# 2024 USL Cup

The 2024 USL Cup was the first edition of the USL Cup (known as the USL Jägermeister Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition was open to all clubs in USL League One.

## Format

The 2024 edition of the USL Cup was a professional soccer tournament held between teams in USL League One. Richmond Kickers chairman Rob Ukrop stated after the announcement of the USL Cup that another league had been invited to participate, but declined the opportunity.

### Schedule

The 2024 USL Cup ran concurrently with the 2024 USL League One season. The tournament began roughly two months into the league season and ended one month before the end of the league season and start of the league playoffs.
The schedule for 2024 USL Cup group stage games was announced simultaneously with the USL League One league schedule on December 14, 2023.

### Prize money

The announcement of the USL Cup stated that the winning club would receive prize money, but did not specify the amount. In a November 2024 court case, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC ownership claimed that the winners of the competition would receive $100,000 and the runners-up would receive $25,000, but that USL did not pay Northern Colorado the winners' prize money.

## Access

All 12 clubs in USL League One entered the season's USL Cup into the group stage.
| Round | Entrants | Number of games | Date(s) |
| Group stage (12 clubs) | 12 clubs from USL League One | 48 | April 27, 2024 (2024-04-27) – September 1, 2024 (2024-09-01) |
| Semifinals (4 clubs) | 3 group stage winners 1 wild card winner | 2 | September 11, 2024 (2024-09-11) |
| Final (2 clubs) | 2 winners from semifinals | 1 | September 28, 2024 (2024-09-28) |

### Location map

* West Group
* Central Group
* East Group

## Group stage

The group stage was played from April 27 to September 1. Teams were divided into three regional groups of four teams: the West Group, the Central Group, and the East Group. Teams in each group played each other twice, once at home and once away. Each team also played two teams from other groups; one team at home and the other away.
If a team won in regulation, they received three points in the standings, while the loser received zero. If the game was tied at the end of regulation, a penalty kick shootout occurred; the winner received two points and the loser received one.
The top team in each group reached the knockout stage. Of the other nine teams, the team that scored the most goals also reached the knockout stage.

### Tiebreakers

The ranking of teams in the group stage is determined as follows:
* Points obtained in all matches (three points for a win, two for a penalty shootout win, one for a penalty shootout loss, none for a defeat);
* Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
* Total regulation wins in group play;
* Total regulation wins in all matches;
* Number of goals scored in group play;
* Number of goals scored in all matches;
* Number of assists in all matches;
* Goal difference in all matches;
* Fewest number of disciplinary points;
* Coin toss.

### West Group

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 10 | +12 | 21 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Union Omaha | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 14 | Advanced to knockout stage (wild card) |
| 3 | Central Valley Fuego FC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | |
| 4 | Spokane Velocity FC | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 5 | |

#### Results table

Color key: Home  • Away  • Win  • Shootout win  • Shootout loss  • Loss :
| Club | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Central Valley Fuego FC (CV) | SPK | LEX | OMA | NCO | TRM | SPK | OMA | NCO |
| Central Valley Fuego FC (CV) | 1–1 (4–2) | 2–2 (1–4) | 0–0 (1–4) | 3–4 | 1–1 (4–5) | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (NCO) | OMA | KNX | CLT | CV | SPK | OMA | SPK | CV |
| Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (NCO) | 2–2 (2–3) | 5–1 | 2–2 (4–2) | 4–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Spokane Velocity FC (SPK) | CV | OMA | GVL | OMA | NCO | CV | NCO | RIC |
| Spokane Velocity FC (SPK) | 1–1 (2–4) | 3–2 | 0–0 (4–5) | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| Union Omaha (OMA) | NCO | SPK | CV | SPK | CHA | NCO | CV | MAD |
| Union Omaha (OMA) | 2–2 (3–2) | 2–3 | 0–0 (4–1) | 4–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–3 (4–5) |

### Central Group

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Forward Madison FC | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 17 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | One Knoxville SC | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 15 | |
| 3 | Lexington SC | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 | |
| 4 | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 6 | |

