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Chicago Fire beats Columbus Crew SC, Seattle Sounders top RSL on penalties

The Chicago Fire are headed to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals after holding on to beat Columbus Crew SC 2-1 at the Windy City's Toyota Park.

David Accam got the hosts off to the perfect start when he fired home from distance in the seventh minute following an assist from John Goossens to beat Columbus goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

And it would be Accam again in the 29th minute, when he connected with a Rodrigo Ramos cross in the center of the box and beat Stuver once again with another right-footed shot.

With the Crew chasing an improbable comeback, Ethan Finlay cut the deficit in half from the penalty spot after a handball in the penalty area by Chicago's Johan Kappelhof.

The Fire were able to hold on for the win, despite being somewhat dominated statistically, and will host the winner of Wednesday's last-16 match between Orlando City SC and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL.

In Tuesday's other Open Cup match, the Seattle Sounders beat Real Salt Lake 4-1 on penalties after 120 minutes of regular and extra time finished in a 1-1 draw.

Seattle's Tony Alfaro opened the door for RSL just before half-time after fouling Yura Movsisyan in the penalty area. Joao Plata stepped up and calmly converted from the spot to the top left corner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The Sounders struck back just after half-time, though, with Nelson Valdez picking up the ball in the center of the box and slotting home past Tyler Miller.

Neither team could break the deadlock, and the game went to extra time, which also finished level to send the game to penalties.

The Sounders got the better of RSL from the spot, with Miller saving two penalties and Jordan Morris, Herculez Gomez, Zach Scott and Erik Friberg all converting to give Seattle the 4-1 win.