COMMERCE CITY, Colo.- Colorado Rapids 2 is set to face Azteca FC of the Colorado Premier League in the First Round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer announced. The match will take place on Thursday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. MT at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. Fans can tune in to watch Thursday’s match on mlssoccer.com or ussoccer.com.
For the first time in tournament history, Rapids 2 will compete to represent the club in the longest-running soccer tournament in the U.S. Meanwhile, Azteca FC will return to the Open Cup proper for the fourth time overall in their history as one of 11 Open Division teams to enter as a result of the four Qualifying Rounds held between September and November of 2023.
U.S. Soccer recently announced the roster rules for the 2024 version of the tournament. Under the tournament's new rules, Rapids First Team players will be allowed to be loaned to Rapids 2 for the tournament under the following requirements. First team players being loaned to Rapids 2 must not make a salary above the MLS first-team league maximum salary budget charge. The player can not have played more than 15 minutes on average per game in MLS first-team league matches up through the match day immediately preceding an Open Cup match. In addition, no more than seven players on loan from an MLS First Team to an MLS NEXT Pro team can be included in an 18-player game-day roster for the team.
Under the tournament’s roster rules, the following Colorado Rapids players are eligible to be selected to the matchday roster for Colorado Rapids 2 in the First Round of the U.S. Open Cup:
Sebastian Anderson
Adam Beaudry
Michael Edwards
Wayne Frederick II
Nate Jones
Kimani Stewart-Baynes
Jackson Travis
The Rapids 2 players eligible to be selected to the matchday roster for the First Round of the U.S. Open Cup are as follows:
Robinson Aguirre
Ethan Bandré
Logan Batiste
Joshua Belluz
Alec Díaz
Steve Flores
Antony García
Ricardo Peña
Hal Uderitz
Marlon Vargas
The Rapids Academy and amateur players eligible to be selected to the matchday roster for the First Round of the U.S. Open Cup are as follows:
Miguel Alvarado
Zackory Campagnolo
Patrick Dormoh
Andre Erickson
Daniel Garcia
Rogelio Garcia
Leonardo Medina
Andre Romo
Lucas Sarvas
Noah Strellnauer
Colton Swan
The 32 winners of the First Round will play each other in the Second Round of the tournament from April 2-3.
For the first time in team history, fans can purchase the 2024 edition of the Rapids 2 home jersey, which will be available for sale at the team’s U.S. Open Cup match. The Rapids Team Store on the east side of the concourse will be open for jersey purchases starting at 6:30 p.m. MT. Fans can purchase tickets to Rapids 2’s U.S. Open Cup match at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park here.
