Jäger Bomb: Riverhounds, USL Championship clubs will now compete in USL Jägermeister Cup competition

United Soccer League announced Thursday, that USL Championship clubs, including the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, will be participating in the USL Cup beginning in 2025.  

It may have been one of the worst kept secrets on the US soccer landscape.

The United Soccer League (USL) announced today the expansion of the USL Jägermeister Cup, uniting clubs from the USL Championship and League One in a groundbreaking interleague competition. The 2025 tournament represents a significant milestone for domestic soccer, as it marks the first time a U.S. soccer league has established its own interleague cup.

For the Riverhounds and USL Championship clubs, this would be the second in-season tournament added to their respective annual schedules, if you add their projected participation in the annual Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

This tournament would provide the Riverhounds with opportunities to play contests against teams from League One for the first time, while also competing for the prestige of lifting a Domestic trophy.

Last year, with only League One clubs participating, Northern Colorado Hailstorm captured the first-ever USL Cup trophy, beating Forward Madison, 1-1 (winning a penalty shootout 5–4) .

The Riverhounds’ USL regular season schedule is not expected to be announced until January.

Entering its second year after a successful launch exclusively with League One clubs last season, the 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup will feature all 38 professional men’s clubs, including the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, competing in a World Cup-style tournament throughout the regular season. Adding more meaningful matches to the annual calendar, the USL Jägermeister Cup includes fan-first modifications to encourage attacking soccer, such as penalty shootouts to determine match winners during the group stage and goals scored as the first tiebreaker in the group standings.

The USL Jägermeister Cup will consist of six regional groups, with six or seven teams assigned by league or conference affiliation per group. Each team will play four matches — two home, two away — in group play with home assignments being randomly drawn. The group stage kicks off April 26 and concludes the weekend of July 26. After the group stage, a draw will set the matchups for the single-elimination knockout rounds, which will begin three weeks later. The USL Jägermeister Cup will conclude with the Final on the weekend of Oct. 11.

The Riverhounds have been placed in Group 4 for the 2025 competition, pairing them with fellow Championship sides Detroit City FC, Hartford Athletic and Rhode Island FC. Filling out the group are two newcomers to League One: New York-based Westchester SC and Portland Hearts of Pine from Maine.

The addition of the Jägermeister Cup gives the Riverhounds three distinct competitions to contest in 2025. The new tournament will be played concurrently with the USL Championship season and the U.S. Open Cup, giving the Hounds multiple opportunities to add to their trophy collection. The schedule for Jägermeister Cup matches will be announced concurrently with the forthcoming announcement of the USL Championship schedule.

2025 Jägermeister Cup groups

 

GROUP 1	GROUP 2	GROUP 3	GROUP 4	GROUP 5	GROUP 6
AV Alta FC	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	Birmingham Legion FC	Detroit City FC	Charlotte Independence	Charleston Battery
Las Vegas Lights FC	El Paso Locomotive FC	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	Hartford Athletic	Lexington SC	Greenville Triumph
Monterey Bay F.C.	New Mexico United	Forward Madison FC	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	Loudoun United FC	Miami FC
Oakland Roots SC	Phoenix Rising FC	Indy Eleven	Portland Hearts of Pine	Louisville City FC	FC Naples
Orange County SC	San Antonio FC	One Knoxville SC	Rhode Island FC	North Carolina FC	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Sacramento Republic FC	Texoma FC	FC Tulsa	Westchester SC	Richmond Kickers	Tormenta FC
Spokane Velocity FC	Union Omaha