BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – D.C. United may not have much to play for during the final months of the MLS regular season, but after upending the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Wednesday at Toyota Park, they're one win from taking home their third US Open Cup trophy.
Dwayne De Rosario scored a minute before halftime after Sean Johnson mishandled a deflected shot, and Nick DeLeon padded the lead three minutes out of the break to ensure the result.
The victory puts D.C. in the Open Cup final for the fifth time in club history, and they now await the winner of Wednesday's Real Salt Lake vs. Portland semifinal to find out where they'll travel for the championship match on Sept. 24 or Oct. 1.
Chicago had the better of the chances early, and their best of the half came when an Alex header off of a Patrick Nyarko cross was saved by Joe Willis.
But neither team created an abundance of chances before DeLeon's 44th-minute shot was deflected high into the air, which Johnson misjudged and fumbled before De Rosario placed a shot past defender Austin Berry.
Just two minutes after the halftime whistle, DeLeon collected a cross from James Riley and snuck the ball past Johnson at the near post with a pretty finish.
Conor Doyle almost added to the Fire's misery in the 60th minute, but Johnson was able to make a save off a breakaway shot from Conor Doyle.
Chicago pushed forward during the last half-hour, bringing in two forwards and going with three in the back, but they weren't able to close the gap. Forward Juan Luis Anangonó almost brought the Fire to within one in the 66th minute after Mike Magee found him at the top of the box, but his bouncing shot went just wide.
In the 78th minute, Berry pounced on a loose ball in the box and tipped it toward the goal, but the ball was cleared by Perry Kitchen as it headed for the lower corner.
D.C. United return to league play on Saturday when they travel to Philadelphia. Chicago, meanwhile, host Montreal on Saturday in league play, with their quest for Open Cup title No. 5 dashed for at least another year.
