The 2024 USL Cup is the first season of the USL Cup (known as the USL Jägermeister Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition is open to all clubs in USL League One.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Dates | April 27, 2024 – September 29, 2024 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 36 (3 per match) |
| Attendance | 27,549 (2,296 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Bruno Rendón Missael Rodríguez (2 goals each) |
| All statistics correct as of May 11, 2024. | |
Format edit
The 2024 edition of the USL Cup is a professional soccer tournament held between teams in USL League One.[1] Richmond Kickers chairman Rob Ukrop stated after the announcement of the USL Cup that another league had been invited to participate, but declined the opportunity.[2]
Schedule edit
The 2024 USL Cup runs concurrent with the 2024 USL League One season. The tournament will begin roughly two months into the league season and end one month before the end of the league season and start of the league playoffs.
The schedule for 2024 USL Cup group stage games was announced simultaneously with the USL League One league schedule on December 14, 2023.[3]
Prize money edit
The announcement of the USL Cup stated that the winning club would receive prize money, but did not specify the amount.[1]
Group stage edit
The group stage is to be played from April 27 to September 1. Teams were divided into three regional groups of four teams: the West Group, the Central Group, and the East Group. Teams in each group will play each other twice: one home and one away. Each team will also play two teams from other groups, once home and once away.
If a team wins in regulation, they will receive three points in the standings, while the loser will receive zero. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, a penalty kick shootout will occur; the winner will receive two points and the loser will receive one.[1]
West Group edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spokane Velocity FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 | Advance to knockout phase (wild card) |
| 3 | Central Valley Fuego FC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Union Omaha | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
Results table edit
| Color key: Home • Away • Win • Shootout win • Shootout loss • Loss | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Matches | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| Central Valley Fuego FC (CV) | SPK | LEX | OMA | NCO | TRM | SPK | OMA | NCO |
| 1–1 (4–2) | 2–2 (1–4) | 5/29 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/19 | 8/9 | 8/30 | |
| Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (NCO) | OMA | KNX | CLT | CV | SPK | OMA | SPK | CV |
| 2–2 (2–3) | 5–1 | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/19 | 8/13 | 8/30 | |
| Spokane Velocity FC (SPK) | CV | OMA | GVL | OMA | NCO | CV | NCO | RIC |
| 1–1 (2–4) | 3–2 | 5/25 | 6/13 | 6/29 | 7/19 | 8/13 | 8/29 | |
| Union Omaha (OMA) | NCO | SPK | CV | SPK | CHA | NCO | CV | MAD |
| 2–2 (3–2) | 2–3 | 5/29 | 6/13 | 6/27 | 7/19 | 8/9 | 8/29 | |
Central Group edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lexington SC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | One Knoxville SC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 3 | Forward Madison FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Results table edit
| Color key: Home • Away • Win • Shootout win • Shootout loss • Loss | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Matches | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (CHA) | KNX | RIC | LEX | MAD | OMA | KNX | MAD | LEX |
| 0–1 | 1–0 | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/27 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 8/31 | |
| Forward Madison FC (MAD) | LEX | CLT | KNX | CHT | KNX | LEX | CHT | OMA |
| 0–1 | 2–1 | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 8/29 | |
| Lexington SC (LEX) | MAD | CV | CHA | KNX | GVL | MAD | KNX | CHA |
| 1–0 | 2–2 (4–1) | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 8/31 | |
| One Knoxville SC (KNX) | CHA | NCO | MAD | LEX | MAD | CHA | LEX | TRM |
| 1–0 | 1–5 | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 9/1 | |
East Group edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenville Triumph SC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | Charlotte Independence | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 3 | Richmond Kickers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | South Georgia Tormenta FC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 1 |
Results table edit
| Color key: Home • Away • Win • Shootout win • Shootout loss • Loss | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Matches | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| Charlotte Independence (CLT) | TRM | MAD | NCO | RIC | RIC | TRM | GVL | GVL |
| 1–1 (5–4) | 1–2 | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 8/30 | |
| Greenville Triumph SC (GVL) | RIC | TRM | SPK | TRM | LEX | RIC | CLT | CLT |
| 1–1 (3–5) | 3–2 | 5/25 | 6/9 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 8/30 | |
| Richmond Kickers (RIC) | GVL | CHA | TRM | CLT | CLT | GVL | TRM | SPK |
| 1–1 (5–3) | 0–1 | 5/25 | 6/8 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 8/29 | |
| South Georgia Tormenta FC (TRM) | CLT | GVL | RIC | GVL | CV | CLT | RIC | KNX |
| 1–1 (4–5) | 2–3 | 5/25 | 6/9 | 6/29 | 7/20 | 8/10 | 9/1 | |
Knockout stage edit
The winner of each group, as well as the team who scores the most goals in the competition that does not win their group, progress to the knockout stage.
| Semifinals | Final | |||||
| September 14–15 | ||||||
| September 28–29 | ||||||
| September 14–15 | ||||||
Statistics edit
Top goalscorers edit
- As of May 11, 2024
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals[4] | By round | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | M2 | M3 | M4 | M5 | M6 | M7 | M8 | SF | F | ||||
| 1 |  Bruno Rendón
|
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
 Missael Rodríguez
|
Union Omaha | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Ethan Hoard
|
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
 Juan Carlos Obregón
|
Charlotte Independence | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
 Jamie Smith
|
Greenville Triumph SC | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | 23 players | 1 | |||||||||||
Awards edit
Weekly awards edit
| Player of the Week (sponsored by eFootball) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Player | Club | Position | Reason | Ref. |
| 1 | Missael Rodríguez
|
Union Omaha | FW | 2 goals vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | [5] |
| 2 | Bruno Rendón
|
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | MF | 2 goals; 1 assist vs. One Knoxville SC | [6] |
| Team of the Week | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Bench | Coach | Ref. |
| 1 |  Knight (LEX)
|
Corrales (LEX) Fox (LEX) Skelton (KNX)
|
 Jiba (OMA) Johnson (KNX) Lee (GVL) Rendón (NCO)
|
Hoard (NCO) Obregón (CLT) Rodríguez (OMA)
|
Álvarez (CLT) Coronado (CV) Fonseca (TRM) John-Brown (CV) Lapsley (OMA) Longmire (SPK) Mastrantonio (OMA)
|
Darren Powell (LEX)
|
[5] |
| 2 | Bush (CHA)
|
 Métanire (SPK) Midence (CV) Smith (GVL) Yamazaki (NCO)
|
Lewis (SPK) MacKinnon (GVL) Martinez (NCO) Rendón (NCO)
|
Chaney (MAD) Rodríguez (OMA)
|
Delgado (NCO) Dengler (TRM) Dolabella (OMA) Fitch (RIC) Hoard (NCO) Obregón (CLT) Waldeck (SPK)
|
 Éamon Zayed (NCO)
|
[6] |
| Bold denotes Player of the Week | |||||||
References edit
- ^ a b c "USL League One introduces new in-season cup competition". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. December 12, 2023. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Ashton, Alex (December 13, 2023). "What We Know About the USL League One In-Season Cup". LeagueOneUpdater.com. League One Updater. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ "USL League One unveils balanced 2024 regular season schedule". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. December 14, 2023. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ "USL Jägermeister Cup Stats". USL League One. May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "USL Jägermeister Cup Team of the Round - Round 1". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ a b "USL Jägermeister Cup Team of the Round - Round 2". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.