Kingston Stockade FC in U.S. Open Cup

Kingston Stockade FC announced Wednesday the semi-pro National Premier Soccer League team will compete in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Stockade will face a yet-to-bedetermined opponent on May 9 in a location to be announced in the opening round of the tournament. A release on the team’s website said Kingston will learn who it will face and where the match will be held on April 4.

Stockade qualified for the knockout tournament, which features 94 teams from all levels of U.S. Soccer, by winning the Atlantic White Conference and finishing as one of the top 19 teams in the NPSL in 2017.

The top 19 NPSL teams that earned berths included: AFC Ann Arbor, the Brooklyn Italians, CD Aguiluchos USA, FC Motown, Dakota Fusion FC, Detroit City FC, Duluth FC, Elm City Express, Erie Commodores, FC Arizona, FC Wichita, the Fort Worth Vaqueros, Inter Nashville FC, Kitsap Soccer Club, Miami United FC, Midland-Odessa FC, the New Orleans Jesters and Orange County FC.

Kingston fell 6-3 to the Clark-

stown SC Eagles in the NPSL’s Northeast Region semifinals last year. The Eagles rebranded themselves as FC Motown, after Morristown, New Jersey, ahead of the 2018 season.

“When we started three years ago, we set a goal for ourselves to qualify for the

U.S. Open Cup by 2020,” Stockade FC founder and chairman Dennis Crowley said in the release. “To have qualified after just two seasons is an incredible accomplishment, and a huge statement about the level of soccer talent in the Hudson Valley.

“We can’t be any more proud of our players, coaches, fans and volunteers for helping to get us here.”

David Lindholm, in his second year coaching Stockade, said he’s thrilled to have the opportunity to take part in the tournament.

“We’re excited to test ourselves against new competition, and I hope we can make a bit of a run, win some games and shock some teams,” Lindholm said.

The U.S. Open Cup, first held in 1913, is the oldest

national soccer competition in the U.S.

The cup allows amateur teams to compete with professional teams including all 20 U.S.-based Major League Soccer franchises.

The winner of the U.S. Open Cup automatically qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League, which features the top clubs from the U.S. Canada, Mexico and Central America.