The Chicago Fire advanced to the semifinal round of the U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 2016 on Wednesday, after defeating USL side Louisville City 3-0 at Toyota Park.
The Fire took the lead in the 16th minute, as Nemanja Nikolic turned in Aleksandar Katai’s cross with a glancing header. They doubled their lead in the 32nd minute, as a terrific individual effort by Katai on the counterattack led to a feed for Bastian Schweinsteiger, who set up Katai to finish the play he did so much work to complete.
Kyle Smith was issued a red card for a late challenge on Tony Tchani in the final 10 minutes, effectively sealing the win for Chicago against 10-man Louisville City, but Diego Campos got a late goal after Louisville goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski dawdled on the ball. Elliot Collier piled on with a stoppage-time goal of his own. Louisville City got a second red card, after Magnus Rasmussen committed a foul on Tchani off the ball.
Goals
- 16' – CHI – Nemanja Nikolic | WATCH
- 32' – CHI – Aleksandar Katai | WATCH
- 90' – CHI – Diego Campos | WATCH
- 90+2' – CHI – Elliot Collier | WATCH
Three Things
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Katai's goal was a beautiful team play that included considerable individual workrate from the Serbian.
Next Up
- CHI: Saturday, July 21 vs. Toronto FC (7 pm ET | TSN1/4 - Full TV & Streaming Info)