Tomorrow, the Loons will start their final tune up for the regular season in the Carolina Challenge Cup (CCC). The round-robin tournament has been one of the most prominent fixtures on the preseason calendar in U.S. soccer for over a decade, pitting clubs from MLS and USL against each other.

Charleston Battery, the host team for the tournament, founded the competition back in 2004. It was the first competition featuring MLS clubs that was hosted by a lower-division team. The CCC gives teams a high level of competition to prepare their players for the regular season while giving local fans a chance to see world-class players in person.

SOURCE: charlestonbattery.com

In its early iterations, the CCC developed a bit of a reputation as a barometer for the upcoming MLS season. The teams that won the first four cups went on to win either the Supporters’ Shield or MLS Cup that season. The tournament’s predictive power proved more volatile from 2008 through 2010 as the winners either took home the MLS Cup or finished dead last in the league.

The tournament took a brief hiatus in 2016 as the Battery elected to host friendlies with fellow USL teams, but brought back the competition in 2017. The CCC has set the standard for preseason competitions, and has inspired similar tournaments in Arizona, Portland and Orlando.

MNUFC kicks off the tournament against the Battery at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night, with matches against fellow MLS sides Atlanta United FC and Columbus Crew SC the following week. You can stream all of the Loons’ matches on MNUFC.COM or watch on beIN SPORTS.

MNUFC Carolina Challenge Cup Schedule
Saturday, February 17
MNUFC vs. Charleston Battery @ 6:30 p.m. CT

Wednesday, February 21
MNUFC vs. Atlanta United FC @ 6:30 p.m. CT

Saturday, February 24
MNUFC vs. Columbus Crew SC @ 4:00 p.m. CT