FENTON, Mo. – In the heat and “loumidity” of a typical St. Louis summer night, Luis Solignac came up with the spark the Chicago Fire needed to gain a 1-0 fourth-round U.S. Open Cup victory over Saint Louis FC Wednesday night.
Solignac, stationed with his back to the St. Louis net in the 28th minute, tracked a flighted ball from Brandon Vincent, stationed 20 yards behind by the near sideline. “I tried to do something with it,” Solignac said.
Still with his back to the goal, he met the ball from Vincent with the outside of his right foot and flicked it in a high arc that drifted over Saint Louis goalkeeper Adam Grinwis into the far corner of the net. Cue the celebration, and the inevitable ribbing from his teammates. “Some of the guys gave me a time, but I’m happy and proud because my teammates liked it,” Solignac said.
With the temperature at 91 degrees at kickoff and playing on artificial turf against a USL side backed by an impassioned standing-room-only crowd at World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Solignac and his teammates knew they were in for a challenge.
“It’s a different field and it’s difficult weather,” Solignac said. “They played with passion and we had to match that energy. It was going to take a while for us to adjust and we knew we couldn’t get frustrated.”
Solignac’s highlight-film tally took care of that. “It’s instinct,” Solignac said of his goal. “When you get the chance to do it, you just hope it goes in.”
Saint Louis FC coach and U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Preki, who used to score some incredible goals himself, could only shake his head. “I would say that was lucky, but that’s a credit to the guy,” Preki said. “I’ll give him 50 balls right now (like that), and if he scores . . . “ Preki hesitated, laughed, and said, “I’ll give him $2. That doesn’t happen too often in a game.”