#### Results table

Color key: Home  • Away  • Win  • Shootout win  • Shootout loss  • Loss :
| Club | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (CHA) | KNX | RIC | LEX | MAD | OMA | KNX | MAD | LEX |
| Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (CHA) | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 (3–4) | 1–2 | 2–2 (10–9) |
| Forward Madison FC (MAD) | LEX | CLT | KNX | CHT | KNX | LEX | CHT | OMA |
| Forward Madison FC (MAD) | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 (5–4) |
| Lexington SC (LEX) | MAD | CV | CHA | KNX | GVL | MAD | KNX | CHA |
| Lexington SC (LEX) | 1–0 | 2–2 (4–1) | 4–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 (5–3) | 2–2 (9–10) |
| One Knoxville SC (KNX) | CHA | NCO | MAD | LEX | MAD | CHA | LEX | TRM |
| One Knoxville SC (KNX) | 1–0 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 (4–3) | 0–0 (3–5) | 1–0 |

### East Group

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Charlotte Independence | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 14 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Greenville Triumph SC | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 12 | |
| 3 | Richmond Kickers | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 12 | |
| 4 | South Georgia Tormenta FC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 6 | |

#### Results table

Color key: Home  • Away  • Win  • Shootout win  • Shootout loss  • Loss :
| Club | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Charlotte Independence (CLT) | TRM | MAD | NCO | RIC | RIC | TRM | GVL | GVL |
| Charlotte Independence (CLT) | 1–1 (5–4) | 1–2 | 2–2 (2–4) | 1–0 | 2–2 (4–5) | 1–1 (2–3) | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Greenville Triumph SC (GVL) | RIC | TRM | SPK | TRM | LEX | RIC | CLT | CLT |
| Greenville Triumph SC (GVL) | 1–1 (3–5) | 3–2 | 0–0 (5–4) | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Richmond Kickers (RIC) | GVL | CHA | TRM | CLT | CLT | GVL | TRM | SPK |
| Richmond Kickers (RIC) | 1–1 (5–3) | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 (5–4) | 0–2 | 1–1 (6–5) | 3–2 |
| South Georgia Tormenta FC (TRM) | CLT | GVL | RIC | GVL | CV | CLT | RIC | KNX |
| South Georgia Tormenta FC (TRM) | 1–1 (4–5) | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 (5–4) | 1–1 (3–2) | 1–1 (5–6) | 0–1 |

### Wild card
#### Tiebreakers

The ranking of teams for the knockout stage wild card is determined as follows:
* Number of goals scored in all matches;
* Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question, if the teams are in the same group;
* Total regulation wins in group play, if the teams are in the same group;
* Total regulation wins in all matches;
* Number of goals scored in group play, if the teams are in the same group;
* Number of assists in all matches;
* Goal difference in all matches;
* Fewest number of disciplinary points;
* Coin toss.

#### Ranking of non-group leading teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | West | Union Omaha | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 14 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Central | Lexington SC | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 | |
| 3 | East | Greenville Triumph SC | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 12 | |
| 4 | Central | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 6 | |
| 5 | East | Richmond Kickers | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 12 | |
| 6 | West | Spokane Velocity FC | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 5 | |
| 7 | Central | One Knoxville SC | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 15 | |
| 8 | West | Central Valley Fuego FC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | |
| 9 | East | South Georgia Tormenta FC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 6 | |

## Knockout stage

The winner of each group, as well as the team who scored the most goals in the competition that did not win their group, progressed to the knockout stage.
| Semifinals September 11 | Semifinals September 11 | Semifinals September 11 | Final September 28 | Final September 28 | Final September 28 |
| W1 | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 2 | | | |
| WC | Union Omaha | 0 | | | |
| WC | Union Omaha | 0 | W1 | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 1(5) |
| | | | C1 | Forward Madison FC | 1(4) |
| C1 | Forward Madison FC | 2 | C1 | Forward Madison FC | 1(4) |
| E1 | Charlotte Independence | 1 | | | |

### Final
## Statistics

All statistics include both the group stage and knockout stage.

