Hartford Athletic to face NYCFC II in U.S. Open Cup Third Round
Thursday's draw brings a first-ever meeting with the Baby Blues at Trinity Health Stadium.
Hartford Athletic will enter the 2024 U.S. Open Cup in the third round with a visit from NYCFC II of MLS Next Pro.
For Thursday’s third-round draw, the Latics were in a pot with NYCFC II, Rhode Island FC and Charlotte Independence of USL League One. Championship sides could not be drawn against one another in this round, leaving the options for Hartford as a first matchup against Charlotte since the 2021 season, or a first-ever competitive meeting with NYCFC II, with the draw bringing the latter result.
The Latics are 3-3 all-time in the Cup, and have never lost their first game. In 2019, Hartford recorded the first competitive win in club history, getting a 2-1 win over New York Cosmos B in the only game the club has ever played at the University of Hartford’s Al-Marzook Field. The Cup was not contested in 2020 or 2021, and when it returned in 2022, the Latics won their opening matchup 3-1 over Oyster Bay United. Last season, an Elvis Amoh hat-trick powered the Latics past Lansdown Yonkers FC.Â
NYCFC II are first-time entrants to the US Open Cup. Reserve sides are not typically eligible to to enter the Cup, but as NYCFC are not one of the eight MLS clubs participating in this edition, the MLSNP side will get the opportunity. This year, they began their journey with a 3-0 win over NPSL side FC Motown in the first round, and followed this up with a 4-2 win over fellow MLSNP side New York Red Bulls II in the second round. Forward Jonathan Jimenez - who has a combined 30 goals and assists in just under 50 career games for NYCFC II - scored a hat-trick to propel his side into the third round.
The Baby Blues are one of three MLSNP sides remaining at this stage of the competition, with teams from USL League One (8), NISA (2), UPSL (2) and USSL (1) joining 16 USL Championship clubs. The remaining eight Championship clubs will enter in the fourth round, alongside the eight participating MLS sides.
Third Round games will be contested on April 16th and 17th, with the specific date and time to be announced at a later time.
The other third round matchups are as follows, with the host club listed first:
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Charlotte Independence vs. Rhode Island FC
Chicago Fire FC II vs. Indy Eleven
Detroit City FC vs. Michigan Stars FC
Hartford Athletic vs. New York City FC II
Las Vegas Lights FC vs. Spokane Velocity FC
Louisville City FC vs. Greenville Triumph SC
Memphis 901 FC vs. Miami United FC
Miami FC vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC
Monterey Bay F.C. vs. Irvine Zeta FC
New Mexico United vs. Lubbock Matadors
North Carolina FC vs. Carolina Core FC
Oakland Roots SC vs. El Farolito FC
Union Omaha vs. El Paso Locomotive FC
Richmond Kickers vs. Loudoun United FC
FC Tulsa vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC