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

That lineal route looked to add a red carpet after Chicago Fire went down to 10 men in the first half of Tuesday’s quarterfinal. A straight 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 that 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, the Loons’ bench didn’t protest, and Brian Gutierrez converted the penalty kick past Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota equalized early in the second half, but had to grind into the 30-minute extra time to score the winning and insurance goals for a 3-1 win over the Fire.

The Loons move on to the semifinals and will play the winner of Tuesday night’s late quarterfinal between San Jose and Austin FC in California. The next game is booked for Sept. 16 or 17 in the Midway, with the final penciled in for Oct. 1; both will be in Minnesota based on hosting priority determined in a U.S. Soccer draw before the quarterfinal round.

“I love the fact that we’ve got a home run to the final,” head coach Eric Ramsay said. “I said to the players beforehand that you could play 10 years in MLS and not win a trophy. This is a really good chance for us.”

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.

“You couldn’t ask for a better ball from Anthony for that goal,” Lod said.

Ramsay made three halftime substitutes in Lod, Markanich and Joaquin Pereyra. Ramsay can be quick to yank players on a yellow card, and he did that by pulling Trapp at the break. Two of the additions made an instant impact with the goal in the 48th minute.

“That paid dividends, and as a consequence the goal comes from not any grand drawn out play, but just good structure, width, more patience on the ball and attacking the areas that are inevitably going to arise,” Ramsay said. “You can say the same for the second goal that ultimately puts us in front and wins us the game.”

Kelvin Yeboah scored the winner in the 95th minute and added an insurance goal in the 120th minute, coming on a PK he earned on a breakaway.

“It feels amazing to help the team,” Yeboah said. “I was grateful I could make an impact.”

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 the lead.

The Loons have only once advanced this far in the Open Cup in their MLS era, when they lost the 2019 final to Atlanta United. Lod scored in that final and called back to it postgame.

“I know the feeling, getting to the cup final and lose it,” Lod said. “It is something that we are really eager to win. I mean it’s a trophy to win and especially when we get to play at home in the semifinal and possibly the final. It’s a huge boost for us and something that we are looking forward to.”