### Top goalscorers

Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not counted towards players' goal counts or to match goal counts.
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round |
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | M1 | M2 | M3 | M4 | M5 | M6 | M7 | M8 | SF | F |
| 1 | Bruno Rendón | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Ethan Hoard | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 6 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | 1 | |
| 3 | Steevan Dos Santos | Union Omaha | 5 | | | | 1 | 2 | | 1 | 1 | | |
| 4 | Luis Álvarez | Charlotte Independence | 4 | | | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | | 1 | |
| 4 | Christian Chaney | Forward Madison FC | 4 | | 1 | | | | | | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Pedro Dolabella | Union Omaha | 4 | | 1 | | 1 | 1 | | | 1 | | |
| 4 | Luis Gil | Spokane Velocity FC | 4 | | 1 | | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Lyam MacKinnon | Greenville Triumph SC | 4 | | 1 | | 2 | | | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Missael Rodríguez | Union Omaha | 4 | 2 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Ates Diouf | Lexington SC | 3 | | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | |
| 10 | Cameron Lancaster | Lexington SC | 3 | | 1 | 1 | | | | | 1 | | |
| 10 | Juan Carlos Obregón | Charlotte Independence | 3 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | |

### Most clean sheets

Goals allowed in penalty shoot-outs are not counted towards players' clean sheet totals.
| Rank | Player | Team | Shutouts | By stage | By stage |
| Rank | Player | Team | Shutouts | GS | KS |
| 1 | Johan Garibay | One Knoxville SC | 4 | 4 | |
| 2 | Amal Knight | Lexington SC | 3 | 3 | |
| 2 | Bernd Schipmann | Forward Madison FC | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Carlos Avilez | Central Valley Fuego FC | 2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Edward Delgado | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Wallis Lapsley | Union Omaha | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Austin Pack | Charlotte Independence | 2 | 2 | 0 |

## Awards
### Player of the Round

| Round | Position | Player | Club | Reason |
| 1 | FW | Missael Rodríguez | Union Omaha | 2 goals vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC |
| 2 | MF | Bruno Rendón | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 2 goals, 1 assist vs. One Knoxville SC |
| 3 | FW | Mayele Malango | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | 2 goals, 1 assist vs. Lexington SC |
| 4 | FW | Lyam MacKinnon | Greenville Triumph SC | 2 goals vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC |
| 5 | FW | Nil Vinyals | Richmond Kickers | 2 goals vs. Charlotte Independence |
| 6 | FW | Shavon John-Brown | Central Valley Fuego FC | Game-winning goal vs. Spokane Velocity FC |
| 7 | FW | Steevan Dos Santos | Union Omaha | Game-winning goal vs. Central Valley Fuego FC |
| 8 | FW | Chandler O'Dwyer | Richmond Kickers | 2 goals vs. Spokane Velocity FC |

### Goal of the Round

| Round | Player | Club | Opponent |
| 1 | Pierre Reedy | Spokane Velocity FC | Central Valley Fuego FC |
| 2 | Haruki Yamazaki | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | One Knoxville SC |
| 3 | Adrian Billhardt | Richmond Kickers | South Georgia Tormenta FC |
| 4 | Juan Galindrez | Forward Madison FC | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC |
| 5 | Nil Vinyals | Richmond Kickers | Charlotte Independence |
| 6 | Pascal Corvino | Greenville Triumph SC | Richmond Kickers |
| 7 | Devin Boyce | Forward Madison FC | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC |
| 8 | Steevan Dos Santos | Union Omaha | Forward Madison FC |

### Save of the Round

| Round | Player | Club | Opponent |
| 1 | Wallis Lapsley | Union Omaha | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC |
| 2 | Ryan Shellow | Richmond Kickers | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC |
| 3 | Carlos Merancio | Spokane Velocity FC | Greenville Triumph SC |
| 4 | TJ Bush | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | Forward Madison FC |
| 5 | Lalo Delgado | Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | Spokane Velocity FC |
| 6 | Amal Knight | Lexington SC | Forward Madison FC |
| 7 | Wallis Lapsley | Union Omaha | Central Valley Fuego FC |
| 8 | Bernd Schipmann | Forward Madison FC | Union Omaha |

