FC Dallas defeats 10-man Chicago Fire to claim Brimstone Cup

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:29 am

Kellyn Acosta scored his first goal of the season shortly after coming on as a substitute as host FC Dallas defeated the 10-man Chicago Fire 3-1 Saturday night to claim the Brimstone Cup.

Acosta entered the game in the 69th minute, one minute before Chicago defender Drew Conner picked up his second yellow card to force the Fire to play shorthanded the rest of the way.

Acosta took a pass from Victor Ulloa and blasted a 20-yard shot into the bottom right corner of the net, past the outstretched fingers of diving Chicago goalkeeper Richard Sanchez to give Dallas a 2-0 lead in the 74th minute.

Dallas clinched the victory, which kept it atop the Western Conference, on Reto Ziegler's penalty kick in the 81st minute. It was Ziegler's third goal of the season.

Dallas, which is unbeaten in 11 home matches this season (7-0-4), opened the scoring in the 27th minute despite Chicago seemingly having numbers back on the defensive end.

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Reggie Cannon dribbled down the right wing, then made a nifty move to cut back on defender Brandon Vincent and make a left-footed cross into the middle of the penalty area. Cannon found a wide-open Carlos Gruezo about 10 yards in front of the net, and Gruezo's volley snuck inside the left post with Sanchez left flat-footed. It was Gruezo's second goal of the season.

Dallas dominated the opening 45 minutes, keeping possession for 65 percent of the half and outshooting Chicago 10-1.

The Fire got a spark early in the second half from substitute Brandt Bronico, who came on at the intermission.

Bronico fed Tony Tchani for a long shot that sailed over the crossbar in the 49th minute, and Bronico missed wide right on a shot from the middle of the penalty box two minutes later.

Bronico scored Chicago's lone goal, unassisted, in the 86th minute. It was the first goal of the 23-year-old American's MLS career, an 18-yard shot into the top left corner of the net.