CHICAGO, Ill. (May 22, 2012) - The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced Tuesday that the Chicago Fire will begin the journey for its fifth Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy when they take on the Michigan Bucks at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Mich. on Tuesday, May 29 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The match will be available via a live webcast on www.Chicago-Fire.com. If the Fire win, the team will host the winner of the Columbus Crew/Dayton Dutch Lions third round match at Toyota Park on Tuesday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. CT.
The Bucks defeated the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1-0 at Chartiers Valley Stadium in Bridgeville, Pa. The game looked to be heading into extra time when the Bucks were awarded a penalty kick in the 90th minute. Stew Givens converted the spot kick to give the Bucks the late 1-0 victory.
The Fire have previously hoisted the coveted Dewar Trophy four times, in 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006.
Since 1997 the Fire have compiled an impressive 30-7-2 record in Open cup play, reaching the semifinal round eight out of 14 times and the final six times. The Fire were defeated by Seattle Sounders FC 2-0 in the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at CenturyLink Field. The 2006 title marked the ninth time a team from Chicago won the Open Cup and made the Fire one of five teams to capture the crown at least four times in the tournament's 99-year-long history.
The Chicago Fire PDL squad advanced to the second round of the 99-year-old tournament after defeating the Croatian Eagles of the United States Adult Soccer Association in the first round of the tournament 1-0 at the Toyota Park Practice Field on Tuesday, May 15. The Fire hosted USL Pro side Dayton Dutch Lions on Tuesday, May 22 in the second round of the tournament. After Brendan King equalized for the Fire in the 90th minute, Dayton’s Daniel Holowaty pounced on a loose ball in the Fire box to give the Lions a 2-1 win, ending the Fire PDL squads U.S. Open Cup run.
The 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup includes a random selection process for determining home teams from the first round through the quarterfinals among clubs that have applied to host. The process, conducted by a coin flip, gives participating teams with venues meeting tournament standards an equal chance at hosting their possible opponent for these rounds.
Recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
