Houston Dynamo will defend USOC title in 2024
(image via US Soccer)
After months of negotiations between Major League Soccer and US Soccer, the format for the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup has been announced. The Houston Dynamo will be one of eight Major League Soccer teams participating in this year’s tournament, defending the title the club won in 2023.
The Dynamo will join Atlanta United, FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City, LAFC, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, and Seattle Sounders as the Major League Soccer teams playing in the 2024 edition of the Open Cup. These teams were chosen as the seven highest finishers in the 2023 Supporters Shield standings that are not in Concacaf Champions Cup. The Dynamo are included, even though they are in Champions Cup, as the defending champion. MLS Vice President Nelson Rodriguez in a call with media said that it was right for the Dynamo to defend their title. Dynamo GM Pat Onstad said the club wanted to play in the tournament as the champion. He mentioned how the club has not had a lot of success recently and is now building on this and having the chance to defend was important.
MLS NEXT Pro will enter 11 teams in the tournament with nine MLS-affiliated teams and two independent teams. The nine MLS-affiliated teams will be from Austin, Chicago, Colorado, Charlotte, LA Galaxy, Minnesota, New York City, New York Red Bulls, and Portland. The two independent teams are Carolina Core and Chattanooga.
Major League Soccer teams will only play lower division opponents until it can not be avoided. This means the Dynamo will play only USL Championship or lower sides until enough teams are out and MLS vs MLS match ups can not be played.
Houston will begin play in the Round of 32 on Tuesday May 7 or Wednesday May 8. The Dynamo will now be taking place in the MLS regular season, Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, and the US Open Cup. It is going to be a busy summer for the club but having the chance to defend the trophy they lifted in Miami was something the club insisted on doing. Dynamo 2 will not play in the Open Cup, as a result, so expect a lot of those players to be used for the first team in a number of competitions.
