TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa Athletic will play host to Azteca FC (Colo.) in the first round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup set for Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. at Case Soccer Complex on the campus of Oral Roberts University.
Tickets are available for the contest for $10. And 2022 season tickets, which include the US Open Cup match along with at least six home NPSL matches, are on sale for $25.
Tulsa Athletic and Azteca FC meet for the first time in the history of the two clubs.
The winner of the first round matchup between Tulsa Athletic and Azteca FC will play at FC Tulsa on Tuesday, April 5 at ONEOK Field.
One hundred and three teams will take part in the 2022 Open Cup, an increase of 19 from 2019, the last year the tournament was held. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 2022 edition sets a modern-era (1995-present) record with 103 teams, eclipsing the previous high of 99 set in 2017.
The 2022 U.S. Open Cup appearance will mark the fourth time the club has played in the tournament and the fifth time Tulsa Athletic has been selected to participate. Tulsa Athletic made the 2020 U.S. Open Cup, however, the event was canceled. Tulsa Athletic last played in the tournament in 2017. The green and yellow took part in the 2015 event and advanced to the second round of the tournament in their first-ever appearance in 2014.
Tulsa Athletic earned a bid to play in the tournament due to their performance in the 2021 NPSL season where the green and yellow finished at the NPSL National Runner Up. In the 2021 NPSL season, Tulsa Athletic captured their first-ever South Region Championship and advanced the furthest in NPSL postseason in club history.
The playoff run saw Tulsa Athletic win the Heartland Conference Championship with a 2-1 victory at Demize NPSL, and then a 2-1 overtime win in Tulsa over Southern States SC gave Tulsa Athletic their first-ever regional title. In the NPSL Semifinals, Tulsa Athletic won 1-0 at FC Baltimore Christos. The season ended with a loss in the NPSL National Championship at Denton Diablos.
In the final part of a four-year deal, ESPN+ will be the home for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The 2022 Final takes place in September 2022.
2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Competition Schedule
March 22-23 First Round (Open Division teams enter)
April 5-7 Second Round (Division II and III teams enter)
April 8 Third Round Draw
April 19-21 Third Round (17 lower-seeded Division I teams enter)
April 22 Round of 32 Draw (Eight higher-seeded Division I teams enter)
May 10-11 Round of 32
May 12 Round of 16/Quarterfinal draw
May 24-25 Round of 16
June 21-22 Quarterfinals
July 26-27 Semifinals
September Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
In its 107th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship – has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world’s third-longest continuously running open soccer tournament was renamed to honor United States soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
