The Chicago Fire can host the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final, but will have to win on the road in order to do so.
U.S. Soccer held the draw to determine the hosts of the Open Cup's semifinals Thursday morning at Soccer House in Chicago. After beating the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 3-0 in a quarterfinal last night, the Fire learned they will be heading on the road for the first time in this year's tournament for the semifinal.
The Fire will travel to take on the New England Revolution on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m.
The LA Galaxy will host FC Dallas in the other semifinal.
The other part of Thursday's draw was to determine the hosting priority for the final. The Fire were given the top spot in that, meaning if the Fire beat the Revolution, they will host the final in September at a date still to be determined. If the Fire lose, the winner of the Galaxy-Dallas semifinal will host the final.
This is the same result in the draw as last year, when the Fire traveled to Philadelphia for a semifinal with the chance to host the final with a victory. The Fire lost 1-0.
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Chicago Fire
The Fire are four-time winners of the U.S. Open Cup. The last time they made the final was 2011, a 2-0 loss at Seattle. The last time the Fire hosted the final was in 2006, which is also the last time the Fire won the tournament.