Columbus Crew SC will soon learn of its first opponent for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup, as the Fourth Round Draw will take place on Thursday, May 30 at 11 a.m. ET.
The results of this draw will be live-tweeted via the Open Cup Twitter feed, @opencup.
How the Fourth Round Works:
- After the completion of the Third Round, the teams in the Fourth Round will be pooled and divided geographically into eight groups of four, with five groups having one Third Round winner and three groups having two.
- A random draw, scheduled for May 30, will determine the pairings within each group, with all Third Round winners paired to face a Division I (Major League Soccer) team and not another Third Round winner.
- This means, by default, that 10 MLS teams will face a fellow Division I (Major League Soccer) side in the Fourth Round.
- Pools created for the Fourth Round Draw will have no bearing on the pairings for the Round of 16, as new geographic pools of four (without regard to division) will be created from the Fourth Round winners to determine the Round of 16 and possible Quarterfinal match-ups.
- The Round of 16 Draw will take place Thursday, June 13.
