The San Jose Earthquakes and Chicago Fire squared off at Buck Shaw Stadium last night in a U.S. Open Cup qualifying match, a tournament that the Fire have been in for years on end. The Quakes took an early 2-0 lead, but couldn’t maintain their lead as the Fire stormed back to force extra time, eventually winning on Penalty Kicks to advance to the round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup.
Usual bench players Ellis McLoughlin and Justin Morrow netted first-half goals to give San Jose a 2-0 lead at the half, but the Fire’s Orr Barouch and Yamith Cuesta tied things up in the second half to force the extra time.
Chris Wondolowski, Ramiro Corrales, Khari Stephenson, and Brandon McDonald hit their PKs for the Quakes, but Scott Sealy could not net his sixth-round attempt, as it ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced harmlessly away.This match was extra chippy as well with nine cards handed out by the referees, while Chicago’s Gonzalo Segares was ejected in the 98th minute.
With the loss the Quakes are eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup, but will not affect their MLS standings or points.
Scoring
SJ – Ellis McLoughlin (unassissted) 14
SJ – Justin Morrow (unassisted) 43
CHI – Orr Barouch (Gonzalo Segares) 61
CHI – Yamith Cuesta (unassisted) 76
Misconduct
SJ – Chris Wondolowski (caution) 37
CHI – Yamith Cuesta (caution) 39
CHI – Daniel Paladini (caution) 63
SJ – Brad Ring (caution) 69
CHI – Orr Barouch (caution) 69
CHI – Bratislav Ristic (caution) 74
CHI – Cristian Nazarit (caution) 89
SJ – Khari Stephenson (caution) 97
CHI – Gonzalo Segares (ejection) 98