HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (April 14, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC defeated Detroit City FC 2-1 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on Tuesday night at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, Mich. Forward Jason Shokalook scored twice in the span of two minutes in his first start for Chicago Fire FC.
With the victory, Chicago advances to face the winner of the Round of 32 match between St. Louis CITY SC and USL Championship side FC Tulsa tomorrow night in St. Louis.
Chicago pressed from the start of the match, earning a foul to the left of the box just past the half hour mark. Winger Philip Zinckernagel sent the ball toward the near post, where Shokalook crashed in to tip home the opening goal in the 34th minute.
Seconds after the restart, midfielder Mauricio Pineda recovered a ball in the Detroit half and passed to fellow Homegrown player Sergio Oregel Jr., who laid off to midfielder David Poreba. The 2024 MLS NEXT Pro MVP dribbled through the midfield to deliver a perfect cross at the top of the box for the Shokalook, who cut to his right to peel off two defenders and finish for the 2-0 lead.
Detroit took the bulk of the possession following the start of the second half, knocking one back through leading goal scorer Darren Smith. Less than a minute later, winger Puso Dithejane was shown a red card. But the man advantage wasn’t enough for Le Rouge, as the Fire held on to advance to the Round of 16.
NEXT MATCH: The Men in Red will head to Ohio to resume league play against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, April 18. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com and the Uforia by TREBEL app.
Notes:
- In his first start for the Chicago Fire first team, forward Jason Shokalook scored twice in the span of two minutes. Although his goal and brace were his first with the Fire, Shokalook is no stranger to scoring in Fire red, recording six multi-goal games in 22 matches en route to a 20-goal Golden Boot campaign in 2025 for Chicago Fire FC II.
- Beside Shokalook, winger Puso Dithejane, midfielder David Poreba and defender Viktor Radojević earned their first starts with Chicago in an official competition. All four played no fewer than 78 minutes, with Radojević playing all 90 minutes at left back.
- After recording his 21st career MLS regular season clean sheet in the win against Atlanta United FC last Saturday night, goalkeeper Chris Brady earned his second win in as many matches against Detroit City FC. The Homegrown goalkeeper recorded one fewer save in Hamtramck than the two he recorded in the 4-0 victory in 2025.
- Tuesday's match marked the start of the 26th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup that Chicago has played in. The Fire recorded win number 48 in the competition, advancing to the next round for the 52nd time – both records among MLS sides in the Open Cup.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #cf97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
\\Box Score:
\\Detroit City FC 1:2 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Shokalook (1) (Zinckernagel 1) 34’
CHI - Shokalook (2) (Poreba 1) 36’
DET - Smith (1) (Yamazaki 1) 79’
Discipline:
CHI - Pineda (Caution) 14’
DET - Smith (Caution) 39’
CHI - Oregel Jr. (Caution) 60’
CHI - Dithejane (Ejection) 80’
CHI - Waterman (Caution) 86’
DET - Egbuchunam (Caution) 90+1’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Waterman, D Elliott (capt.) (Mbokazi, 46’), D Radojević, M Pineda, M Oregel Jr. (Salétros, 78’), M Poreba (Lod, 78’), F Zinckernagel (Haile-Selassie, 46’), F Shokalook (Borso, 84’), F Dithejane
Subs not used: GK Cohen, M D’Avilla
Head Coach:Â Gregg Berhalter
Detroit City FC: GK Herrera, D Yamazaki, D Amoo-Mensah (capt.), D Montgomery (Hope-Gund, 87’), D Silva (Stanley, 65’), M Cedeño, M Hernandez-Foster, M Rodriguez (Dalou, 23’), M Diop, F Diouf (Egbuchunam, 66’), F Smith (Rutz, 87’)
Subs not used: GK Saldaña, M Williams
Head Coach:Â Danny Dichio
\\Stats Summary: DET / CHI
\\Shots: 14 / 6
Shots on Goal: 2 / 3
Saves: 1 / 1
Passing Accuracy: 77.6% / 79.9%
Corners: 4 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 24
Offsides: 3 / 0
Possession: 47.1% / 52.9%
Venue:Â Keyworth Stadium (Hamtramck, Mich.)
Attendance:Â 6,229
Referee:Â Abdou Ndiaye
Assistant Referees:Â Art Arustamyan, Jake Brochu
Fourth Official:Â Carlos Rodriguez
