FC Dallas Makes Long-Awaited Return to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas returns to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 2019 and will host USL Championship side FC Tulsa in the third round at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday, April at 7:30PM.

How to Watch

TV (English): Tuesday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+ along with all Open Cup matches. Sean St. Jacques and Kaylyn Kyle will be on the call beginning at 7:30PM.

How to Listen

English: If you can't watch the match, you can listen to all the action on FCDallas.com/Radio hosted by Sam Hale, Owen Newkirk and Steve Davis. The pregame show starts at 7PM.

Spanish: Carlos Alvarado and Rafa Calderon will call the game in Spanish on 99.1FM Zona MX beginning at 7:30PM.

Match Overview

STORY LINES

The Open Cup is Back
After a two-year pandemic-related hiatus, FC Dallas returns to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time since June of 2019. The club has a special relationship with this competition, and for good reason. The Open Cup carries the name of FCD's patriarch, Lamar Hunt, for his nearly life-long contributions to the sport in this country. It's also the first major trophy the club ever won back in 1997 during its Dallas Burn days and the rebranded FC Dallas won it again in 2016 by defeating New England Revolution in the final 4-2 at Toyota Stadium. Dallas has also finished as Open Cup runners up twice in 2005 and 2007.

Former Champs
There are only two players on the current FCD roster who were part of the 2016 Open Cup-winning team: Matt Hedges and Paxton Pomykal.

The 2016 season may be Hedges' best. Now FCD captain, Hedges won MLS Defender of the Year as he helped Dallas win the Supporters' Shield and Open Cup, scoring in the final against the Revolution. With FCD finally returning to the Open Cup, Hedges is looking for a repeat performance.

"(The Open Cup) means a lot, it’s a trophy that has the name of our ownership on it," Hedges said. "It means a lot to the team, it means a lot to me personally, it was my first trophy with the club. So, we want to go for it again. It’s been weird not being in it because it’s always a fun tournament, playing teams from different leagues. It’s a nice change of pace.”

Pomykal's 2016 Open Cup experience was quite different. Then just 16, the Lewisville native had just signed his first pro contract with FCD four days before the final. Although he didn't play in the competition that year, Pomykal was able to join in the postgame celebrations and experience that championship feeling.

“I didn’t participate in the games or anything but I got to celebrate with the team and that was a cool moment," he said. "On the field after, the podium, and just being in the locker room and being able to celebrate a championship was really cool, even though it was just a few days after I signed. I didn’t feel like it really was personally mine, but the guys included me in the celebrations which I really appreciated.

"It's six wins to lift a trophy, and it’s an important trophy. At the end of the day, we want to lift cups and win so it’s not something we’re taking lightly. We’re going in tomorrow and every game looking to win.”