Minnesota United had a charmed path in U.S. Open Cup final — with the chance to host the final three matches in St. Paul, if the Loons kept winning in the national tournament.

That route looked to add a red carpet after Chicago Fire went down to 10 men in the first half of Tuesday’s quarterfinal. A red card on Fire defender Omar Gonzalez in the 25th minute should have been a turning point for MNUFC, but it was the 10-men Fire which immediately benefitted at Allianz Field.

In the 28th, referee Ekaterina Koroleva awarded Chicago a penalty for what she determined was Loons midfielder Wil Trapp fouling  Philip Zinkernagel in the box. Koroleva didn’t go to the monitor for another look at the replay, and Brian Gutierrez converted the penalty kick past Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota equalized early in the second half and scored the winning goal early in extra time and an insurance goal late in extra time for a 3-1 win over the Fire to send MNUFC to the semifinals.

The Loons will play the winner of San Jose and Austin FC in a late quarterfinal Tuesday night in California. The semifinal will be Sept. 16 or 17, with the final Oct. 1.

Minnesota capitalized on its man advantage early in the second half with substitute Robin Lod’s tap-in equalizer on an assist from Anthony Markanich.

Kelvin Yeboah scored the winner in the 95th minute and added an insurance goal in the 120th minute.

After taking the lead, Minnesota reverted to its typical form of holding on for dear life in the final minutes and needed multiple saves from St. Clair to keep lead.

Loons head coach Eric Ramsay made three halftime substitutes in Lod, Markanich and Joaquin Pereyra. Two of them made an instant impact in the 48th minute.

Pereyra and Lod nearly created another goal, but Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, who has been in international duty with the U.S., get his left hand on Lod’s shot in the 78th minute.

Brady stepped up again with a save on Bongi Hlongwane in the final minute of second-half stoppage time.

Ramsay can be quick to yank players on a yellow card and he did that in pulling Trapp at the break. But the changes were also a decision to revert to some of the Loons’ best after Ramsay picked Sang Bin Jeong to start over options such as Pereyra.

The Loons have only once reached this far in the Open Cup once before (2019) in its MLS era, when the club lost the final to Atlanta United.

Related Articles

Loons vs. Chicago Fire: Keys to match, storylines and a prediction

Loons ride set pieces (again) in a 2-1 win at FC Dallas

U.S. goalie Matt Freese puts Costa Rica out in cold in Gold Cup thriller

Joaquin Pereyra’s great assist overshadowed as Loons cough up late lead

Loons at New York Red Bulls: Keys to the match, storylines and a prediction