CINCINNATI – The New York Red Bulls and Bradley Wright-Phillips brought the magical run of FC Cincinnati in the Semifinals of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as the visitors rallied for a 3-2 victory after overtime in front of 33,250 fans at Nippert Stadium on Tuesday night.

Cincinnati had taken a two-goal lead with goals in either half by Corben Bone and Austin Berry, which appeared to have the hosts on their way to becoming the first USL club to reach the Open Cup Final since the Charleston Battery in 2008, but goals four minutes apart by Gonzalo Veron and Wright-Phillips in the final 15 minutes pulled the Red Bulls level before New York’s leading scorer bagged the winner 11 minutes into overtime.

Wright-Phillips had almost settled the contest in the final minute of regulation as his header hit the crossbar, and carrying that momentum forward New York came out aggressively to start the first extra period. Tyler Adams fired a cross through the six-yard area from the right, only for no final touch to be applied, while Derrick Etienne Jr. fired over from 25 yards.

Wright-Phillips, though, found the mark in the 101st minute as an angled cross by Sal Zizzo found the Red Bulls’ leading scorer for his second goal of the night, his header perfectly angled into the right corner of the net.

Cincinnati almost hit back immediately. Marco Dominguez stayed on the ball as he challenged New York goalkeeper Ryan Meara eight yards out on a cross from the right, but Adams hustled back to cover the open net and block the chance behind for a corner. Kevin Schindler fired just wide from 25 yards in first-half stoppage time for the hosts, too, putting Meara at full stretch to cover the right post.

FCC continued to build momentum to start the second period of overtime, and Bone sent a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the area in the 110th minute. Pressure from the hosts continued, but New York’s defense – including 2016 USL Defender of the Year Aaron Long – made timely challenges to keep FCC at bay and restrict many clear looks at goal.

Cincinnati’s Andrew Wiedeman threatened with a header in the 116th minute off a cross by Dominguez, only to send his effort high, and that proved the final chance for Cincinnati’s Cinderella story as the Red Bulls advanced to face Sporting Kansas City in the Open Cup Final on Sept. 20 at Children’s Mercy Sporting Park.

The game had opened evenly, but the Red Bulls looked the more dangerous in the final third. FCC goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt just beat Wright-Phillips to a through-ball on the left side of the penalty area in the 11th minute, while Kemar Lawrence’s low cross was well claimed by Hildebrandt at the top of his six-yard area five minutes later.

FCC’s Aodhan Quinn and Justin Hoyte twice linked up well down the left in the opening 20 minutes, and Quinn had the hosts first effort on goal on a volley that went wide of the left post from 30 yards after an initial shot by Hoyte was blocked by Adams. Bone also skied a finish high from the edge of the penalty area in the 28th minute after finding some space off a throw-in.

Three minutes later, Bone made no mistake. A clever piece of interplay that saw Wiedeman play an angled ball in from the left to Danni König just inside the penalty area, and his chested pass down into the path of Bone saw the midfielder arrive perfectly to finish into the left corner.

New York tried to get level before the break, and Wright-Phillips snatched a chance wide of the left post after his attempted pass at the top of the penalty area was blocked back toward him. Alex Muyl also scuffed a chance from just inside the penalty area in the 42nd minute that Hildebrandt gathered easily, but Cincinnati reached halftime with the lead.

Cincinnati almost added a second on the counterattack six minutes into the second half as Wiedeman broke forward into the right channel off a long ball by Quinn, but Meara got down well to parry his shot and then claimed the rebound as support was slow to arrive.

As New York was starting to turn up the pressure in the Cincinnati half, though, the hosts added a second. After Quinn had won a corner on the left, Kenney Walker’s back-post delivery found Cincinnati native Berry, who beat his marker and headed home low into the right side of the net.

The Red Bulls pressed harder, and Veron headed wide of the left post with 20 minutes to go from the corner of the six-yard area. The Argentinian pulled a goal back for New York five minutes later, however, as his low finish from the top of the six-yard area made it 2-1 as Cincinnati was unable to clear a cross by Derrick Etienne Jr., ending FCC’s Open Cup shutout streak dating back to last season at 654 minutes.

Three minutes later, the Red Bulls leveled. A passing combination on the right set up Adams for a cross for the visitors, and Wright-Phillips was clinical with his header from the penalty spot to pick out the right corner of the net.

New York’s pressure continued, and Veron sent a scissor-kick high from 16 yards with three minutes to go as Cincinnati struggled to gain meaningful possession in the New York half. Cincinnati survived Wright-Phillips' header off the crossbar in the 90th minute to force overtime, only for the club’s dream run to come to an end at the hand of the English striker, a standing ovation from the sellout crowd the only consolation as the second-biggest crowd in Open Cup history tried to lift the players as the final whistle blew.