USASA National Women's Open

The USASA National Women's Open was an American women's soccer tournament run by the United States Adult Soccer Association. It began in 1996, and from 2009 to 2012 it was known as the Women's Cup. Before the formation of the Women's Open, the Women's Amateur was the top national cup competition.

History

It began as a tournament only contested by amateur and semi-pro teams, as teams from professional leagues (WUSA, WPS, and the NWSL) are not allowed to enter the competition. In 2012 though, the Chicago Red Stars, a professional club in the WPSL Elite, entered and won the competition. Similarly, the professional Houston Aces of WPSL won in 2013.

The defending Women's Cup champion is Olympic Club, who won the title in back-to-back tournaments in 2015 and 2016. The last open was held in 2016

Tournament structure

2009–2012

In the regional phase of the competition, four to sixteen teams per region compete in a round-robin (or partial round-robin) tournament, playing at least three games. ^[1]

The national finals feature the four regional winners in a two-round knockout tournament.

2013–2016

Teams apply to take part in the national championships, which is contested as an initial round-robin group, followed by a championship game if there are more than four teams participating.

Finalists

By Year [2] [3] Year Winner Score Runner-up 1996 Dallas Lightning [4] 2-1 Sacramento Storm 1997 Dallas Lightning [5] 4–2 Sacramento Storm 1998 Ajax America 5-0 Dallas Lightning 1999 Auto Trader San Diego [6] 14-0 Patrick Real Wyckoff 2000 Ajax America 2-1 Detroit Rocker Hawks 2001 Detroit Rocker Hawks 1-0 SoCal Blues 2002 SoCal Blues 5-0 Peninsula Aztecs 2003 Ajax America [a] 2004 Ajax America 2-1 Detroit Jaguars 2005 FC Indiana [7] 4-0 DCS Titans 2006 Dallas Roma F.C. [a] Sockers F.C. Chicago 2007 Ajax America 2-1 FC Indiana 2008 FC Indiana [b] 2009 Chicago Eclipse Select [8] 3-1 NYAC 2010 NYAC [8] 2-0 (OT) Dallas Premier 2011 J.B. Marine S.C. [9] [10] 2-1 (OT) Sparta United WSC 2012 Chicago Red Stars [11] 3-2 NYAC 2013 Houston Aces [c] Kansas City Dynamos 2014 NYAC [12] 2-1 ASA Chesapeake Charge 2015 Olympic Club [c] ASA Chesapeake Charge 2016 Olympic Club 2-0 United FC

Cumulative Team Winners Runners-up Semifinalist / Top Four Ajax America 5 (1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007) - 1 (2008) NYAC 2 (2010, 2014) 2 (2009, 2012) 1 (2015 [c] ) FC Indiana 2 (2005, 2008) 1 (2007) - Dallas Lightning 2 (1996, 1997) 1 (1998) - Olympic Club 2 (2015 [c] , 2016) - - SoCal Blues 1 (2002) 1 (2001) - Detroit Rocker Hawks 1 (2001) 1 (2000) - Houston Aces 1 (2013 [c] ) - 1 (2014 [c] ) Chicago Red Stars 1 (2012) - - J.B. Marine S.C. 1 (2011) - - Chicago Eclipse Select 1 (2009) - - Dallas Roma F.C. 1 (2006) - - Auto Trader San Diego 1 (1999) - - ASA Chesapeake Charge - 2 (2014, 2015 [c] ) 1 (2011) Sacramento Storm - 2 (1996, 1997) - Salt Lake City Sparta - 1 (2011) 1 (2012, 2014 [c] ) United FC - 1 (2016) - Kansas City Dynamos - 1 (2013 [c] ) - Dallas Premier - 1 (2010) - DCS Titans - 1 (2005) - Detroit Jaguars - 1 (2004) - Peninsula Aztecs - 1 (2002) - Patrick Real Wyckoff - 1 (1999) - CO Sporting Fury - - 1 (2016 [c] ) Mothershucker - - 1 (2016 [c] ) Fredericksburg FC - - 1 (2015 [c] ) Fire and Ice Soccer Club - - 1 (2014 [c] ) Tampa Bay Hellenic - - 1 (2014 [c] ) Des Moines Menace - - 1 (2013 [c] ) Kansas City Shock - - 1 (2013 [c] ) Turbo D'Feeters - - 1 (2012) Triad United Aces - - 1 (2011) Kentucky Wanderers - - 1 (2010) Houston Challengers - - 1 (2009) Phoenix Inferno - - 1 (2009) Philadelphia United German-Hungarians - - 1 (2008) Dallas Sting - - 1 (2008)

Notes

1. Losing finalist and semifinalists unknown
2. All semifinalists known but results are not
3. Event contested as round-robin group

References

1. "United States Adult Soccer Association". Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
2. "United States Adult Soccer Association". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
3. "USA History: The US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup)". Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
4. "050697 - FW Star Telegram - WOMEN Dallas Lightning feature". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 6, 1997. p. 88. Retrieved September 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Dallas Lightning 1997". San Angelo Standard-Times. July 24, 1997. p. 29. Retrieved September 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Auto Traders". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 18, 1999. p. 67. Retrieved September 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Three Irish Players Help FC Indiana Win U.S. Open Cup". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. August 7, 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
8. "U.S. Women's Open Cup 2012: Quest for results!". SportsMyriad. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012.
9. "USASA". www.usasa.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
10. "National championship Number Six!". J.B. Marine S.C. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
11. "NATIONAL CHAMPS - Red Stars win amateur cup". Chicagoland Soccer News. July 22, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
12. "National Women's Championships". United States Adult Soccer Association. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2025.

External links

• USASA home page