Houston Dynamo FC defeated Chicago Fire FC 4-1 on the road tonight to advance to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time since winning the title in 2018.
Houston was awarded a penalty kick in the 11th minute after forward Nelson Quiñónes was brought down inside the box by Arnaud Souquet. Forward Amine Bassi converted the penalty kick for the opening goal of the match. The 25-year-old has scored seven goals for the Dynamo this year.
The Dynamo doubled their lead in the 31st minute when midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla found forward Aliyu Ibrahim on the counter downfield in the middle of the pitch. The Nigerian outran the last defender and tucked the ball into the bottom left corner of the net past a diving Spencer Richey for his second goal of the competition this year.
The Fire pulled a goal back in the 39th minute off a corner kick that found Souquet at the near post. This was the first goal the Dynamo conceded in the Open Cup this year and it came after 310 minutes of competitive play.
Carrasquilla won a free kick near midfield in the 57th minute that generated Houston’s third goal of the match. Herrera switched play and found Quiñónes on the opposite sideline, the Colombian attacker dribbled into the box and forced a save, which fell to Aliyu for his second goal of the evening.
Quiñónes scored the final goal of the evening in the 75th minute after Héctor Herrera won a duel just outside the box. The Mexican international played the ball across the face of goal to an open Quiñónes for his first goal with the club.
Houston’s first shot of the match came off the right foot of Herrerain the fourth minute. The Fire attempted to clear a throw in that fell to the Mexican international just outside the box, he dribbled to create space for a shot, but his effort was off target.
Dynamo defender Franco Escobar cleared a cross intended for Brian Gutiérrez at the near post in the eighth minute. The second ball fell to Miguel Navarro and his effort was saved at the near post by goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell.
Houston nearly doubled their lead in the 17th minute after Ibrahim tussled with a defender and forced a rebound toward the top of the box. Bassi capitalized on the loose ball and forced a save from Richey.
Bassi played a ball into the box moments later that found Sviatchenko at the far post, but his effort was off target. Bassi then slipped a ball into the box for midfielder Carrasquilla in the 25th minute, and the Panamanian found the back of the net, but he was called offside.
Tarbell was called into action again in the 28th minute after Kei Kamara created space for a shot just outside the six-yard box. The Dynamo shot stopper denied Maren Haile-Selassie at the near post in the 44th minute to give Houston the lead going into the locker room. Tarbell finished with four saves against the Fire.
Houston will advance to face the winner of Wednesday’s West Region matchup between Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy, with the semifinal to be played on August 23. The Semifinal/Final Hosting Draw will be broadcast live on Thursday, June 8 at 12 p.m. CT CBS Sports Golazo Network.
The Dynamo return to league play on June 10 when they host LAFC at Shell Energy Stadium at 7:30 p.m. CT before travelling to face Los Angeles again the following Wednesday in a match that was rescheduled.
