Open Cup

2017 Open Cup Final Brackets B12 B16

2017 Open Cup Policies and Procedures

Important Dates

Open Cup 2017  Information

All teams will be placed in brackets using a double blind draw process. The bracket will be selected first and then teams filling the brackets will be selected.  Two teams from the same club will not be placed in the same bracket unless the number of teams from a single club exceeds the number of brackets available in one gender/ age group. This competition is a single elimination tournament.  

A minimum of four teams must be entered in an age/gender group in order for competition to be held.  If less than four teams are entered, there will not be any play in this age/gender group.

All matches prior to the Semi Finals will be self-scheduled between the two teams. No Open Cup team will be required to play both days.  The Semi-Final and Final games will be played on June 4th and 5th. Teams will be responsible for half the referees’ fees for all games prior to the Semi-Finals.

Mass Youth Open Cup is considered a pre-qualifier tournament for the State Cup tournament for the following soccer year.  State Cup is a qualifying tournament for USYS National Cup tournament for the current soccer year.  

Teams may NOT participate in both Open Cup and State Cup. If an Open Cup team is eliminated prior to the Round of 16, player(s) may be placed on a State Cup roster, providing the State Cup roster is not frozen.

The winners of the Open Cup will be granted an automatic spot in the following year’s State Cup tournament.  Below are the steps that will be used to make sure the winning team meets the qualifications for State Cup play the following year.

A. If the winning team is currently a Mass Youth/USYS affiliated team, this team:

1. must maintain proper affiliation the following year, and
2. must meet State Cup roster qualification criteria, and
3. must compete in a Mass Youth approved league complying with rule 221.1.4.

B. If the winning team is currently a member of another USSF affiliated organization, this team:
 

1. must become properly affiliated the following year with Mass Youth/USYS (dual affiliations are permitted), and
2. must meet State Cup roster qualification criteria, and
3. must compete in a Mass Youth approved league complying with rule 221.1.4.

C. If the winning team is currently a member of another USSF affiliated organization and this team provides timely notification it will not meet the above requirements (as noted in sections A and B) for becoming affiliated the following year, then this team will be considered to have abandoned its automatic berth in the following year’s State Cup tournament, then:

1. the Open Cup Administrator will offer the automatic berth to the finals match runner-up, and
2. the runner-up must meet the criteria noted in section A or B of this list.
3. If the finals match runner-up also provides notification it will not meet the criteria noted in sections A or B of this list, then the Open Cup Administrator will review the record of the semifinal games

Of the losing semifinalist team(s) the first team to be offered the automatic berth in the next year’s State Cup tournament will be the team who:
 

1. has the highest number of goals scored in the semifinal game, or, if still tied,
2. has the lowest number of goals scored against in the semifinal game, or, if still tied,
3. has the highest number of goals scored in both the semifinal game and quarterfinal game (if played), or if still tied,
4. has the lowest number of goals scored against in both the semifinal game and quarterfinal game (if played).
5. If after “a” and “b” both teams are still tied and if one or both teams did not play a quarterfinal game, or after “a”, “b”, “c” and “d” both teams are still tied and both played quarterfinal games, and both teams consent to meeting the criteria of sections A or B, a one game playoff will be held using overtime and KFTM to determine the winner.
    

If, after exhausting the losing semifinalist team(s), no teams consent to meeting the eligibility criteria, the automatic berth will be turned back into the State Cup tournament committee and will be left open for use by the tournament selection committee’s discretion.

Mass Youth Soccer’s Open Cup is open to any 12-U(9v9)-18-U team playing in a league that is based in, or that has games played in, the state of Massachusetts.  The teams may be registered with any USSF affiliated leagues/associations/organizations (i.e. USYS, US Club Soccer, AYSO, Super Y, etc.) that are in good standing with their league and the USSF.  The team entry fee for Open Cup 2017 is $250.