Portland Timbers U-23s to play host to Arizona United SC in opening rounds of 2014 U.S. Open Cup

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Timbers U-23s will play host to Arizona United SC of USL PRO in the second round of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, May 13, at Providence Park at 7 p.m. (Pacific), it was announced today as U.S. Soccer unveiled details on the 2014 edition of the tournament and pairings for the first two rounds.

Tickets for the Timbers U-23s’ second-round match, priced at $10, go on sale to the public Tuesday, April 29, at 10 a.m. (pacific) and will be available for purchase online at www.timbers.com by phone at (888) 736-6849 or through the Providence Park box office.

Both the Portland Timbers and Timbers U-23s are set to participate in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup. All 16 U.S.-based clubs from Major League Soccer will compete, entering cup play in the fourth round June 10-18. The Timbers U-23s are one of 19 teams from United Soccer Leagues’ Premier Development League participating in the tournament.

The Timbers will participate in the U.S. Open Cup proper for a third consecutive season. In 2013, the Timbers made their deepest run in the tournament in club history, reaching the semifinal.

The Timbers U-23s qualified for their third consecutive U.S. Open Cup appearance based on their second-place finish in the PDL’s Northwest Division in 2013. The Timbers U-23s, the Timbers’ top development team, reached the second round of the tournament last year against the Charleston Battery.

In 2014, the U.S. Open Cup will feature 80 teams, the largest field in the tournament’s modern era (1995-present), and begins with the first round on May 7. The U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer's National Club Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Founded in 1914, the U.S. Open Cup will be conducted on a single-elimination, one-game-knockout basis utilizing a tiered-bracket format; teams will be paired geographically.

The winner of the U.S. Open Cup earns a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, receives $250,000 and will have its name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports.