Chicago Fire Host U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal Match

By Todd McClamroch in News on Aug 22, 2006 3:36PM

The Chicago Fire are slated to take on the New England Revolution in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Toyota Park. The two teams are familiar with each other, as the Fire defeated the Revs in New England 1-0 this past Sunday. That win moved the Fire into a second-place tie with the Revs in the Eastern Conference standings. However, the Fire hold the edge against the Revs in 2006 with a 2-1-1 record.

The U.S. Open Cup is the is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer. According to U.S. Soccer, the tournament is "open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States". It allows local amateur teams and semi-professional teams a chance to be named the best soccer team in the country by competing in a single-elimination tournament. This year, the Cinderella Story amateur teams were only able to make it as far as the third and fourth rounds. So now, only teams from the country's top soccer league remain alive for a chance at the title.

The Chicago Fire need just three more victories to earn their fourth U.S. Open Cup title. They won the title in 1998, 2000 and 2003.