On Tuesday June 10th, the Fire traveled 3 hours south of Chicago to Bradley University in Peoria, IL where they met the Columbus Crew in a play-in game to the 2008 U.S. Open Cup. With a record crowd arriving on a warm, early evening at Bradley's Shea Stadium, the Fire took to the field looking like a team with something to prove after an embarrassing first round knockout in last year's Open Cup to the USL-1's Carolina Railhawks.  Fielding a team with many underused players, Denis Hamlett seemed to want to use this game to further develop and blend his 2nd stringers and the players returning from injury.

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After a 1-0 loss to the visiting Kansas City Wizards, the mood in the Fire locker room was glum to say the least. The players walked around with their heads low, and there was none of the usual joking around. It was obvious that this was a game the players felt they should have come away with at least a point from.

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