### Team of the Round

Player of the Round denoted in Bold.
| Round | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Bench | Coach |
| 1 | Knight (LEX) | Corrales (LEX) Fox (LEX) Skelton (KNX) | Jiba (OMA) C. Johnson (KNX) Lee (GVL) Rendón (NCO) | Hoard (NCO) Obregón (CLT) Rodríguez (OMA) | Álvarez (CLT) Coronado (CV) Fonseca (TRM) John-Brown (CV) Lapsley (OMA) Longmire (SPK) Mastrantonio (OMA) | Powell (LEX) |
| 2 | Bush (CHA) | Métanire (SPK) Midence (CV) Smith (GVL) Yamazaki (NCO) | Lewis (SPK) MacKinnon (GVL) Martinez (NCO) Rendón (NCO) | Chaney (MAD) Rodríguez (OMA) | Delgado (NCO) Dengler (TRM) Dolabella (OMA) Fitch (RIC) Hoard (NCO) Obregón (CLT) Waldeck (SPK) | Zayed (NCO) |
| 3 | Merancio (SPK) | John-Brown (CV) Longmire (SPK) Polak (GVL) | Álvarez (CLT) Diouf (LEX) Langlois (NCO) Rendón (NCO) | Billhardt (RIC) Malango (CHA) Obertan (CLT) | Fernandez (SPK) Lancaster (LEX) Martinez (NCO) Onen (LEX) Rankenburg (GVL) Smith (GVL) Vinyals (RIC) | Zayed (NCO) |
| 4 | Pack (CLT) | Crisler (KNX) Opara (NCO) Sousa (MAD) | Coronado (CV) King (NCO) PC (OMA) Rendón (NCO) | Dos Santos (OMA) Hoard (NCO) MacKinnon (GVL) | Álvarez (CLT) Castro (GVL) Dietrich (NCO) Garibay (KNX) Mendiola (CV) Rodríguez (OMA) Sorenson (CLT) | Wright (GVL) |
| 5 | Knight (LEX) | John-Brown (CV) Malone (OMA) Ritchie (KNX) | J. Johnson (CLT) Lukic (CHA) Obertan (CLT) Rendón (NCO) | Dos Santos (OMA) Hoard (NCO) Vinyals (RIC) | Dolabella (OMA) Gallardo (OMA) Gil (SPK) Rodríguez (OMA) Romig (TRM) Ross (KNX) Yamazaki (NCO) | Powell (LEX) |
| 6 | Bush (CHA) | Crisler (KNX) Evans (NCO) Opara (NCO) Osmond (MAD) Álvarez (CLT) | Anderson (GVL) Hernández (CHA) King (NCO) MacKinnon (GVL) | John-Brown (CV) | Anguiano (GVL) Billhardt (RIC) Dutey (CLT) Méndez (LEX) Pack (CLT) Shultz (GVL) Yamazaki (NCO) | Zayed (NCO) |
| 7 | Lapsley (OMA) | Clarke (NCO) Corrales (LEX) Dengler (TRM) | Anguiano (GVL) Boyce (MAD) MacKinnon (GVL) Yamazaki (NCO) | Dos Santos (OMA) McLaughlin (MAD) Obregón (CLT) | Álvarez (CLT) Gil (SPK) Hoard (NCO) Knight (LEX) Rendón (NCO) Spielman (CLT) Terzaghi (RIC) | Jeffries (CLT) |
| 8 | Shealy (NCO) | García (NCO) Lue Young (LEX) Miller (SPK) Skelton (KNX) | Cerritos (LEX) Gomiero (RIC) Villalobos (MAD) | Chaney (MAD) Dos Santos (OMA) O'Dwyer (RIC) | Calixtro (KNX) Corea (CLT) Lancaster (LEX) Obregón (CLT) Pack (CLT) Torr (CV) Waldeck (SPK) | Zayed (NCO) |