The magic -- and, at times, oddities -- of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup always seems to live up to the hype.
And the fact that Wednesday’s Fourth Round matchup at MAPFRE Stadium was one between two longstanding MLS rivals rather than opponents from across the American soccer pyramid didn’t make the evening any less unique.
Quite the opposite, a game that featured a brace by Fire forward Nemanja Nikolić, a pair of goals in extra time and an MLS-record-tying 11-round penalty kick shootout that saw the same man deliver both the game-winning goal and game-winning save is one that’s sure to be remembered for years by fans of the historic cup competition.
After falling behind on the road to Columbus Crew SC in just the 10th minute, a resilient Fire side battled its way to extra time and eventually a PK shootout, where goalkeeper Richard Sánchez emerged as the man of the hour after a marathon series of PKs. Following a first-round miss by Chicago and a second-round saved attempt for Columbus, the two teams combined to hit on their next 17 tries from the spot, the last of which saw Sánchez himself confidently strike one past his counterpart from Crew SC, Logan Ketterer.
“I don’t recall taking a PK in these circumstances, but you do train for them," Sánchez said after the match. "You train for them during practice and I myself train them, so it feels good. It gives me confidence. I think it gives the players confidence as well for the ones that made it and we just continue to build from this.”
Sánchez and Ketterer than exchanged positions for the bottom half of the 11th round, where Sánchez dove to push Ketterer’s attempt off the post and clinch a place for the Men In Red in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16.
The result kept Chicago, which next will travel to Atlanta United FC for a Round of 16 contest on June 20, unbeaten in seven all-time U.S. Open Cup clashes against their Ohio-based rival.
Bolstered by a return to a starting role by Nikolić, limited in recent weeks by an ankle injury, as well as the re-introduction in the second half of Dax McCarty following his May 12 hamstring injury also suffered at MAPFRE Stadium, the Fire enjoyed a 52 percent possession advantage and 14-13 edge in shots for the night against a young but spirited Crew SC lineup.
“It is always important thing, for us, this competition," Nikolić said. "I am happy because of the goals. I am happy that I don’t feel any more problem with the ankles, it's been bothering me a couple of weeks but the medical staff did a very good job last week so, now I feel OK and I am happy that we are going to the next round."
Nikolić appeared to have clinched advancement when he slammed in a go-ahead goal in the 109th minute, but that strike was countered only five minutes later by Columbus’ Adam Jahn to set up the decisive PKs.
Nikolić struck a solid attempt off the top of the crossbar, however, to give the hosts the early advantage in the shootout. But Sánchez dove to deny Héctor Jiménez’ try in the second round, helping the Fire get back on level terms and setting up the marathon back-and-forth that culminated in Sánchez’ heroics.
The Fire will have limited time with which to enjoy the hard-fought victory, with another key MLS matchup on the horizon for Saturday night. The New England Revolution, which suffered a more bitter fate in their U.S. Open Cup foray Tuesday at the hands of USL side Louisville City FC, will visit Toyota Park (7:30 PM | TICKETS) on the weekend for a match with a potentially significant impact on the midseason Eastern Conference table.
"I think it is good for us to get this win in the Open Cup and very important for our club," Paunovic said. "This very important competition gives us more confidence to move on not only in the next round, but in the next couple of games, the next stretch of games we have at home and on the road.”
