The Des Moines Menace and Little Rock Rangers will carry USL League Two’s flag into the Second Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup next Wednesday night, with both clubs aiming for a second consecutive victory against professional opposition to extend their run in the tournament.

Each side will face opposition from USL League One, with the Menace drawn at home against reigning League One title-holder Union Omaha and the Rangers set to hit the road to face first-year side FC Naples.

Here are two reasons why each club can advance to square off with one of the 16 USL Championship teams that will enter in the Third Round.

Des Moines Menace

1. Valley Stadium Provides Homefield Advantage

Homefield advantage wasn’t a dealbreaker for sides in the First Round of this year’s tournament – 15 of the 32 teams to advance did so on the road, including the Menace, although seven needed either extra time or a penalty shootout to do so – but getting drawn at Valley Stadium for their second outing in the tournament is going to be a big benefit for Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty and the rest of Des Moines’ veteran lineup where the home crowd will finally get to see its stars in action.

The Menace have built a fearsome record at Valley Stadium over recent years – last year the side went 6-0-1 across the regular season and playoffs on home turf to finish top of the Heartland Division – and the side boasts an 11-game undefeated streak at the venue going back to midway through the 2023 season. With a big crowd likely to be on hand, the Menace’s current squad will want to continue that winning tradition.

2. Take Advantage of Union Omaha’s Ring Rust

With the USL League Two season not set to get underway until May, it’s true that the Menace haven’t had any game action aside from their victory on the road against Sporting Kansas City II in the First Round. The good news for the side? Union Omaha hasn’t had much live action either, with this past Saturday 3-1 win at South Georgia Tormenta FC only its third across all competitions to start the 2025 season.

Omaha will enter with a higher level of pedigree than SKC II offered – Los Buhos have one of the USL’s top coaches in Dominic Casciato and will feature talented veterans such as Brent Kallman, Joe Gallardo, Josue Aaron Gomez and Prosper Kasim, who was a hero for USL Championship side Birmingham Legion in its run to the Quarterfinals in 2023 – but having that much time between games could see the visitors out of rhythm. Des Moines can capitalize on that and in turn earn its first trip to the Third Round since 2016.

Little Rock Rangers

1. There’s Nothing Like a Hot Goalkeeper

While Caoimhin McConnell scored the only goal as the Rangers claimed their first victory in the Open Cup in club history against the USL Championship’s Birmingham Legion two weeks ago, the undoubted star of the show was goalkeeper Tomasz Wróblewski, whose first-half penalty save to deny Legion forward Lucca Dourado provided a key moment in the game. The denial was part of a three-save shutout for the native of Poland, who for the past two college seasons has featured for Elon University in North Carolina.

Wróblewski performed well for the Phoenix, putting up 115 saves and a save percentage of 74.2 percent across 29 appearances for the side. He’s also got European pedigree, having competed for Legia Warsaw’s U-19s and in the fourth division in Italy before his move to compete collegiately in the United States. In a single-elimination game, if your goalkeeper comes up with a big performance, you’re always going to have a chance to move on.

2. Get The Opening Goal, Take Advantage of Counterattacks

If there was one trend evident in the First Round, it was scoring the opening goal made a big difference to a club’s fortunes. Of the 32 teams to advance, 25 scored first out of 30 games that saw a goal (two were decided in penalty shootouts after scoreless draws through extra time). That was the case for Rangers and for the Menace in their victories, with Little Rock’s strike early in the second half opening up the game for the side as Legion were required to push more numbers forward.

Against a team that’s shown impressive defensive confidence in League One this season – FC Naples has conceded only once in three league outings going into Saturday’s contest against Portland Hearts of Pine – the Rangers are going to have to maximize the chances they get. If they do, as McConnell did against Birmingham, it could deliver a historic result for the League Two club.