Fire players talk a lot about how the U.S. Open Cup is the their tournament, and Wednesday night they owned it.
For the fourth time in the team’s nine-year history, the Fire won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy. It previously had won the 93-year-old tournament in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
“We’re the best MLS team when it comes to the U.S. Open Cup,” defender Ivan Guerrero said. “When you come to play for the Fire, you have an obligation to win this tournament.”
As was the case in the Fire’s 2-1 MLS victory over the Galaxy on Saturday, the Fire set the tone early, this time with a Nate Jaqua’s goal in the 10th minute. The 6-foot-3-inch Jaqua hunched over and headed in a rebound of Andy Herron’s shot to put the Fire up 1-0.
The Galaxy played with its back against the wall much of the first half as the Fire easily moved the ball around. Justin Mapp took full advantage in the 16th minute when he faked out his defender and sent a cross to Herron for a far-post strike.
Herron, who spent much of the first half of the season on the bench, has now scored in 10 of his last 12 games.
Down 2-0, the Galaxy came out strong in the second half when forward Alan Gordon one-touched his own rebound to goalie Matt Pickens’ right in the 51st minute.
With the Galaxy pushing hard in the closing minutes, the Fire caught Los Angeles on a counter attack. Defender Tony Sanneh made a 30-yard dash down the field and found Thiago with a dead-on pass for a one-touch strike to make it 3-1.
The 8,185 fans at Toyota Park made their presence known throughout the game and helped the Fire improve to 12-0 at home in Open Cup games.
Captain Chris Armas, who didn’t play because of a red card in a previous Cup match, was given the honor of hoisting the trophy first.
Besides winning a trophy, what does the Open Cup victory mean to the Fire?
“It means we’re the four-time champions,” Fire forward Chris Rolfe said. “And it means we knocked L.A. out of playoff contention and the U.S. Open Cup.”
During the U.S. Open Cup, the Fire also defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-0, the New England Revolution 2-1 and D.C. United 3-0.
The Fire is 12-9-8 in MLS play and faces the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
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larroyave@tribune.com
