Strikers Exit U.S. Open Cup in Quarterfinals After Historic Run
Published on July 20, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
CHICAGO, Ill. (June 29, 2016) - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers' historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run came to an end in the quarterfinal round Wednesday night in a hard-fought 3-0 loss to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Chicago Fire at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. The Strikers were looking to make history as the first North American Soccer League (NASL) team ever to make the semifinals of the competition.
"In the first 15 minutes we tried to close the space, but we conceded two early goals and that put us in a terrible situation," said Head Coach and General Manager Caio Zanardi. "But it was a great moment for us to be in the quarterfinal beating D.C. United and Orlando City. Today, playing Chicago was special for us. This was a great moment for us to play here in Chicago."
The Strikers this year became the first-ever NASL team to advance past two MLS sides away from home in the competition after the road victories in the prior rounds.
It took Chicago just five minutes to open the scoring. David Accam's pace ripped through the Fort Lauderdale defense forcing Strikers goalkeeper Diego Restrepo to commit a foul in the area. Accam calmly finished from the penalty spot to give the Fire a 1-0 lead. The goal gave an MLS team a lead for the first time 246 minutes of soccer against the Strikers during the 2016 Open Cup.
A bad start got worse for the Strikers minutes later as Nana Attakora was forced off after a collision of heads. Gabriel dropped back to right back and Accam continued to use his blistering pace to the Fire's advantage running right at the Strikers back line.
The Fire doubled its lead on the half-hour mark when Michael de Leeuw finished a chance at the back post after a low ball across the goal by Accam. The teams went into halftime exchanging possession in midfield.
Fort Lauderdale came out more aggressively in the second half but conceded a third goal shortly after the restart through Khaly Thiam. The midfielder finished a chance on a corner kick after Restrepo had made an initial reaction save.
Strikers defender Gale Agbossoumonde was sent off midway through the second half for a second yellow card. Agbossoumonde had previously played every minute of the Strikers NASL and Open Cup campaigns.
The Strikers travel to Blaine, Minn. to face Minnesota United FC on Saturday. Kickoff time is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
1st 2nd FT
CHI 2 1 3
FTL 0 0 0
CHI - Accam ( penalty kick ) - 5' CHI - De Leeuw (Accam) - 30' CHI - Thiam - 51'
Lineups Fort Lauderdale Strikers (4-2-3-1) - Restrepo; Attakora (Geison Moura 28'), Agbossoumonde, James, Corrales; Alexandre (C), Luis Felipe; Gabriel (Pineda 71'), Nuî=B1ez (Paulo Jr. 59'), PC; Angulo
Unused Substitutes: Bruno, Arguez, Gonzalez
Chicago Fire S.C. (4-2-3-1) - Lampson; Ramos, Kappelhof, Campbell, Vincent; Thiam, Polster; Alvarez, Cocis (C) (LaBrocca 45'), Accam (Stephens 71'); de Leeuw (Iboananike 53')
North American Soccer League Stories from July 20, 2016
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- Strikers Exit U.S. Open Cup in Quarterfinals After Historic Run - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
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