CHICAGO (May 9, 2023) – In the first-ever matchup between the two teams, Chicago Fire FC defeated St. Louis CITY SC 2-1 in the Round of 32 of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois on Tuesday night.Â
Midfielders Maren Haile-Selassie and Fabian Herbers scored their first goals of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, helping the team advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2018 edition of the tournament. The draw to determine matchups for the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals will be held on Thursday, May 11.
Haile-Selassie opened his U.S. Open Cup scoring account in the third minute when a defensive clearance by Mauricio Pineda played the ball into space behind the defense on the left flank. The Swiss winger sped down the left side and fired a shot on target. A St. Louis defender raced back to block the shot and deflected Haile-Selassie’s attempt past goalkeeper Ben Lundt to give the hosts an early lead.
Fire forward Kei Kamara almost doubled the lead in the 21st minute. Defender Arnaud Souquet sent in a cross to the near post from the right side. Kamara timed his run to meet the ball while being pressured by a defender, but Lundt reacted in time to save the quick shot.
With the Fire looking to put the match out of reach, Herbers provided the team’s second goal in the 75th minute. Second half substitute Chris Mueller and midfielder Brian GutÃerrez played the ball into the left side of the box, with the ball eventually falling to St. Louis defender Eduard Löwen, who passed it back to Lundt. As the Fire pushed forward with a high press, the ball got away from Lundt’s feet and Gutiérrez wasted no time, pouncing on the loose ball before flicking it across the goal for Herbers, who sent it into the open net.
St. Louis CITY SC pulled one back when Miguel Perez scored off a corner kick from Löwen in the 90+3rd minute.
NEXT MATCH: The Fire will return to the lakefront to host the second of two matches in five days against St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, May 13. Beginning at 12 p.m. CT, the match will serve as the Club’s annual Chicago Sports Day, featuring special appearances from notable alumni from the other major Chicago sports teams, exclusive giveaway items and much more. Tickets for the May 13 match are available for purchase here.Â
The match will be broadcast live on Apple TV+, transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM and streamed in English on wlsam.com. Saturday’s match will also feature a 30-minute pre-match show and a 30-minute post-match show on wlsam.com, with the broadcasters covering the major storylines for fans before and after the match.
 Notes:
- The Fire are currently chasing its fifth Open Cup title in Club history, which would rank as the most for an MLS team in the United States’ oldest soccer tournament. Chicago’s four Open Cup titles are currently tied with Seattle Sounders FC and Sporting KC for the most trophies won by an MLS in the competition.
- Winger Maren Haile-Selassie scored his first career U.S. Open Cup goal in the third minute, and his second Fire goal of 2023.
- Eight changes were made to Saturday's starting lineup that faced Nashville SC, and six changes were made from the lineup that took on Chicago House AC in the last round of the tournament on April 26.
- Fresh off of making his 400th MLS regular season appearance over the weekend, the Fire's top goal-scorer (four) Kei Kamara led the attacking line from the forward position this evening.
- Making his first-ever U.S. Open Cup start was Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri, who slotted into central midfield wearing the captain's armband tonight. He was flanked by Haile-Selassie and Brian Gutiérrez, who both earned their second-career Open Cup starts.
- Supporting the attacking trio were Gastón Giménez and Federico Navarro. Giménez made his first-career start in the competition following a substitute appearance in the Fire's win over Chicago House AC, while Navarro made his second-straight Open Cup start and his third overall appearance.
- In defense tonight, Mauricio Pineda and Wyatt Omsberg partnered centrally while Miguel Navarro and Arnaud Souquet lined up opposite one another at fullback. Omsberg is one of the team's most experienced Open Cup performers, with six appearances behind him entering the match.
- The team's most seasoned Open Cup veteran is Spencer Richey, who started in goal tonight and made his eighth career appearance in the competition.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 2:1 St. Louis CITY SC
Goals:
CHI - Haile-Selassie (Pineda) 3’
CHI - Herbers (Gutiérrez) 75’
STL - Perez (Löwen) 90+3’
Discipline:
CHI - Klopas (Yellow Card) 45+3’
STL - Pompeu (Yellow Card) 70’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Richey, D M. Navarro, D Omsberg, D Souquet, M Giménez, M Gutiérrez (Koutsias, 89’), M Haile-Selassie (Mueller, 46’), M F. Navarro, M Pineda, M Shaqiri (capt.) (Herbers, 62’), F Kamara (Przybyłko, 83’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Aceves, D Burks
St. Louis City SC: GK Lundt, D Hiebert, D Parker (capt.), D Pidro, D Watts (Blom, 78’), M Pompeu, M Jackson (Gioacchini, 59’), M Jensen (Ostrak, 59’), M Löwen, M Perez, M Stroud (Vassilev, 78’)
Subs not used: GK Buerki, D Bartlett, D YaroÂ
Stats Summary: CHI / STL
Shots: 11 / 14
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 3 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 65.9% / 71.3%
Corners: 4 / 10
Fouls: 9 / 17
Offsides: 3 / 2
Possession: 43.3% / 56.7%
Attendance: 4,371
Referee: Brandon Stevis
Assistant Referees: Matthew Rodman, Matthew Seem
Fourth Official: Alexander Beehler
