On Thursday and Friday, U.S. Soccer and MLS, respectively, announced significant changes to the 2020 structures and formats of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. These changes will affect both FC Cincinnati and their fans alike. We take a look at the changes below.
Changes to the MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas
If there are any theatrics in next month’s SuperDraft, they won’t include one GM walking across the draft floor to initiate a trade with another – like FC Cincinnati fans saw last year ahead of the Orange and Blue selecting Frankie Amaya with the number one overall selection.
On Friday morning, the league announced several changes to the 2020 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, which will be held on Thursday, Jan. 9 at noon ET. Among those changes are restructuring the event from being a large event in a central location to a made-for-digital event. The draft will still span two days – with the third and fourth rounds being held on Monday, Jan. 13 – but now it will be a produced event more in line with the viewing habits of the league’s core audience.
That means the draft will be conducted in studio, not a large, live draft hall, and will feature live look-ins at various team’s draft rooms. That also means fans may not see memorable draft moments like 18-year-old Amaya’s nervous “just a kid from Santa Ana” one FCC fans enjoyed in 2019.
The full scope of changes to the SuperDraft were designed to transform how the draft is digested. Teams will only get three minutes per pick instead of four.
Adjusting the SuperDraft from an in-person event to an in-studio production, fans will get new, first-person perspectives of teams making franchise-altering decisions. Expect on-location cameras to provide real-time updates from teams’ “war rooms” and from draftees’ watch parties, in addition to collecting social media reaction from around MLS.
Changes to the U.S. Open Cup structure
Photo taken by Aaron Doster-USA Today Sports
U.S. Soccer announced alterations to the 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Thursday afternoon, marking significant changes to the tournament’s structure in the coming year.
In addition to starting the tournament earlier in the calendar year, FC Cincinnati and 10 other MLS teams will now enter the tournament’s draw in the third round, instead of the fourth round with all U.S.-based MLS teams as has happened in years past.The early-entry teams will be the clubs who did not qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, and those teams not participating in the expanded Leagues Cup between MLS and LigaMX teams.
In 2020, the third-round entrants will include Cincinnati, Chicago Fire FC, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC, Orlando City SC, San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City.
The remaining MLS teams will enter the league in the fourth round. This format places a priority on league position, meaning a better 2020 MLS season for FC Cincinnati could lead to starting the Open Cup on a later date.
Because this format will pair MLS and lower-division teams together earlier in the tournament, there are increased possibilities of “Cupsets” that see lower-league teams advance further. FCC became the first non-MLS team to advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals since 2011 when the Orange and Blue hosted the New York Red Bulls at Nippert Stadium.
As for 2020, Cincinnati will kick off its 2020 Cup run between April 21-23. It’ll learn its opponent on April 10 during the third-round draw. Second round matches are April 7-9.
This is the fourth time in club history that Cincinnati has competed in the third round, but the other appearances were in May or June.
FCC’s previous history in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup
In 2016, FC Cincinnati lost, 1-0, at the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the club’s first competitive matchup against a non-USL opponent. (Tampa Bay were an NASL side that season.)
The improbable cup run to the semis followed in 2017, after Cincinnati beat AFC Cleveland in the second round, Louisville City FC in the third round and upset Columbus Crew SC and the Chicago Fire at Nippert Stadium in the ensuing rounds. The win against Columbus was the first-ever Hell is Real Derby.
In 2018, FCC beat Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, 3-1, at Highmark Stadium in the third round. The Hounds hadn’t conceded a goal at home all season before Cincinnati’s last road win in the cup. The team eventually lost on penalties to Minnesota United FC in the fourth round.
As an MLS team last year, Cincinnati’s 2019 U.S. Open Cup run didn’t begin until the fourth round, where they beat Louisville, 2-1, before being upset by Saint Louis FC in the fifth round.
