After a 2-2 conclusion following extra time, Chicago Fire FC was defeated 5-4 in penalty kicks by Union Omaha in a 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round match at Soldier Field. Read postmatch quotes from Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson and goalkeeper Spencer Richey below:
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson
On the status of Carlos Terán...
"He had some pain in his lower leg during warm-ups. We had the doctors look at him and he just felt like he couldn't go. We have to get some further evaluation about that. But what I was told is that the pain in his leg, he didn't feel like he could make it."
On losing to Union Omaha...
"Well, it's very hard, it's very difficult. Frankly, I'm pissed off because the team that we're trying to build here - and it doesn't matter who's on the pitch - I don't think tonight we displayed Chicago Fire soccer. It was just not intense enough. We didn't play fast enough and I felt like we were too casual on the night. We warned these guys that, when you play a team like this from a lower division, they feel like they have a lot to prove. They're gonna come, they're gonna bring intensity, they're gonna bring the effort and we have to match that. And I don't think that we did that tonight.
Sometimes, we talk about killer instinct. Killer instinct is not just about making a tackle or about kicking a guy hard. Sometimes it's about being one-v-one with the keeper and putting that ball in the back of the net and sticking that goal away. We created so many chances, especially in the first half, to put this team away and we didn't. It took us two penalty kicks in the run of play to stay in the game with this team, which it shouldn't have been like that. So, I'm very disappointed with the way we showed up tonight and how we performed and that will not happen again."
On Rafael Czichos' play after an unexpected start...
"Well, he's the captain of our team. We wish we didn't have to play him tonight or definitely didn't want to have to play him 120 minutes tonight. But he's a warrior, he's our captain, he's our leader. He stepped in because we had to make that change right before the start of the game. And it's something that, now we have to manage him in training the next couple of days leading into the Minnesota game. But he's always gonna bring it. That's why he's our captain. That's why he's our leader."
On overcoming the loss before the next regular season game...
"Well, we have to be very good at putting this behind us. This is gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt for a while because I feel like we are the better team and we should be going on. But they didn't come here and lay down tonight. No, they came here and fought because they wanted to go through. On the night, I thought they wanted it more than we did because we didn't really show up like we should. We created the chances and we just didn't put them away, even in the second half, late in the game. We're missing from two, three yards out with a wide-open net. I don't know how we cannot even get a leg on that to just tap it in. So, the mentality was just not there tonight and I'm very upset about that. Because one of the things that we want to do here is always, always play hard and play with the right attitude, play with the right discipline. And we didn't display that tonight and I'm very, very upset about that."
On the confidence of Kacper Przybyłko...
"Well, he's a veteran player and he has to find some way. He's in a bit of a funk right now and he has to find some way to get out of it. As a team, we have to put him in good situations more often and that starts with training. So, we definitely have to make sure that we get him on track, because he's a big part of what we're going to need in the attack. It's going to help when Shaq (Xherdan Shaqiri) comes back, as far as creating more chances for him. But in the meantime, we have to find a way for him to gain that confidence back and start putting goals away for us, because we're gonna need it."
Chicago Fire FC Goalkeeper Spencer Richey
On being given the captain’s armband for the game tonight…
“Yeah, it was an honor. Originally Rafa (Czichos) wasn't expected to be in the 11. It was a late scratch, and I said, you know, ‘Hey Rafa, here you are’ and he said, ‘No, man, you keep it. You deserve it.’ So it's a very cool honor. Just unfortunately didn't end the way we wanted it to.”
On keeping himself in the game mentally and physically…
“Yeah, I think it just comes with years of playing and you know. I've been in situations before where maybe I'm not getting a ton of playing time and then I have to step in and play a game or two, and I think you just lean on those situations that you've had in the past and you lean on what you do on a daily basis. For me, that's where I try to draw my confidence from since I don't have a recent run of games to draw from, so just try to be reliant on that to set me up to play well.”
On what it was like to play a leadership role for the team tonight…
“Yeah, it's a fun role. You know, I've, over the last few years, I've kind of transitioned into that medium-experienced player to now one of the more experienced guys on the teams that I'm on and there's a ton of good young players on previous teams that I've been on and especially on this team. It's rewarding, you know, to help mentor young guys and to see them progress and improve. We certainly have a good group of young guys on this team and some guys that are immediate contributors for us. So it's a fun role to play and you know, when I was a young player, there were some older guys that were good to me and showed me the way so I'm trying to do the same for the next crop of players.”
On what he took away from tonight for both himself and the Club…
“Yeah, I guess if there's a bright side to take from this, it's that guys that haven't gotten as many minutes, like myself, were able to get some. But I think the biggest takeaway and you know, it's clear that yeah, it's a third division team and maybe they don't have the quality of players that we do but if you lose focus, if you lose concentration, I mean, MLS is a league of parity, and it clearly can happen. The worst team can beat the best team in MLS on any given day. And today, it was a more extreme example that we weren't sharp enough on both ends of the field. Some chances that we should have put away, some sloppy moments at the back where we should have been more decisive, some of our clearances and not messing around with it, and even a third division team can punish you for it. So, you know, tonight was an example that if you don't have the right mindset, you don't have the right focus for 90 or 120, then you can lose to anybody.”
