CHICAGO (May 24, 2023) – In the first meeting between the two teams, Chicago Fire FC defeated Austin FC 2-0 in the round of 16 of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas on Wednesday night. night, with goals from defender Rafael. Czichos and striker Kacper Przybyłko, while goalkeeper Spencer Richey kept a clean sheet.
Chicago advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the 15th time in Club history, which ranks as the second-most in the MLS era (since 1996), according to Opta. The Fire will face the Houston Dynamo at home in the next round, and US Soccer will announce the match date, time and broadcast information at a later date.
Early in the game, Chicago advanced, sliding behind the baseline several times in the first 30 minutes. It was captain Rafael Czichos who scored the first goal of the game in the 27th minute when winger Maren Haile-Selassie’s blocked shot led to a Fire corner from the left side. Brian Gutierrez lined up to take the corner, sending a cross that found Czichos deep in the 18-yard box. Czichos sent his header back across the goal and into the top left corner. The goal marked Czichos’ first goal of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and his third goal of 2023 in all competitions.
Forward Kacper Przybyłko doubled Fire’s lead just four minutes after being brought into the game in the 73rd minute for Kei Kamara. Xherdan Shaqiri controlled the ball on the left side of the box, moving to the near post of Austin keeper Brad Stuver. Stuver moved to cover the post and Shaqiri sent a close-range shot straight at Stuver, who held on to make the save. The rebound fell squarely to Shaqiri, who looked up and sent a hard ball into the box, where Przybyłko understood the assignment, sending a single shot into the right side of the goal.
Fire goalkeeper Richey kept the lead to two with a save on the line in the 84th minute when Austin sent a corner from the right side that second-half substitute Ethan Finlay redirected into the frame with a powerful header. Richey held his ground, making the save with his face as the ball was cleared from danger.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago heads to Bay State to face the New England Revolution at 6:30 pm CT on Saturday, May 27 at Gillette Stadium. The match will stream on Apple TV+, stream in English on wlsam.com, and stream locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
Social: Twitter – @Chicago Fire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFuego) | Instagram – @chicagofire | Facebook
- Rafael Czichos scored his third goal of 2023 in all competitions and his third goal in the US Open Cup Lamar Hunt. The German captain scored twice in the Fire’s Open Cup match against Union Omaha in 2022.
- Kacper Przybyłko scored his second goal of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, also scoring against Chicago House on April 26.
- Chicago advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the 15th time in Club history, trailing only FC Dallas (16 times) in the MLS era.
- Lamar Hunt US Open Cup rosters are limited to 18 players, unlike Major League Soccer rosters of 20 players.
- Only one change was made to the lineup that faced St. Louis CITY SC in the round of 16 of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on May 9 at SeatGeek Stadium.
- Captain Rafael Czichos returned to the lineup in place of center back Wyatt Omsberg. Czichos was accompanied in the center of defense by Maurico Pineda, and was flanked by Miguel Navarro on the left and Arnaud Souquet on the right.
- The Argentinian defensive midfield duo of Gastón Giménez and Federico Navarro teamed up once again to support attacking midfielders Brian Gutiérrez (left), Xherdan Shaqiri (centre) and Maren Haile-Selassie (right).
- Shaqiri, Gutierrez and Haile-Selassie lined up together for the third straight game, while striker Kei Kamara once again led the attack.
- Goaltender Spencer Richey once again backed the group, earning the nod for the third time at the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
- Defenders Jonathan Dean (upper left leg) and Carlos Terán (right knee), and midfielders Chris Mueller (upper right leg) and Sergio Oregel Jr. (lower right leg) were unavailable for your selection tonight.
Austin FC 0:2 Chicago Fire FC
CHI – Czichos (Gutierrez) 27′
CHI – Przybyłko (Shaqiri) 77′
CHI – Pineda (Yellow Card) 48′
ATX – Radovanović (Yellow Card) 62′
ATX – Ring (Yellow Card) 89′
FC Chicago Fire: GK Richey, D M. Navarro, D Czichos (capt.), D Pineda, D Souquet, M F. Navarro, M Giménez (Torres, 73′), M Haile-Selassie, M Shaqiri (Burks, 88′), M Gutiérrez (Herbers, 65′), F Kamara (Przybyłko, 72′)
unused subs: GK Gal, D Aceves, F Koutsias
Austin FC: GK Stuver, D Cascante (captain), D Väisänen (Radovanović, 46′), D Gallagher, D Lundkvist, M Ring, M Pereira, M Valencia (Djeffal, 46′), M Redes (Fagundez, 65′), M Rigoni (Finlay, 76′), F Zardes
Unused Subs: GK Bersano, D Lima, F Urruti
Summary of statistics: ATX / CHIShots: 9 / 12
Shots on goal: 2 / 8
Savings: 6 / 2
Passing accuracy: 87.1% / 83.9%
Corners: 6 / 5
Fouls: 15 / 11
Offside: 1 / 2
Possession: 57.3% / 42.7%
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant referees: Joshua EllMeghan Mullen
Fourth Officer: elton garcia
