Carolina Cup

The Carolina Challenge Cup is a four-team round robin pre-season competition hosted by the Charleston Battery. It was started in 2004 and features teams from Major League Soccer and the United Soccer Leagues. The Columbus Crew edged out D.C. United on goal differential to win the 2004 competition, while the San Jose Earthquakes won the 2005 competition. San Jose's second iteration (although a separate team), the Houston Dynamo, won the 2006 and 2007 versions. The San Jose Earthquakes again won the tournament on their return to the MLS in 2008 while Real Salt Lake claimed the title in their debut appearance in 2009.

Over the first few years of the tournament, the champion had gone on to win one of the two year-end MLS trophies, the MLS Supporters' Shield or MLS Cup. This streak ended in 2008 as San Jose Earthquakes failed to make the playoffs, consequently missing out on both titles.

Coffee Pot Cup

A highlight of the competitions that have been held so far is the Coffee Pot Cup, a game between D.C. United and the host Charleston Battery, making it a rare example of an MLS-USL team rivalry. The history behind this comes from a postgame incident after the Third Round of the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, where Charleston pulled a shocking 4-3 extra time upset at home over D.C. A news report from then:

"DC United apparently used the visitors' locker room to vent its frustration over losing to the Charleston Battery in last Wednesday's US Open Cup match at Blackbaud Stadium here. Members of the Major League Soccer team smashed two coffee pots and pulled off some showerheads, according to Battery officials. 'I think a bill will be sent to them,' Battery general manager Buckley Andrews said earlier this week. The US Soccer Federation website's match report on Charleston's 4-3 overtime win over the two-time MLS champion called it 'one of the biggest upsets ever seen in American soccer history ... It will surely go down as an Open Cup classic.'"

After a few years, supporters of both sides in the name of spirited competition decided to have an actual Coffee Pot played for between the sides as a friendly wager. The winner has the other team's supporters fill the Cup with beer for the winning team's supporters to enjoy. Supporters of both sides say that whenever the two sides play, they are playing for the Coffee Pot Cup (the two sides could meet in the U.S. Open Cup if drawn together, or in an arranged friendly). The inaugural winners of the Cup in 2004 were D.C. United after winning 2-1. In 2005 and 2006, the two teams played to a tie (2-2, 1-1), meaning no one had to pay for the beer to fill the Cup, but D.C. maintained possession.

Mainly due to their commitment to play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, D.C. United were unable to play in the 2007 and 2008 versions of the tournament.

Most recently the teams competed in the final of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as D.C. United defeated Charleston 2-1 on September 3, 2008 at RFK Stadium.

• 2004, Carolina Challenge Cup: D.C. United 2, Charleston Battery 1
• 2005, Carolina Challenge Cup: D.C. United 2, Charleston Battery 2
• 2006, Carolina Challenge Cup: D.C. United 1, Charleston Battery 1
• 2006, Cary, NC Friendly: D.C. United 2, Charleston Battery 0
• 2008, US Open Cup: D.C. United 2, Charleston Battery 1
• 2009, Carolina Challenge Cup: D.C. United 2, Charleston Battery 0

Participants

• 2004: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.), Columbus Crew (MLS), DC United (MLS), Wilmington Hammerheads (USL 2nd Div.)
• 2005: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.), Columbus Crew (MLS), DC United (MLS), San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
• 2006: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.), New York Red Bulls (MLS), DC United (MLS), Houston Dynamo (MLS)
• 2007: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.), New York Red Bulls (MLS), Houston Dynamo (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
• 2008: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.), New York Red Bulls (MLS), San Jose Earthquakes (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
• 2009: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.), DC United (MLS), Real Salt Lake (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)

Champions

• 2004: Columbus Crew
• 2005: San Jose Earthquakes
• 2006: Houston Dynamo
• 2007: Houston Dynamo
• 2008: San Jose Earthquakes
• 2009: Real Salt Lake

Results

Carolina Cup Regatta Contact Information

Through a partnership with The Carolina Cup Regatta Inc., your company can: • Target Northeastern North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia markets.

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Carolina Cup Regatta

License plates can be purchased from the Chamber of Commerce office, or Pasquotank County Tax Collector's office for $8.00.

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35th annual CAROLINA CUP bicycles races, Greensboro, North Carolina

Annual race in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photographs from 1970s to 2006, and results from 1999 to 2006.

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Tickets, sponsorship, and schedule of events for these annual steeplechase races in Camden, SC.

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Carolina Cup Racing Association | Facebook

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Carolina Cup (CarolinaCup) on Twitter

Fall Cup is SATURDAY, Nov. 21, 2009 this year!!!! ... Hey there! CarolinaCup is using Twitter. Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the ...

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