The Bakersfield Brigade Men’s PDL team received notice today that they have clinched the first PDL birth into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. With having played only three of their four qualifier games (all wins Fresno 3:0, OC 2:1, Lancaster 5:1) the Brigade’s lead over all other Southwestern teams is so great that even a loss to San Francisco, their final qualifier game, would not effect their birth into the tournament.

“Qualifying for the US Open Cup was a goal that we knew could be achieved going into our third season in the PDL,” stated Brigade General Manager Joe Jimenez. “There are 63 teams in the PDL and to be granted the first PDL birth into the Cup, speaks volumes about our 2007 Coaching Staff and Team,” added Jimenez.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world.  Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is entering its’ 94th tournament.

In a nutshell, the U.S. Open Cup is very similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world.  Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with a country’s league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateur teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer.
 
The winner of each country’s domestic cup competition, in addition to taking home the prize money, is automatically placed into a tournament to compete against neighboring countries cup winners.  In Europe this tournament is known as the Cup Winners’ Cup competition, and in North and Central America it is the CONCACAF Cup Winners’ Cup, which was first competed in 1992. (source: www.usopencup.com)
 
For more information pertaining to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, visit the official Open Cup website at www.usopencup.com.

For more information on the Bakersfield Brigade, please visit: http://www.bakersfieldbrigade.com or call 410-KICK.