Chicago Fire to Play Dallas Burn in Quarterfinals of U.S. Open Cup

CHICAGO (Friday, July 28, 2000) - Major League Soccer's (MLS) Chicago Fire will face its Central Division rival the Dallas Burn in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal cup-tie on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m. (CT) at Cardinal Stadium at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. Tickets for the m

July 28, 2000

CHICAGO (Friday, July 28, 2000) - Major League Soccer's (MLS) Chicago Fire will face its Central Division rival the Dallas Burn in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal cup-tie on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m. (CT) at Cardinal Stadium at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. Tickets for the match are general admission and cost $10 and are available through the Fire's offices at 888-MLS-FIRE, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at 312-559-1212, ticketmaster.com, and day-of-game. Tickets will go on sale this Tuesday morning, August 1 at 10:00 a.m. (CT).

The Fire reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup by defeating the Texas Rattlers (Division 3) 4-0 in the 2nd round and the Chicago Sockers (Division 4) 1-0 in the 3rd round. Dallas advanced to the quarters by beating the Tennessee Rhythm 3-0 (Division 2) in the 2nd round and then the Minnesota Thunder (Division 2) 2-0 in the 3rd round. Chicago and Dallas both entered in the 2nd round of the competition.

These two teams have met in the Open Cup one time before, the semifinals of the '98 tournament. Chicago defeated the Burn 3-2 on a late Lubos Kubik goal and advanced to the final where the Fire would do "The Double," by capturing its league championship (MLS Cup) and the U.S. Open Cup.

The U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as the U.S. Soccer Federation's National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Within the U.S. Open Cup framework, teams shall compete in one of the following four categories: professional outdoor division I (Major League Soccer); professional outdoor Division II (A-League); professional outdoor Division III (USL D3 Pro League); or Amateur Division (USL Premier Development League & U.S. Amateur Soccer Association).

The U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament, with drawn games being decided by two 15-minute sudden death ("Golden Goal") overtime halves. If neither team scores during the two overtime halves, the winner is decided on penalty kicks.

Directions:

From City: I-294 to I-88 West. Exit South on Naperville Rd. Turn right on Chicago Ave. Turn left on Brainard Ave.
From North/South: I-355 to Maple Ave West (turns into Chicago Ave). Turn left on Brainard Ave.

All Tickets: $10

To purchase tickets in advance, visit these soccer specialty stores:

Soccer Field

225 Rice Lake Square - Wheaton

1107 Randall Road - Geneva

2960 Artesian Way - Naperville

Soccer Post

2129 W. 75th St. - Darien

790 Royal St. George Dr. - Naperville

936 Roosevelt - Glen Ellyn

Soccer 2000

136 Ogden Avenue - Downers Grove