Emotions whipped back and forth wildly Tuesday night at the Toyota Park Practice Fields.
Brendan King’s 90th-minute equalizer off a corner kick pulled the Chicago Fire PDL team back from the brink of elimination, seemingly leading 30 minutes of extra time to determine a winner in its Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Second Round match against the Dayton Dutch Lions in Bridgeview, Ill.
But the USL Pro side made the most of the 3 minutes of stoppage time, with Daniel Holowaty scoring after a scramble in the box in the final seconds to give the Dutch Lions a thrilling 2-1 victory.
It was the first win of the year for Dayton, which is 0-4-3 in league play and advances to play at Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew in the third round next Tuesday.
The Dutch Lions, who had scored just two goals over their first seven matches, went ahead in the 38th minute as defender Shane Smith came up the left side and crossed to Eli Garner, who finished against Fire PDL goalkeeper Jordan Godsey.
The score remained 1-0 until the final minute of the 90. Chris Prince, a second-half substitute for Fire PDL, nearly scored on a diving header, but Dayton keeper Matt Williams sprawled out and knocked the ball over the endline for a corner kick.
Bryan Ciesiulka served in the ensuing corner and King, also a second-half sub, volleyed past Williams from the top of the box for a dramatic equalizer.
A corner kick on the other end, though, ended up keeping the Fire PDL from advancing to the third round of the Open Cup for the second straight year.
Holowaty latched onto a loose ball after a corner was sent into the box and fired past Godsey in the final seconds, making his first goal of the year a game-winner. Referee Miguel Panduro Jr. allowed the Fire PDL to kick off, then blew his whistle for full time.
Dayton Dutch Lions 2:1 Chicago Fire PDL
Toyota Park Practice Field – Bridgeview, IL
Scoring Summary
Dayton Dutch Lions – Eli Garner (Shane Smith) 38
Chicago Fire PDL – Brendan King (Bryan Ciesiulka) 90
Dayton Dutch Lions – Daniel Holowaty 90+2
Lineups
CHICAGO FIRE PDL: Jordan Godsey; Daniel Keller, David Tiemstra (Luis Medina 79), Niko Boxall, Patrick Doody; Jacob Bushue (Chris Prince 58), Chris Ritter, Bryan Ciesiulka, Harrison Shipp; Mark Blades, Isaac Kannah (Brendan King 65). Substitutes not used: Sam Euler (GK), Peter Beasley, Sean Totsch, Tyler Engel.
DAYTON DUTCH LIONS: Matt Williams; Shane Smith, Bret Jones, Nixon Dias, Greg Preciado; Kyle Knotek (Toric Robinson 75), Mikael McNamara, Joel DeLass; Akeem Priestly (Daniel Holowaty 58), Gibson Bardlsey (Eric Kissinger 81), Eli Garner. Substitutes not used: Corey Whisenhunt (GK), Jeff DeGroot, Taylor Lord, Michael Earman.
Discipline: D – Bardsley (caution-foul, 43); C – Tiemstra (caution-foul, 68).
