Battery to start U.S. Open Cup bid vs. Atlanta FC

The Charleston Battery will take on Atlanta FC (USASA) in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on June 9 at Blackbaud Stadium.

Atlanta FC, an amateur soccer team, qualified for this year's tournament by finishing second in the Region III USASA championship. Atlanta FC is the first USASA team from Georgia to qualify for the Open Cup in the professional era.

The Battery advanced to the U.S. Open Cup championship game in 2008, losing to Major League Soccer's D.C. United, 2-1, in the final.

The Battery defeated two teams from MLS — Houston Dynamo (third round) and FC Dallas (quarterfinal) — before beating then-USL First Division rival Seattle in a penalty-kick shootout in the semifinals.

The winner of the Charleston Battery-Atlanta FC game will play the winner of the Miami FC Blues (USL1) vs. Lynch's Pub (USASA) game on June 16 at a site to be determined.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's national championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer.

It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world.