CHICAGO (May 24, 2023) – In the first-ever matchup between the two teams, Chicago Fire FC defeated Austin FC 2-0 in the Round of 16 of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas on Wednesday night, with goals from defender Rafael Czichos and forward Kacper Przybyłko while goalkeeper Spencer Richey kept the clean sheet.
Chicago advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the 15th time in Club history, which ranks as the second-most in MLS era (since 1996), per Opta. The Fire will face the Houston Dynamo at home in the next round, with game date, time and broadcast information to be announced by U.S. Soccer at a later date.
At the outset of the match, Chicago pressed forward, slipping behind the backline on several occasions in the opening 30 minutes. It was captain Rafael Czichos who scored the opening goal of the match in the 27th minute when winger Maren Haile-Selassie’s blocked shot led to a Fire corner kick from the left side. Brian Gutiérrez lined up to take the corner, sending a cross that found Czichos on the far end of the 18-yard-box. Czichos sent his header back across the goal and into the upper left corner. The goal marked Czichos’s first goal of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and his third goal of 2023 across all competitions.
Forward Kacper Przybyłko doubled the Fire lead just four minutes after entering the match in the 73rd minute for Kei Kamara. Xherdan Shaqiri controlled the ball on the left side of the box, moving toward Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver’s near post. Stuver moved to cover the post and Shaqiri sent a short-range shot right at Stuver, who stood his ground to make the save. The rebound fell right back to Shaqiri, who looked up and sent a sharp ball across the six-yard box, where Przybyłko understood the assignment, sending a one-time shot into the right side of the goal.
Fire goalkeeper Richey kept the lead at two with a save on the line in the 84th minute when Austin sent in a corner from the right side that second-half sub Ethan Finlay redirected on frame with a powerful header. Richey stood his ground, making the save with his face as the ball was cleared from danger.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago heads to the Bay State to face the New England Revolution at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 27 at Gillette Stadium. The match will be broadcast on Apple TV+, streamed in English on wlsam.com, and transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- Rafael Czichos scored his third goal of 2023 across all competitions, and his third goal in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The German captain scored twice in the Fire’s Open Cup match against Union Omaha in 2022.
- Kacper Przybyłko scored his second goal of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, having also tallied against Chicago House on April 26.
- Chicago advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the 15th time in the Club’s history, behind only FC Dallas (16 times) in the MLS era.
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup rosters are limited to 18 players, unlike 20-player Major League Soccer rosters.
- Only one change was made to the lineup that faced St. Louis CITY SC in the Round of 32 of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on May 9 at SeatGeek Stadium.
- Captain Rafael Czichos returned to the lineup in place of centerback Wyatt Omsberg. Czichos was joined in the center of the defense by Maurico Pineda, and was flanked by Miguel Navarro to his left, and Arnaud Souquet on the right.
- The Argentine defensive midfield duo of Gastón Giménez and Federico Navarro once again paired up to support attacking midfielders Brian Gutiérrez (left), Xherdan Shaqiri (middle) and Maren Haile-Selassie (right).
- Shaqiri, Gutiérrez and Haile-Selassie lined up together for the third-straight match, while forward Kei Kamara returned to lead the attack.
- Goalkeeper Spencer Richey once again backstopped the group, getting the nod for the third time in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- Defenders Jonathan Dean (left upper leg) and Carlos Terán (right knee), and midfielders Chris Mueller (right upper leg) and Sergio Oregel Jr. (right lower leg) were unavailable for selection tonight.
Box Score:
Austin FC 0:2 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Czichos (Gutiérrez) 27’
CHI - Przybyłko (Shaqiri) 77’
Discipline:
CHI - Pineda (Yellow Card) 48’
ATX - Radovanović (Yellow Card) 62’
ATX - Ring (Yellow Card) 89’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Richey, D M. Navarro, D Czichos (capt.), D Pineda, D Souquet, M F. Navarro, M Giménez (Torres, 73’), M Haile-Selassie, M Shaqiri (Burks, 88’), M Gutiérrez (Herbers, 65’), F Kamara (Przybyłko, 72’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Aceves, F Koutsias
Austin FC: GK Stuver, D Cascante (capt.), D Väisänen (Radovanović, 46’), D Gallagher, D Lundkvist, M Ring, M Pereira, M Valencia (Djeffal, 46’), M Redes (Fagundez, 65’), M Rigoni (Finlay, 76’), F Zardes
Subs not used: GK Bersano, D Lima, F Urruti
Stats Summary: ATX / CHIShots: 9 / 12
Shots on Goal: 2 / 8
Saves: 6 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 87.1% / 83.9%
Corners: 6 / 5
Fouls: 15 / 11
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 57.3% / 42.7%
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Joshua Ell, Meghan Mullen
Fourth Official: Elton GarcÃa
