After battling to a physical 0-0 tie on national television in the first-ever derby at Centreville Bank Stadium on July 19, Rhode Island FC and Hartford Athletic will face off again one week later in a crucial USL Jägermeister Cup matchup. The fourth and final gameday of the competition’s group stage is upon us, and the two New England rivals are two of many clubs in this weekend’s full slate of games that will be fighting to secure qualification to the quarterfinal knockout stage of the newly-expanded, interleague competition. Ahead of this weekend’s busy slate, here is everything you need to know about the USL Jägermeister Cup, and what is at stake for the Ocean State club.
WHAT IS THE JÄGERMEISTER CUP?
Following a successful inaugural tournament that featured all 12 teams from USL League One exclusively in 2024, the United Soccer League announced on Dec. 12, 2024 that all 24 USL Championship teams will join the newly-expanded Jägermeister Cup in 2025. The World Cup-style tournament marks the first time the U.S. Soccer Federation has established its own cup between two professional divisions.
The group stage of the tournament – which consists of six regional groups, each made up of six or seven teams assigned by league or conference affiliation – kicked off on April 26 and will conclude on Saturday. After the group stage, which will see six group winners and two Wild Cards advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds, a draw will set the knockout round quarterfinal matchups on Aug. 20. The USL Jägermeister Cup will conclude with the Final on Oct. 4.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
In an effort to add more meaningful games to the schedule and promote attacking-minded soccer, the tournament introduced a number of fan-first match modifications for the group stage. In similar fashion to other competitions, teams receive three points for a win in the group stage, zero points for a loss and one point if a group stage game is tied after 90 minutes. However, tied games will automatically go straight to a penalty shootout, with the winner of the shootout receiving an extra point in the group standings. Each team plays two home games and two road games in the group stage.
At the conclusion of the group stage, all six group winners will receive automatic qualification to the quarterfinal knockout stage of the competition. With a win or tie vs. Hartford Athletic, Rhode Island FC will win its group and go through as the winner of Group 4. In addition, the two best second-place teams will receive a Wild Card spot and advance to the quarterfinal knockout stage to complete the eight-team knockout slate.
In the event that two or more teams are tied on points, the following tiebreaker scenarios will be used to determine the group winner:
- Head-to-head record in group play
- Total wins in group play
- Most goals scored in group play
- Least goals conceded in group play
- Goal differential in group play
- Disciplinary points (ex: yellow card, red card accumulation)
- Coin toss
After the group winners are determined, if two or more second-place teams are tied on points, the following tiebreaker scenarios will be used to determine who receives the two Wild Card spots:
- Most goals scored in group play
- Head-to-head record in group play
- Total wins in group play
- Least goals conceded in group play
- Goal differential in group play
- Disciplinary points (ex: yellow card, red card accumulation)
- Coin toss
The order of the tiebreakers, which begins with most goals scored rather than the traditional head-to-head or goal differential, is designed to encourage attacking soccer and generate exciting, high-scoring games. The teams that receive one of the two Wild Card spots cannot face the winner of their own group in the quarterfinal knockout stage. If knockout stage games finish tied after 90 minutes, the game will go straight to a penalty shootout.
13 clubs have already been eliminated from knockout stage contention, with the remaining 21 set to battle it out for eight spots in the knockout stage with all to play for on the final gameday.
For both the quarterfinal and semifinal stages of the competition, matchups are determined via a random draw rather than a bracket format. The draw will determine both the matchups and hosting priority. Following the quarterfinal draw on Friday, July 18, Rhode Island FC would host the quarterfinal game vs. Wild Card 1 at Centreville Bank Stadium on Aug. 20 if they win or tie vs. Hartford Athletic on Saturday.
WHAT DOES A CLUB GET FOR WINNING THE JÄGERMEISTER CUP? DOES IT COUNT TOWARD THE REGULAR SEASON?
The winner of the USL Jägermeister Cup receives a $100,000 cash prize and a Jägermeister prize pack. USL Jägermeister Cup games are contested solely for this grand prize and do not count towards the USL Championship or USL League One regular-season standings. Any yellow card cautions or red card suspensions issued in a USL Jägermeister game carry over to the next Jägermeister Cup game, and do not impact a player’s standing in the regular season. All statistics are measured separately and do not count towards a player or team’s regular-season statistics or the regular-season standings.
The only way a red card suspension can carry over into the regular season is if it is violent in nature or violates the League’s zero tolerance policy. All red cards will be reviewed by the League Disciplinary Committee.
HOW IS RHODE ISLAND FC DOING IN THE JÄGERMEISTER CUP?
Rhode Island FC currently leads Group 4 with nine points and a perfect 3W-0L-0T record, sitting two points in front of second-place Hartford Athletic heading into Saturday’s decisive game. The Ocean State club’s attack has been consistently dominant with 4-1 wins over USL League One clubs Portland Hearts of Pine and Westchester SC, as well as a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The two 4-1 wins matched the third-highest single-game goalscoring tally in club history, and firmly established Rhode Island FC as the team to beat in Group 4. Despite the flying start, RIFC still have work to do. A win or tie vs. its regional rivals on Saturday would secure the first-place spot in the group and guarantee advancement to the knockout stage of the competition. A loss would see it finish second, and force it to rely on one of the two Wild Card spots to advance.
