Portland Hearts of Pine will play host to the USL Championship's Hartford Athletic on Wednesday, April 2 after advancing to the Second Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. | Photo courtesy Luke Stergiou / Portland Hearts of Pine
CHICAGO – USL League One’s 12 remaining clubs in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup learned their draw for the Second Round on Friday, with eight clubs being handed home draws that feature a pair of intriguing matchups with opponents from the USL Championship and one all-League One showdown that serves as a rematch from the 2024 postseason and the same stage of the tournament a year ago.
Highlighting the round is a contest between first-year club Portland Hearts of Pine and the USL Championship’s Hartford Athletic at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 2 at Franklin Athletic Complex in Lewiston, Me. The meeting will serve as Hearts of Pine’s first official contest against a second-tier side, but also serve as the first of two meetings this year between the clubs, who are also scheduled to meet in the 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup group stage on April 26 at Hartford’s Trinity Health Stadium.
In the other League One vs. Championship matchup, Forward Madison FC will play host to FC Tulsa at Breese Stevens Field at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 2, a contest that will mark the Flamingos’ first against a side from the second tier since its inaugural season, when it eliminated El Paso Locomotive FC before falling to Saint Louis FC in the Third Round.
Greenville Triumph SC and One Knoxville SC will square off in the lone all-League One clash as the clubs meet at Paladin Stadium for the first time since Triumph claimed a 2-1 victory against One Knox in the Quarterfinals of the 2024 USL League One Playoffs last November. The two sides also met in the Second Round a season ago, when Greenville claimed a 3-2 victory after extra time when Chapa Herrera’s goal in the 107th minute sent the visitors through at Regal Stadium.
Elsewhere, first-year side AV Alta FC, FC Naples, and Westchester SC all received home draws with AV ALTA set to host Los Angeles FC 2 on Tuesday, April 1 at 10 p.m. ET at Lancaster Memorial Stadium. FC Naples, meanwhile, will face USL League Two side Little Rock Rangers as it seeks to continue its positive early-season form on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, while Westchester SC will face amateur opponents – and three-time winners prior to the tournament’s modern era – NY Pancyprian Freedoms at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 1 at The Stadium at Memorial Field.
Other League One clubs to receive home draws are South Georgia Tormenta FC, which will take on FORO SC from Texas after the amateur side knocked out Texoma FC in the opening round of the tournament, and the Charlotte Independence, which will host Carolina Core of MLS NEXT Pro at the Sportsplex at Matthews.
Three other clubs will head on the road, including defending League One title-holder Union Omaha should it advance past USL League Two side Flatirons FC on Friday night. Los Buhos would then head to face League Two’s Des Moines Menace and its collection of MLS veterans led by Sasha Kljestan at Valley Stadium.
Spokane Velocity FC, meanwhile, is set to head back to the Seattle area after its dramatic victory against Ballard FC on Wednesday night, being drawn against Tacoma Defiance of MLS NEXT Pro, while Chattanooga Red Wolves SC will face a crosstown meeting with Chattanooga FC of MLS NEXT Pro at Finley Stadium.
2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Second Round
Tuesday, April 1
Columbus Crew 2 vs. Lexington SC, 6 p.m. ET, Lower.com Field
South Georgia Tormenta FC vs. FORO SC, 7 p.m. ET, Tormenta Stadium
Inter Miami CF II vs. Miami FC, 7:30 p.m. ET, Chase Stadium
Charlotte Independence vs. Carolina Core, 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsplex at Matthews
Monterey Bay FC vs. El Farolito, 10 p.m. ET, Cardinale Stadium
AV ALTA FC vs. Los Angeles FC 2, 10:30 p.m. ET, Lancaster Municipal Stadium
Wednesday, April 2
Loudoun United FC vs. Virginia Dream, 6:30 p.m. ET, Segra Field
Portland Hearts of Pine vs. Hartford Athletic, 6:30 p.m. ET, Franklin Athletic Complex, Lewiston, Me.
Chattanooga FC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, 7 p.m. ET, Finley Stadium
Greenville Triumph SC vs. One Knoxville SC, 7 p.m. ET, Paladin Stadium
Westchester SC vs. NY Pancyprian Freedoms, 7 p.m. ET, The Stadium at Memorial Field
FC Naples vs. Little Rock Rangers, 7:30 p.m. ET, Paradise Coast Sports Complex
Forward Madison FC vs. FC Tulsa, 7:30 p.m. ET, Breese Stevens Field
Des Moines Menace vs. Flatirons FC/Union Omaha, 8:30 p.m. ET, Valley Stadium
Tacoma Defiance vs. Spokane Velocity FC, 10 p.m. ET, Starfire Sports Complex
Ventura County FC vs. El Paso Locomotive FC, 10:30 p.m. ET, Dignity Health Park Track and Field Stadium