April 6, 2023 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – South Georgia Tormenta FC News Release
STATESBORO, Ga. – The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Thursday the Third Round draws of the 108th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, pairing South Georgia Tormenta FC with Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC. Tormenta FC will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for its Third Round fixture with a date and time to be announced in the near future.
Tormenta FC enters the Third Round after securing a 2-1 Second Round victory in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup after defeating Rio Grande Valley Toros FC of the USL Championship at Optim Sports Medicine Field from Tormenta Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. John Murphy Jr. scored the first goal for South Georgia, and midfielder Kingsford Adjei secured the game-winner in the dying moments of the second half. Pablo Jara secured the save of the night with a penalty save in the 69th minute of the match. The victory sees South Georgia’s professional side win its first home U.S. Open Cup game ever at Tormenta Stadium.
Charlotte FC is set to start its 2023 U.S. Open Cup run taking on the reigning USL League One Champions. In 2022, Charlotte FC debuted in the U.S. Open Cup, making it all the way to the Round of 16, where the Charlotte side ultimately fell to the New York Red Bulls.
In the 2023 MLS regular season, Charlotte FC is currently 1-3-2 (W-L-T) with its lone victory of the season coming on March 18 against Orlando City. Tormenta FC looks to capitalize on its recent success to advance to the Fourth Round of the Open Cup for the second time in club history.
Now in its 108th 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 is 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.
The 2023 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2024 Concacaf Champions League, and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take…