UPDATE: Due to power outages at Toyota Park, tonight’s Quarterfinal match vs. New York Red Bulls has been moved to a 6 p.m. ET kickoff (5 p.m. local time). Tickets and parking for the match are free and the broadcast is still on. TheCup.us Live Blog will now start at 5:30 p.m. ET.
QUARTERFINAL ROUND
New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire
Toyota Park – Bridgeview, Ill.
July 12 – 6 p.m. ET
Broadcast: Chicago-Fire.com (Video)
New York Red Bulls
Third Round: FC New York (USL Pro) 1:2 New York Red Bulls (MLS)
Scoreless through the first half of the local derby, the Red Bulls found themselves surprisingly trailing at the 56th minute mark. Two minutes later Juan Agudelo found Corey Hertzog to quickly level terms. Defender Tim Ream would set up John Rooney for the winner in the 65th minute. Recap [+]
How They Qualified: Automatic entrant from top six MLS finish in 2010.
This Month in MLS: The month started off well for New York, posting a 2-2 draw in California July 2 against San Jose on a pair of Joel Lindpere strikes. They then dominated Toronto FC in a stunning 5-0 thumping July 6. Jan Gunnar Solli set up Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers in the first half with Joel Lindpere advancing the lead to three in the second half before setting up a pair of Juan Agudelo strikes to complete the contest. On Saturday though, it was all about the recent trade as former Red Bull Dwayne De Rosario burning New York just after the hour mark to give DC the 1-0 road win.
Last Five: L-W-D-D-L | Season record: 6-4-10 (1-2-7 Away), tied for first place in Eastern Conference, tied for fifth overall.
Open Cup History: The Red Bulls have come close early in their history, with trips to the Semifinals in 1997, 1998 and 2000, but have never won the US Open Cup. The closest they came was in 2003 when they lost to the Chicago Fire in their only trip to the championship game. Since then, it’s been a series of short runs in the tournament, with a 1-5 record the last five times they have qualified. New York did not qualify in 2007 or 2009. New York is 3-2-1 all-time in Quarterfinal matches, with Five of the Red Bulls’ six Quarterfinal matches have been against MLS clubs. This is their second match against Chicago, the other being the 2003 final loss.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 13-12-1 (1-0 in PKs) | 5-6-1 (1-0 in PKs) vs. MLS teams | 0-1-0 vs. Chicago (2003 Final)
Chicago Fire
Third Round: Chicago Fire (MLS) 1:0 Rochester Rhinos (USL Pro)
The only MLS club on the road for the Third Round, the Fire faced a tight one against giant-killer Rochester and came away with a narrow 1-0 win. Diego Chavez created the play that led to his goal, feeding Corben Bone the ball in the 37th minute. Bone drove past a defender and let loose a shot that the goalkeeper knocked away. The rebound popped up into the center of the box where Alfonso Motagalvan tried to clear on the volley only to see it skim off the side of his shin and fall to Chaves, who fired a low ball into inside the right post from 18 yards. Recap [+]
How They Qualified: Seeded fourth overall, the Fire opened the play-in tournament in the second round of the western bracket of MLS qualifying. They defeated the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids March 30 with a 2-1 victory. Gaston Puerari, who was recently sold to Atlas (Mexico), scored the opening goal moments before the break, with Andre Akpan answering back in early in the second stanza. In the haze remaining from flares set off at the hour
mark, defender Jalil Anibaba let loose a shocking 45-yard strike that surprised the keeper and proved to be the winner. Trailing San Jose by two goals in the finale for the bracket, Chicago’s Orr Barouch pulled a goal back in the 61st and Yamith Cuesta leveled terms in the 76th, sending the match to penalties, where two Earthquakes rang shots off the crossbar in a 5-4 decision to send the Fire to the Open Cup.
This Month in MLS: The Fire have struggled to find some offense in the two weeks of league play since the Third Round, playing to a 1-1 draw July 2 on the road versus Chivas USA with Dominic Oduro netting the opener. The result in their second consecutive at the Home Depot Center did not get any better against the Galaxy Saturday. Cristian Nazarit leveled the score in the 58th minute, four minutes after Landon Donovan’s opener, only to see David Beckham hit for a winner three minutes later.
Last Five: L-D-D-D-D | Season Record: 2-5-12 (1-1-6 Home), tied for seventh in Eastern Conference, tied for 14th overall.
Open Cup History: The Fire are one of the most successful Pro Era teams, winning the Cup four times (1998, 2000, 2003 against the New York MetroStars, 2006) and finishing runner-up in 2004. The team has qualified for the Open Cup every year since their founding in 1998. However, since the 2006 Cup title, the team entered this year having only won one game in the tournament since, going 1-3-1 (0-1 in PKs). The Fire are 5-1-2 all-time in Quarterfinal matches and haven’t played a Quarterfinal game at Toyota Park since 2006, when they defeated New England 2-1.
PRO ERA RECORD: 26-8-3 (2-1 in PKs) | 15-4-1 (1-0 in PKs) vs. MLS teams | 1-0-0 vs. New York (2003 Final)
Head to Head 2011
The two teams drew 1-1 in Toyota Park on June 26. Chicago will travel to Red Bull Arena on August 13.
2011 US Open Cup Semifinal Scenarios
Chicago Fire / NY Red Bulls at Sporting Kansas City
8:30 p.m. – LIVESTRONG Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kan.
OR
Richmond Kickers at Chicago Fire
8:30 p.m. – Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.
OR
Richmond Kickers at New York Red Bulls
8:00 p.m. – Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.