For the second consecutive year, a total of 42 teams – 26
professional and 16 amateur – will compete in the 2006 Lamar Hunt
U.S. Open Cup when it kicks off in June.

The U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer's National
Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and
professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer.

Qualifying is slated to be completed by May 29, with the pairings
announcement expected later that week. The defending champion Los
Angeles Galaxy enter the tournament on Aug. 2 in the fourth round.
The semifinals will be played Sept. 6, with the final being played
on Sept. 27.

The tournament gets underway on June 7 with the qualifying round.
Four amateur teams will face off when two of the United States Adult
Soccer Association's regional second-place qualifiers face two
second-place teams from the Premier Development League of the United
Soccer Leagues.

After the qualifying round, the first round will be played on June
14 with the remaining 12 qualifiers from the USASA and PDL, as well
as two USL Second Division teams joining the qualifying winners. The
winners of those games advance to the second round to face four
teams from the USL Second Division and four from the USL First
Division. In the third round, the four remaining USL First Division
teams join the fray along with four MLS teams. The final eight MLS
teams join in the fourth round.

Within the U.S. Open Cup framework, teams compete in one of the
following four categories: professional outdoor Division I (Major
League Soccer), Division II (USL First Division) or Division III
(USL Second Division); or Amateur Division (USL Premier Development
League & U.S. Adult Soccer Association).

The U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament, with games
tied after regulation being decided in two 15-minute overtime
halves. If neither team scores during the overtime period, the
winner is decided on penalty kicks. The team that advances the
furthest from each level except Division I earns a $10,000 cash
prize. The runner-up takes home $50,000, while the champion collects
$100,000. The winner also will have the team's name engraved on the
historic Dewar Cup, the oldest trophy in American team sports that
is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y.

2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule
Qualifying Concludes May 29 Qualifying completed
Memorial Day weekend
Qualifying Round June 7 2 PDL vs. 2 USASA
Regional Qualifiers
First Round June 14 2 Qualifying Round
Winners, 6 PDL vs. 6 USASA Regional Qualifiers, 2 USL Second
Division
Second Round June 28 First Round winners vs.
4 USL Second Division, 4 USL First Division
Third Round July 12 Second Round winners
vs. 4 USL First Division, 4 MLS
Fourth Round Aug. 2 Third Round winners
vs. 8 MLS
Quarterfinals Aug. 23 Fourth Round winners
Semifinals Sept. 6 Quarterfinal
winners
Final Sept. 27 Semifinal
winners

Composition of participating teams:
12 Major League Soccer
8 United Soccer Leagues First Division
6 United Soccer Leagues Second Division
16 Amateur (8 USL Premier Development League, 8 USASA regional
qualifiers)

Total Number of Teams: 42
Total Number of Games: 41

2006 U.S. OPEN CUP QUALIFYING BREAKDOWN

MLS – 12 Teams
For the fourth consecutive year, every MLS team will enter the Lamar
Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The eight MLS teams to qualify for the MLS Cup
Playoffs in 2005 will enter the fourth round of this year's
tournament. The remaining four MLS teams will enter the Open Cup in
the third round.
Third Round Teams: CD Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, Kansas City
Wizards, Real Salt Lake
Fourth Round Teams: Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, D.C. United, FC
Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution,
New York Red Bulls

USL First Division – 8 Teams
All eight U.S. based teams in the USL First Division will
participate in the tournament. Teams will enter the tournament based
on 2005 regular season league results, with the top four eligible
teams entering in the third round. Miami FC, a new club for 2006,
will enter in the second round.

Second Round Teams: Charleston Battery, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder,
Virginia Beach Mariners
Third Round Teams: Atlanta Silverbacks, Portland Timbers, Rochester
Raging Rhinos, Seattle Sounders

USL Second Division – 6 Teams (qualifying through May 28)
Six of the nine teams will participate in the tournament. The
Charlotte Eagles receive an automatic berth as the defending league
champion. In addition, the top five teams, based on point percentage
from games played through May 28, qualify for the tournament.
Charlotte and the top three qualifiers enter in the second round
while the bottom two qualifiers enter in the first round.

Second Round Team: Charlotte Eagles
Eligible Teams for Qualification: Cincinnati Kings, Harrisburg City
Islanders, Long Island Rough Riders, New Hampshire Phantoms,
Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Richmond Kickers, Western Mass Pioneers,
Wilmington Hammerheads

Premier Development League – 8 Teams (qualifying through May 29)
Eight teams will participate from the PDL. The top two teams from
each conference based on the results of four pre-designated league
games will advance to the tournament. The second-place group
finishers from the Eastern and Central Conferences will be drawn to
play in the qualifying round against two USASA regional qualifiers.
The remaining six will enter in the first round.

USL Second Division/PDL Tiebreakers:
a) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers
b) Total wins in the Open Cup qualifying games
c) Goal difference (PDL: +/- 3 goals maximum for each Open Cup
qualifier)
d) Goals scored (PDL: +/- 3 goals maximum for each Open Cup
qualifier)
e) Lottery conducted by USL

U.S. Adult Soccer Association Regional Qualifiers – 8 Teams
(qualifying through May 29)
Eight representatives from the U.S. Adult Soccer Association will
also qualify for the 2006 U.S. Open Cup. Two teams qualify from each
of the USASA's four regions (I, II, III & IV), where qualifying
tournaments will be staged on a statewide and then regional basis.
Six of the qualifying teams will enter the tournament in the first
round. The second-place qualifiers from Regions I and II will be
geographically paired to second-place qualifiers from the PDL and
will play in the qualifying round.

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