EL PASO, Texas (April 4, 2024) – For a second consecutive year, El Paso Locomotive FC are set to face USL League One side Union Omaha in the storied Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Locomotive are scheduled to travel to Omaha’s Werner Park on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 p.m. MT for the Third Round match up. Broadcasts of all matches will continue to be streamed live on usopencup.com, uslsoccer.com, and MLSSoccer.com during the Third Round as well as the Rounds of 32 and 16.
“We know [Union Omaha] are a good side in USL League One and we need to be prepared,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “Like I said last year, I’d like to get the first win in the club’s history in the Open Cup. Our fans are devoted to this tournament as are a lot of U.S. soccer fans. Once we get there… we’ll go there to win.”
The Locos return to Nebraska looking to redeem last year’s 2-0 loss and record their first-ever win in the tournament to move on to the Round of 32, which could potentially line up a match against a Major League Soccer side.
The match will also see Locomotive reunite with three familiar faces: forward Aaron Gomez, defender Mechack Jérôme and Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato. Both Gomez and Jerome were members of El Paso’s inaugural 2019 squad, playing major roles in Locomotive’s early successes. Jerome departed the club in 2021 whereas Gomez left this past offseason. Casciato was an assistant coach for El Paso between 2021-22.
Omaha’s path to the third round saw them beat USL League Two sides Western Mass Pioneers (4-0) and Des Moines Menace (3-1) as they search for a return to the Round of 32 for the first time since 2022, when they made a deep run to the quarterfinals as the last remaining third division team in that year’s competition.
ABOUT THE LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
Now in its 109th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned a champion every year since 1914 except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2024 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.
Houston Dynamo FC are the defending Open Cup champions, having earned the club’s second tournament title thanks to a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami last Sept. 27 in front of a capacity crowd at Fort Lauderdale’s DRV PNK Stadium.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.