# 1998 U.S. Open Cup

The 1998 U.S. Open Cup ran from June through October, 1998, open to all soccer teams in the United States.
The first-year Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire won the Cup with a 2–1 overtime victory over the Columbus Crew at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.
In the early rounds of the tournament, only one MLS team lost to a minor-league side, when the A-League's Nashville Metros beat the Kansas City Wizards 3–1.

## Open Cup Bracket

Home teams listed on top of bracket
| Second Round | Second Round | Second Round | Third Round | Third Round | Third Round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| A-L | Hershey Wildcats | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Chicago Stingers | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Chicago Stingers | 3 | PDL | Chicago Stingers | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | Chicago Fire S.C. | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | MLS | Chicago Fire (ASDET, PSO) | 1 (4) | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | MLS | San Jose Clash | 1 (3) | | | | | | | |
| A-L | El Paso Patriots | 9 | | | | | | | MLS | San Jose Clash | 1 (3) | | | | |
| PDL | Arizona Sahuaros | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Arizona Sahuaros | 1 | A-L | El Paso Patriots | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | San Jose Clash | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Chicago Fire S.C. | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Dallas Burn | 2 | | | |
| | | | MLS | Dallas Burn | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | A-L | Orange County Zodiac | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Orange County Zodiac | 2 | A-L | Orange County Zodiac | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Austin Lone Stars | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Austin Lone Stars | 1 | | | | MLS | Dallas Burn | 5 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | A-L | Nashville Metros | 1 | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Nashville Metros | 7 | | | | | | | A-L | Nashville Metros | 1 | | | | |
| PDL | Delaware Wizards | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Delaware Wizards | 1 | A-L | Nashville Metros | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | Kansas City Wizards | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Chicago Fire S.C. (ASDET) | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| | | | MLS | Miami Fusion | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | PDL | Orlando Nighthawks | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Milwaukee Rampage | 1 | PDL | Orlando Nighthawks | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Orlando Nighthawks | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Orlando Nighthawks | 2 | | | | MLS | Columbus Crew | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | MLS | Miami Fusion | 0 | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Western Mass Pioneers | 1 | | | | | | | MLS | Miami Fusion | 0 | | | | |
| A-L | Rochester Rhinos | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Rochester Rhinos | 3 | A-L | Rochester Rhinos | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | Columbus Crew (ASDET) | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Columbus Crew | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | MLS | MetroStars | 0 | | | |
| | | | MLS | MetroStars (ASDET) | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | A-L | Hampton Roads Mariners | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Hampton Roads Mariners (aet, PSO) | 0 (3) | A-L | Hampton Roads Mariners | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Central Jersey Riptide | 0 (2) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Central Jersey Riptide | 0 (2) | | | | MLS | MetroStars | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | MLS | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | Tampa Bay Mutiny (ASDET, PSO) | 2 (5) | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | PDL | Worcester Wildfire | 2 (4) | | | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Worcester Wildfire | 2 | PDL | Worcester Wildfire | 2 (4) | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Charlotte Eagles | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## First round

Eight D3 Pro, four PDL, and four USASA teams start.

## Second round

Eight A-League enter.

## Third round

Eight MLS enter.

## Final

| Chicago Fire | Columbus Crew |

## Top scorers

| Position | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jason Acres | Chicago Stingers | 4 |
| 2 | Kirk Wilson | El Paso Patriots | 3 |
| | Brian McBride | Columbus Crew | 3 |
| | Joe Carver | Chicago Stingers | 3 |
| | James Wellington | Charlotte Eagles | 3 |