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Austin FC lost to an USL Championship side, and it’s not particularly crazy originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
For fans unfamiliar with the U.S. soccer pyramid, MLS looks like a league with no inherent competition down below. While that’s certainly true from a promotion and relegation perspective (for now), the lower leagues in the U.S., specifically those in the USL, have always given MLS squads a tough time in the U.S. Open Cup, the American version of the FA Cup.
And on Tuesday evening, Louisville City FC produced their first upset over an MLS team since 2018 and the first “cupset” involving an MLS team in the 2026 edition of the tournament.
Austin’s loss to Louisville City FC shows that USL Championship teams can hold their own
Funnily enough, Texas teams have been particularly susceptible to Open Cup upsets from USL teams in recent years. Houston Dynamo FC, who won the tournament in 2023, played Detroit City FC in 2024. They lost in penalties. In 2019, FC Dallas lost to New Mexico United in the Round of 16.
The USL system is launching a first division in the near future to rival MLS, and a big question is how much worse will it be in terms of quality. Results like these show that MLS isn’t untouchable, and that’s great news for any competitors that want to enter the market.
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