2011 U.S. Open Cup qualification

The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament proper features teams from four of the five tiers of the American Soccer Pyramid. These four levels—Major League Soccer, United Soccer League's Pro League, the USL's Premier Development League, the National Premier Soccer League, and the United States Adult Soccer Association— each have their own separate qualification process to trim their ranks down to their final club delegations in the months leading up to the start of the tournament proper.

The event will feature 40 teams. Eight clubs from Major League Soccer will participate, six that automatically qualify based on last season's league position and two that qualify through a play-in tournament. In addition, 11 USL Pro League clubs, 9 clubs from the USL Premier Development League, 4 clubs from the National Premier Soccer League, and 8 USASA clubs and will also qualify.

The provisional second tier of the soccer pyramid, a reincarnation of the North American Soccer League, was disallowed by the United States Soccer Federation for the American-based clubs to participate into the tournament, mainly due to scheduling conflicts it would cause.

The following MLS clubs have already qualified for the 2011 US Open Cup:

The following MLS clubs are attempting to qualify for the tournament:

The bracket is loosely based on geography, rather than seeding. This is the first time qualification is bracketed geographically. In the previous years, teams were bracketed strictly according to seeding. Seeds 7–10 play an extra round. All teams in the top bracket are the westernmost teams, except for Chicago. All teams in the bottom bracket are easternmost teams, except for Houston.

Note: Scorelines use the standard U.S. convention of placing the home team on the right-hand side of the score boxes.

Chivas USA v Portland Timbers

March 29, 2011	Chivas USA	0–2	Portland Timbers	Portland, Oregon
19:00 PDT	Mondaini  14' Boyens  35'  43' Braun  49'	Report	Purdy  74' Jewsbury84' Brunner86' Hall  89'	Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 5,061 (SO) Referee: Juan Guzman

Philadelphia Union v D.C. United

April 6, 2011	Philadelphia Union	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p)	D.C. United	Boyds, Maryland
19:30 EDT	Ruiz18' Ruiz  73' Valdes  39'  86' Nowak  118' Carroll118'	Report	Fred  25' Wolff45' Jaković  70' Woolard111'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 2,347 Referee: Andrew Chapin
	Penalties
	Le Toux McInerney Torres Nakazawa		Pontius Barklage Najar Bošković

Colorado Rapids v Chicago Fire

March 30, 2011	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Chicago Fire	Peoria, Illinois
	Akpan46'	Report	45' Puerari 61' Anibaba	Stadium: Shea Stadium

Sporting Kansas City v Houston Dynamo

April 6, 2011	Sporting Kansas City	1 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Houston Dynamo	College Station, Texas
19:00 CDT	Bravo  46+' Sapong92'	Report	Sarkodie  5' Palmer  43' Chabala  65' Boswell  73'	Stadium: Aggie Soccer Stadium Attendance: 2,383

New England Revolution v D.C. United

April 26, 2011	New England Revolution	3–2	D.C. United	Boyds, Maryland
19:30 EDT	Dube37', 47' Koger67'	Report	Bošković73', 83'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Referee: Juan Carlos Rivero

San Jose Earthquakes v Portland Timbers

May 3, 2011	San Jose Earthquakes	1 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Portland Timbers	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PDT	Opara120'	Report		Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 11,412 Referee: Alejandro Mariscal

Chicago Fire v San Jose Earthquakes

May 24, 2011	Chicago Fire	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	San Jose Earthquakes	Santa Clara, California
19:30 PDT	Barouch61' Cuesta76'	Report	McLoughlin14' Morrow43'	Stadium: Buck Shaw Stadium Attendance: 4,124 Referee: Daniel Radford

New England Revolution v Sporting Kansas City

May 25, 2011	New England Revolution	0–5	Sporting Kansas City	Overland Park, Kansas
		Report	Myers9', 19' Sapong24', 88' Collin81'	Stadium: Blue Valley District Athletic Center Attendance: 1,228 Referee: Sorin Stoica

USSF President Sunil Gulati announced that NASL teams were being denied entry due to the lateness of their provisional sanctioning.

All eleven U.S.-based clubs qualified for the tournament.

The PDL received nine berths to the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. One entrant from each division will be determined based upon the results of four PDL divisional games also serving as U.S. Open Cup qualifiers. Canadian and Bermudan PDL sides are not eligible for U.S. Open Cup play.

As part of PDL qualification, the Northwest Division spot was completely deadlocked between Portland Timbers U23's and Kitsap Pumas. Instead of going to a lottery, the two sides mutually agreed to hold an unprecedented "fifth game" tiebreaker, using their regular season game on June 3, 2011, to determine the slot.

For standings see 2011 PDL season.

In contrast to prior years, where NPSL teams had to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup through the USASA Regional tournaments, the NPSL was awarded four entries to the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. The NPSL elected to give one berth to each of its four divisions.

The Northeast Division representative was determined by a three-team tournament played on May 7 and May 27, 2011.

Brooklyn Italians qualify.

The Southeast Division's qualifier was determined in a six-team tournament held at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 27–29, 2011.

The Midwest Division slot was automatically awarded to the Madison 56ers. The 56ers earned the bid as 2010 U.S. Open Cup division qualifying champions, as well as the fact none of the other divisional rivals had expressed interest in a qualifying tournament.

The West Division representative was awarded to the club with the highest point total after its first seven league matches. The berth was clinched by the Hollywood United Hitmen after the San Diego Flash had two games forfeited by the NPSL for the use of an illegal player.

Updated to games played May 19, 2011.
Tiebreakers: (1) Points; (2) Goal difference; (3) Goals scored
*-Includes 3–0 forfeitures imposed on San Diego Flash for using an illegal player

For qualification into the U.S. Open Cup, the United States Adult Soccer Association organizes a series of state and regional tournaments to determine its regional participants. Each individual region's National Cup doubles as the qualification process for the U.S. Open Cup.

The USASA Region I Cup determines two qualifiers for the U.S. Open Cup. The first round of qualifying begins on May 1, 2011. The national finals prior to the third round proper are scheduled between July 15–17, 2011.

Each of the states in Region I conduct their own state qualification propers from February to March 2011 to send representatives to the regional tournament. Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia did not enter a club into the 2011 Region I Tournament.

	Qualification Semifinals					Qualification Finals					Qualified
	Danbury United		0
	NY Pancyprian-Freedoms		4
						NY Pancyprian-Freedoms		4
						MPS		2
	East Providence Sports		1
	MPS		4
											NY Pancyprian-Freedoms
											Phoenix SC
	Maryland Bays		2
	Phoenix SC (aet)		3
						Phoenix SC		3
						Go Soccer FC		0
	Atletico Virginia		1
	Go Soccer FC		2

Each of the states in Region II conduct their own state qualification propers from to send representatives to the regional tournament. Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin did not enter a club into the 2011 Region II Tournament.

	Round One					Round Two
							Iowa Menace	7
							KC Athletics	1
		RWB Adria	6
		Detroit United	4
							RWB Adria	1
							A.A.C. Eagles	4
		FC Indiana	2
		A.A.C. Eagles	7

Teams that qualify in Region III were invited to play in the Region III National Cup in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Memorial Day Weekend. The draw for the tournament took place on May 26, 2011, the night before play bega. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee did not enter teams into the Region III Tournament.

• Regals FC win tiebreaker penalty shootout with CASL Elite to advance.

• U.S. Soccer Federation
• TheCup.us – Unofficial U.S. Open Cup News