Detroit City Wire

Detroit City FC's journey in the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup concluded with a 4-0 defeat to Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday evening. The match, held in Bridgeview, Illinois, saw Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire dominate possession and control the game, leaving Detroit unable to mount an effective attack.

Head Coach Danny Dichio made strategic changes to his lineup from the previous match against Indianapolis. Carlos Saldaña took over goalkeeping duties from Carlos Herrera, while Rhys Williams replaced Haruki Yamazaki in the starting eleven.

The game began unfavorably for Detroit as early as the fourth minute when a goal kick by Saldaña led to a turnover. Chicago capitalized on this opportunity with Hugo Cuypers scoring the opening goal, putting Fire ahead 1-0.

Despite the setback, Saldaña delivered several key saves throughout the match. In particular, he thwarted a potential goal in the 10th minute with a significant diving save following a corner kick.

Detroit nearly equalized in the 30th minute when Jeciel Cedeño's free-kick found Michael Bryant, whose header narrowly missed its target. However, Chicago doubled their lead five minutes later after Darren Smith inadvertently deflected a corner into his own net.

Ryan Williams received a yellow card for a late tackle in the 41st minute. After halftime, Chicago maintained their aggressive playstyle, resulting in Omari Glasgow scoring their third goal in the 50th minute.

Dichio responded by making three substitutions in the 57th minute: Ben Morris, Shane Wiedt, and Marcello Polisi came on for Darren Smith, Michael Bryant, and Ryan Williams respectively. Despite further efforts by Detroit and another critical save by Saldaña at the hour mark, Chicago continued to press forward.

Jordan Adebayo-Smith entered for Connor Rutz in the 66th minute as Detroit sought to change their fortunes. Alex Villanueva almost scored shortly after but was denied by an impressive save from Chicago's goalkeeper.

Chicago extended their lead with Maren Haile-Selassie's counterattack goal in the 71st minute. Haruki Yamazaki replaced Alex Villanueva for Detroit's final substitution of the night at minute 77.

Though Chicago had two additional goals ruled offside within the last twenty minutes of play, no extra time was added as Detroit exited this year's tournament. This marked Detroit's first loss since falling to Louisville City FC on March 29th.

Detroit continues its road games with an upcoming match against Hartford Athletic on Saturday at 7 p.m., followed by a return home against Charleston Battery at Keyworth Stadium on May 24th at 4 p.m. Tickets are available through www.detcityfc.com/tickets.

For more details about Detroit City FC activities and updates follow them online via detcityfc.com or social media handles @DetroitCityFC (X and Facebook) and @detroitcityfootballclub (Instagram).