2026 US Open Cup Round of 16: St. Louis CITY rally to beat Chicago Fire to reach first Quarterfinals

St. Louis CITY SC advanced to their first US Open Cup Quarterfinal in the club’s young history on Wednesday night in Bridgeview, Illinois as they came from behind to defeat the Chicago Fire, 2-1. 

It was an emotional night not just because of grabbing a bit of tournament history, but because the winning goal was delivered by captain Eduard Lowen who returned to action on April 18 after the passing of his wife, Ilona, following a two-year battle with cancer. 

“I hope this is gonna give him and the group a lot of confidence going forward,” said St. Louis head coach Yoann Damet of Lowen, who entered the game as a substitute in the second half. “The way he’s able to express himself, he brings a lot of quality in the final third.” 

“We all know that Edu is a very special player and a very special person,” said Tomas Totland, the other scorer on the night for the victors. “I’m so so happy for him and for the team as well.” 

The game’s first half was cagey, with the home side dominating possession and hitting the woodwork of Roman Burki’s goal twice via shots from Hugo Cuypers and Maren Haile-Selassie. The Fire eventually found a breakthrough in the 64th minute via captain Anton Saletros heading in from close range off a Philip Zinckernagel cross in front of the Harlem end to bring the crowd of 3,246 to life. 

Ironically, the goal seemed to ignite City, who within 14 minutes had turned it around. In the 71st minute — following a poor giveaway by Robin Lod in the Fire penalty area and goal line clearance by Joel Waterman — Totland found the loose ball and squeezed his shot past a sprawling Chris Brady and a still-in-the-goalmouth Waterman to equalize. 

The winner came in the 78th minute on an efficient counter attack, with a fizzed ball through the box by Mykhi Joyner finding a wide-open Lowen, as he struck a shot into the top right corner of Brady’s net. Lowen was soon engulfed by teammates like he’d just scored the winning penalty in a cup final. Due to that goal, the team from the Gateway City can keep dreaming about competing for silverware this season despite poor form in their Major League Soccer season so far. 

“The Cup is always a special thing,” Totland said, reflecting not only on the Open Cup but his years playing in Sweden’s Svenska Cupen. “It’s something that the club has big ambitions in.” 

“We take a lot of pride in being the first to make a quarterfinal, that was part of the goal for the season,” Damet said. “We want to leave our mark on the history.” 

City can now look four weeks ahead to another chance to make a little Open Cup history.

“The first thing I said when it came to the cup was we’re gonna be all in,” Damet said. “You’re only two games away from a final so we’re gonna keep going all in.”