2012 in American soccer
The 2012 season is the 100th season of competitive soccer in the United States. U.S. Open Cup. The 99th edition of the annual national championship, the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, ran from May 15 through August 8. Sporting Kansas City defeated Seattle Sounders FC on penalty kicks 3-2 for the championship. The winner qualified for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. Changes for 2012. In 2012, U.S. Soccer announced that the field would expand from 40 clubs to 64 clubs, that all MLS teams would receive an automatic berth, and that all  2nd and 3rd tier professional leagues would also receive an automatic berth. The tournament is a single game, single elimination tournament with random drawings deciding the home team (provided the home team stadium meets USSF standards) for the first round through the quarterfinals. The home team for the semi-finals and finals will be determined through competitive bidding as has been done in prior years. Tournament format. Teams from the Premier Development League (16 berths), the United States Adult Soccer Association (9 berths), the National Premier Soccer League (6 berths), and US Club Soccer (1 berth) will enter the tournament  in the first round. The winners will advance to the 2nd round where they will meet tier 3, USL Pro (10 berths) and tier 2 North American Soccer League professional teams. The second round winners will in turn meet the 16 MLS clubs in the third round. In the remaining rounds of the tournament, winners will advance in each round until the two teams meet in the finals on August 6 or 7th. Qualification for the lower tiers of the soccer pyramid was mostly completed by April 29 and the pairings for the first two rounds were released on May  1.