Tropics will do Texas two-step with visit to Midland-Odessa for first U.S. Open Cup game

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Lakeland Tropics will be on the road for this year's 2018 U.S. Open Cup, starting with a first-round game Wednesday, May 9 against the Midland-Odessa (Texas)  Sockers of the National Premier Soccer Legue. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST.

The Tropics, who qualified for the tournament after only its first season in the USL Premier Development League last year,  had applied to host a first round game, but U.S. Soccer Federation officials found Bryant Stadium's field did not meet the organizations minimum standards for size.

“While we we were hoping to have a home game for our great fans, we are still thrilled to be invited to play in such a prestigious event, and we're confident our side will be fully prepared and ready to represent Lakeland and Polk County with pride and passion,” Tropics CEO Dr. Panos Iakovidis said.

The first round will commence after a three-gamep play-in round May 5-6, which was added to accommodate the Jacksonville Armada, Miami FC 2 and New York Cosmos B. The first round will consist of one match on May 8 followed by 25 others played May 9 and feature teams from the Premier Development League (PDL), National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), and Open Division local qualifiers in head-to-head, single-elimination competition.

The second round follows on May 16 and introduces 22 Division II professional clubs from the United Soccer League (USL). Due to the time that was required for arranging the Play-In Round, the announcement of the possible Second Round matchups will now take place on April 11.

Sporting Kansas City is the defending U.S. Open Cup champion, having earned the club’s fourth tournament title thanks to a 2-1 victory against New York Red Bulls on Sept. 20, 2017, at a sold-out Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup™, recognized as U.S. Soccer's National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 104 consecutive years dating from 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.