Chicago Fire FC fell 2-1 against St. Louis CITY SC on Wednesday night at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill. With the result, Chicago is eliminated from the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Midfielder and captain Anton Salétros scored the lone goal of the night for the Fire.
Following a quiet opening hour, Salétros got the Men in Red on the board in the 63rd minute. Winger Philip Zinckernagel dribbled through the St. Louis defense on the right before lofting a ball across the six-yard box, where the Swedish midfielder beat his man for a header and the lead.
Eight minutes later, CITY SC equalized after recovering a ball in the final third. Midfielder Marcel Hartel got on the end of a loose ball that Fire defender Joel Waterman cleared off the line. But the rebound was collected and sent home by Tomas Totland to make the score 1-1. St. Louis substitute Eduard Löwen then finished a counter-attack in the 78th that was the difference in the match, ending the Fire’s quest for their fifth U.S. Open Cup for 2026.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago plays host to FC Cincinnati in MLS regular season play on Saturday, May 2. Kickoff at Soldier Field is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV. It will be transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM in English and the Uforia by TREBEL app in Spanish.
Match Notes:
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Anton Salétros recorded his first goal with Chicago Fire FC in the 63rd minute of play. The Swedish set piece specialist previously claimed his first goal contribution in the form of a game-winning assist in the 1-0 victory over Nashville SC on April 4 at Soldier Field.
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Chicago Fire FC Homegrown defender Dylan Borso made the first start of his career with his hometown club on Wednesday night. Borso played 77 minutes from the start at right back, the same position he took up in his Fire debut on March 7 against Columbus Crew.
- With the result, Chicago is now 3-2-0 all-time against St. Louis across all competitions, having previously won two regular season matchups and one U.S. Open Cup tie against the Western Conference side.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 1:2 St. Louis CITY SC
Goals:
CHI - Salétros (1) (Zinckernagel 2) 63’
STL - Totland (1) 71’
STL - Löwen (1) (Joyner 1) 78’
Discipline:
CHI - Radojević (Caution) 28’
STL - MacNaughton (Caution) 68’
CHI - Waterman (Caution) 82’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Borso (Gutman, 77’), D Waterman, D Mbokazi (Elliott, 85’), D Radojević (Poreba, 85’), M Pineda, M Oregel Jr., M Salétros (capt.) (Lod, 65’), F Zinckernagel, F Cuypers (Shokalook, 64’), F Haile-Selassie
Subs not used: GK Cohen, M D’Avilla
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
St. Louis CITY SC: GK Burki (capt.), D Wallem (Joyner, 59’), D Baumgartl, D MacNaughton, D Polvara, D Totland (Mbacke, 85’), M Edelman, M Durkin , M Hartel, F Teuchert (Löwen, 59’), F Córdova (Becher, 85’)
Subs not used: GK Lundt, D Fall, M Perez
Head Coach: Yoann Damet
Stats Summary: CHI / STL
Shots: 12 / 10
Shots on Goal: 1 / 5
Saves: 2 / 0
Passing Accuracy: 85% / 78%
Corners: 5 / 5
Fouls: 16 / 14
Offsides: 0 / 3
Possession: 60% / 40%
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Attendance: 3,426
Referee: Joshua Encarnacion
Assistant Referees: Tyler Wyrostek, Meghan Mullen
Fourth Official: Calin Radosav