bucks are among the most successful amateur clubs in USOC history, amassing a 10-10-1 all-time record against professional opposition and a 2-4-1 record against MLS teams — again, heavily featuring collegiate-based players.

It’s largely agreed that the top amateur talent in the U.S. consists of NCAA athletes, particularly those in Division I. Barring a major change to NCAA regulations on release dates, the USOC schedule change likely eliminates future contention for college-reliant clubs without a major restructuring of one of the nation’s oldest amateur leagues.

Soc Takes reached out to the United Soccer League, which declined to comment.

Follow Colton on Twitter: @cjcoreschi.

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