USOC Do or Die

Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes LIVE STREAM begins at 9:30pm CT via SJEarthquakes.com
Seems odd to be playing the same opponent in the same week in two locations that are more than 2,000 miles away and in two separate competitions, but that’s where the Fire and San Jose Earthquakes find themselves this week.
With a league game scheduled May 28 at Toyota Park, the two sides also had to schedule a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifier before the end of the month after San Jose defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 back on May 3.
Though it seems odd, this is actually the sixth time in club history the Fire have to play the same opponent in less than a week’s time in the two competitions and the team has fared rather well under that scenario, going 9-1-0 all-time… Results? Goal scorers? Dates? Sure, check out the table below…

Yes, that is six goals from Andy Herron in that span, the former Costa Rican international scored in every instance of the last two series of the US Open Cup/MLS “two games in a week” occurrence and is the club’s all-time leading goal scorer in Open Cup play with eight goals to his name, one more than Josh Wolff.
The last time they failed to qualify…
...was never.
Having been dubbed “Kings of the Cup” because of the club’s four championship rings, five finals and seven semifinal appearances, the Fire have appeared in all previous 13 editions of the tournament since 1998.

The 2010 campaign marks only the second time the team has had to qualify for the tournament proper and the good news here is that the team is undefeated in those matches – both of which were played in Peoria, IL
In 2008, the Fire played a “win and you’re in” match similar to tonight’s game vs. the Columbus Crew and used two more goals from Andy Herron to earn a 3-2 victory in extra time on June 10.
Earlier this season the Fire returned to Peoria for the first time since that match and took a 2-1 decision over the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids. A goal just before the half from Uruguayan striker Gaston Puerari received a quick response in the second frame from former Fire PDL striker Andre Akpan before Jalil Anibaba scored his “improbable, impossible” goal from distance “through the guise of smoke” in the 61^st minute to give the Fire a 2-1 victory on March 30.
That was the last time this season the Fire tasted victory, coming just days after the club’s 3-2 home opening win over Sporting Kansas City on March 26. The Fire enter Tuesday night’s match at Buck Shaw Stadium riding an eight-match league winless streak, one shy of the club’s record of nine matches set from June 12-July 28 2004.
While that year was the first the Fire failed to make the MLS Cup playoffs, the team did make a run to the U.S. Open Cup Final and during that league winless run, found a way to secure two wins in the Open Cup tournament, a 2-1 victory at Columbus (July 20) and 1-0 win at Richmond (August 4).
That win at Richmond may have perhaps helped spur the team in it’s next league game, which finally snapped the streak, ironically enough it came in a 2-1 home win vs. the San Jose Earthquakes on August 11.
Tonight’s Match
The Fire have never failed to take part in the U.S. Open Cup proper while the Earthquakes franchise hasn’t been in the tournament since 2005, the year before the team moved to Houston. Having returned to MLS in 2008, this incarnation of the ‘Quakes is hoping to avoid a fourth straight season outside of the Open Cup.
While having had similar struggles towards the start of the 2011 campaign, San Jose has seemingly righted their ship, riding a four match unbeaten  streak during the month of May, which started with an extra time victory over Portland in U.S. Open Cup qualifying on May 3. Since then, the side has picked up 7 of their 12 points during the month as they look to ascend up the Western Conference table.
The deck may be stacked against the Fire somewhat as the team had to fly cross country following a 2-1 loss at Philadelphia Saturday night, while San Jose earned a victory by the same score line at home against New England.

With three day’s rest, don’t expect Carlos de los Cobos to run out the same lineup as Saturday. The roster that traveled to Philadelphia was chosen with two games in close proximity in mind and I would expect to see more than a few changes from the team that started at PPL Park.
San Jose features two former Fire players in goalkeeper Jon Busch and defender Tim Ward, both of who joined the team last year. While Ward is injured, Busch could appear for the second time against the Fire since joining San Jose. In his first appearance, the Fire downed San Jose 3-0 last September.
Prediction:This is a team with it's back against the wall and one that knows the importance of the U.S. Open Cup to its fans. A number of lapses and close results have left the side with probably less points than they should have at the moment. Having said that, the streak of winless games continues tonight, but the Fire still advance in San Jose.
I’m calling a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes, a goal from Orr Barouch, a sending off of some kind, all before the team finally gets the shootout monkey off it’s back and enters its 14^th consecutive U.S. Open Cup tournament.
Jeff Crandall is the Team Writer for the Chicago Fire. Follow him on Twitter @JefeCrandall.