TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa Athletic returns to Hicks Park to host the First Round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against USL League One professional side Northern Colorado Hailstorm set for Tuesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at Athletic Community Field at Hicks Park.
Season Tickets, which includes admission to this first round game, for the 2024 Tulsa Athletic season are now on sale and can be purchased here.
The winner of the US Open Cup First Round match advances to the Second Round set for April 2-3.
The First Round marks the first time since 2008 that all 32 matchups will be exclusively between amateur professional teams. Overall, this year’s edition of the tournament will feature the most First Round matchups between amateur and professional teams in the tournament’s 109-year history, more than doubling the previous amount of 16.
The First Round of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup will consist of 32 games with 32 amateur clubs meeting 32 professional teams from Division III. The amateur side representatives include 11 Qualifying Round winners, 11 USL League Two teams, eight NPSL teams, the USASA National Amateur Cup champion and the UPSL Spring Champion. Division III representatives include 12 USL League One teams, nine NISA teams and 11 MLS Next Pro teams.
Tulsa Athletic and Northern Colorado Hailstorm meet for the first time in the history of the two clubs.
Northern Colorado Hailstorm, located in Windsor, Colorado, was founded in 2021 and played its first season in USL League One in 2022. In the 2022 US Open Cup, Hailstorm defeated MLS side Real Salt Lake in the Third Round of the tournament.
The 2024 U.S. Open Cup appearance will mark the sixth time the club has played in the tournament and the seventh time Tulsa Athletic has been selected to participate. Tulsa Athletic made the 2020 U.S. Open Cup, however, the event was canceled.
In the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, Tulsa Athletic was the furthest advancing amateur club, moving into the third round against MLS side Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy’s Park. The green and yellow started the U.S. Open Cup with a 1-0 win over Brazos Valley Cavalry in the first round at Hicks Park to set up the second-ever Tulsa Derby. Tulsa Athletic won, 1-0, over USL Championship pro side FC Tulsa at Hicks Park in the second round. KB Harris scored on a header to give the green and yellow the victory.
Tulsa Athletic earned their first-ever win in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, defeating Azteca (Colo.) FC, 3-0, in Tulsa on March 23, 2022. In the second round of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, Tulsa Athletic traveled to FC Tulsa for the first-ever Tulsa Derby. FC Tulsa won, 2-1 in that contest at ONEOK Field. Tulsa Athletic made their first appearance in the U.S. Open Cup in 2014.
Tulsa Athletic earned a bid to play in the tournament due to their performance in the 2023 NPSL season where the green and yellow won the NPSL National Championship.
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Now in its 109th 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 was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
