Watch: Bradley Wright-Phillips Lifts Red Bulls To US Open Cup Semifinal Win Vs. FC Cincinnati

by Pablo MenaAugust 16, 2017, 12:18 pmNews >

Bradley Wright-Phillips scored twice on Tuesday night to propel the New York Red Bulls into the US Open Cup Final with a 3-2 extra-time victory over FC Cincinnati.

Red Bulls vs. FC Cincinnati US Open Cup Semifinal score

The Red Bulls have reached their first Open Cup Final since 2003. They will visit Sporting Kansas City for the championship game on Sept. 20 and hope to win their first USOC trophy. Kansas City defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 5-4 on penalties on Aug. 9 after tying 1-1 in regulation.

Cincinnati’s Corben Bone and Austin Berry opened scoring for the hosts on Tuesday night in the 31st and 62nd minutes respectively, but the Red Bulls’ Argentine attacking midfielder Gonzalo Veron made it 2-1 in the 75th minute with a shot from close range after coming on as a substitute. Three minutes after that, Wright-Phillips scored the equalizer by leveling off Tyler Adams’ cross. The British forward then struck a looping header off Sal Zizzo’s cross inside goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt’s far post 11 minutes into extra time.

The crowd of 33,250 at Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium on Tuesday set a non-final Open Cup record. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati and MLS commissioner Don Garber both attended the game.

“A second-division team in the semifinal of the Open Cup—that’s awesome,” New York captain Sacha Kljestan said. “This is so huge for soccer in our country, big for the club and big for the fans too. This is what the Open Cup is all about.”

Wright-Philipps — a two-time MLS Golden Boot winner who has scored eight goals in 17 MLS games and five in his last three contests — was ecstatic about Tuesday’s victory, even if he hadn’t quite hit the standards he had set for himself this season.

“It’s the furthest we’ve been [in the Open Cup] and no disrespect to Cincinnati—we have to turn up in that game and be ready for the atmosphere—but we should win that game,’’ Wright-Phillips told the New York Post. “Don’t mistake this for being cocky, but with the quality we’ve got, if we lose this it’ll be on us. We would be the only people to blame for that.”

The Red Bulls will visit the Portland Timbers on Friday for their next league game.

HARRISON, NJ – APRIL 15: Bradley Wright-Phillips #99 of New York Red Bulls takes a shot in the first half against the D.C. United at Red Bull Arena on April 15, 2017 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)