In a season where things just haven't seemed to go their way, at least the Chicago Fire have their cup run. The Fire, who reached the semifinals last year, again look to be on the verge of making the semifinals of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. But they face a dangerous opponent in the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, an NASL team who are on a magical cup run of their own. 

Chicago focusing on the cup 

Manager Veljko Paunovic seems to have his eyes set on the U.S. Open Cup trophy. With the Fire in the bottom of the standings of the MLS table, they seem more focused on winning the cup. Something that not a lot of MLS teams are actually serious about winning. It is good to see Chicago care about the cup because right now, it's all about moral victories as well as real ones. Chicago should be hoping that this run boosts morale around the club. They are going through a rebuild from the top-down and a form of success is welcome. 

Chicago had to go through some tense situations to get to the quarterfinals. In the 4th round of the U.S. Open Cup, they went to penalties with another NASL team in the Indy Eleven. Chicago actually went down in extra time before David Accam saved them in the 118th minute. The Fire then proceeded to penalty kicks where Matt Lampson saved two penalties, allowing Accam to step up and bury Indy with a spot kick. It was a gutsy performance but it also was not convincing at the same time. The Fire did much better against their MLS rivals, the Columbus Crew, in the Round of 16. Chicago got two early goals and was able to hold off a late charge from the Crew, who are just above the Fire in the MLS table. 

The Fire will be going all out to win the US Open Cup (Photo credit : Dean Reid - VAVEL USA)
The Fire will be going all out to win the US Open Cup (Photo credit : Dean Reid - VAVEL USA)

One big thing in the Fire's favor is the emergence of John Goossens. The winger has been a huge spark whenever he steps on the pitch. He seems to have formed a connection with their new striker and fellow Dutchmen Michael De Leeuw, something that can prove to be crucial to the Fire's success moving forward. 

Fort Lauderdale not scared of the challenge

Meanwhile, the Fire's opponent, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, are not scared of the challenge. Although their league performance hasn't been the best (11th in the NASL table), they have beaten two MLS teams to get to this point. A very impressive feat for the Strikers. First, they beat D.C. United  4-3 on penalties to advance to the Round of 16. There they stunned Orlando City in a 1-0 victory. Both of those games were on the road for the Strikers, who showed great resiliency in those victories. It's not every day you see an NASL team beat two MLS teams back to back. They are a very dangerous opponent and if the Fire fall asleep on defense, don't be surprised to see them take advantage. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu