These five levels, namely Major League Soccer, the United Soccer Leagues (First Division, Second Division, and Premier Development League), and the United States Adult Soccer Association, each have their own separate qualification process to trim their ranks down to their final team delegations in the months leading up to the start of the tournament proper.
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The 2010 Cup will feature 8 teams from the MLS, 9 from the USSF Division 2 (being all 9 US-based teams), all 6 teams from the USL Second Division, 8 teams from the PDL, 8 from USASA, and an additional team resulting from a single match between Sonoma County Sol of the National Premier Soccer League and PSA Los Gatos Storm of US Club Soccer.
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Due to the reshuffling of teams and the compromise between the United Soccer Leagues and the breakaway North American Soccer League, there are only 6 teams in USL-2 and 9 eligible teams in the newly formed USSF Division 2 Professional League (Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Puerto Rico Islanders are not eligible because they are Canadian or Puerto Rican clubs).
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The USCS qualifying tournament consists of 2 groups with the top two finishers moving on to a single elimination bracket, with the winner qualifying for the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in round.
Swinehart played the amateur team CASL Elite in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2010; his team won their regional qualification group (which also featured NPSL teams FC Tulsa and Atlanta FC) before falling 4-2 to USL Second Division pro side Charleston Battery in the first round of tournament proper.