Dogwood Derby to determine US Open Cup berth

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE

The Charlotte Independence celebrate with fans after beating Carolina Core in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on April 1. The Jacks face North Carolina FC April 15 in the tournament's third round at Matthews Sportsplex.

They were already scheduled to meet in 10 days in the first game of the USL Jägermeister Cup on April 25 but the paths of the Charlotte Independence and North Carolina FC will cross tonight in the third round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews.

First kick is 7 p.m.

Branded the Dogwood Derby, it’s a rematch of the 2023 USL One championship match won by NCFC in a penalty kick tiebreaker after the teams were deadlocked 1-1 after extra time. It’s their first game since then as NCFC moved to the USL Championship Division for 2024.

While the Jacks have already won two Cup matches in extra time, NCFC is just entering America’s oldest continuous soccer tournament – 110 years – in this round.

All 14 USL One clubs entered in the first round along with the eight lowest ranked USL Championship teams. The remaining 16 top-ranked clubs from the Division II-level USL Championship, as determined by last year’s regular-season results, will face off with a victor from the Second Round, that includes 11 Division III-level teams, nine from USL1 and two from MLS NEXT Pro. Eight games are on Tuesday with another eight on Wednesday.

All 16 winners from this round will face off with 16 teams from the first-tier Major League Soccer, who join in the Round of 32 that will be played May 6 and 7. That will include Charlotte FC and set up a possible derby match with one of the two North Carolina teams. While they’ve competed in preseason scrimmages, there have been no official matches between Charlotte FC and the Independence or NCFC.

Dogwood Derby part deux

The USL Jägermeister Cup is an intra-USL tournament that now pits Championship and USL One division teams in a far more interesting competition than the USL One-only event last year. 

The 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup will feature all 38 professional men’s clubs competing in a World Cup-style tournament throughout the regular season.

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