CHICAGO (July 13, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC (5-11-7, 22 points) played New York City FC (11-9-3, 36 points) to a 0-0 draw on Saturday night at Soldier Field.
Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady earned his third shutout of the season, and the 11th of his career.
A solid defensive first half from both sides saw the teams go into halftime scoreless, but not without dangerous opportunities by the Fire. In the 33rd minute, Brian Gutiérrez played a pass on the ground behind the defense that Maren Haile-Selassie read well. The Swiss winger followed the ball into the box, but Matt Freese read the play well, coming off his line to snag it just before Haile-Selassie could reach it to take a shot.
In the 43rd minute, Chris Mueller found himself marked by multiple NYCFC defenders at the top of the box. Mueller held the ball, drawing several defenders away, before slipping a pass through for Hugo Cuypers. The Belgian forward took the shot at a sharp angle but the ball went just wide of the far post.
Chicago continued to press forward in the second half, with Haile-Selassie getting another attempt in the 90+4th minute. A ball played into the box bounced around between the Fire offense and the New York defense before Haile-Selassie sent the ball toward the net, but Freese was ready to make the save.
Notes:
- Tonight’s result marked the Fire’s third clean sheet of the season.
- The Fire are unbeaten in their last two matches at home against NYCFC, with both matches ending in a point for each side
- Tonight’s match marked the first of two regular season matches between the two sides in 2024. Chicago will travel to face New York at Citi Field on Saturday, Aug. 24.
- Defenders Chase Gasper (leg), Andrew Gutman (leg), and Carlos Terán (leg); and midfielders Fabian Herbers (yellow card accumulation) and Federico Navarro (leg) were unavailable for today’s match.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will travel to Ohio to take on FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, July 17. Kickoff at TQL Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass and transmitted locally via 890 WLS-AM (English) and WRTO 1200 AM (Spanish).
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:Chicago Fire FC 0:0 New York City FC
Goals:
None
Discipline:
NYC – Haak (Yellow Card) 21’
CHI – Omsberg (Yellow Card) 25’
CHI – Acosta (Yellow Card) 45’
NYC – Sands (Yellow Card) 59’
CHI – Koutsias (Yellow Card) 80’
CHI – Pineda (Yellow Card) 84’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Souquet, D Czichos (Dean, 77’), D Omsberg, M Mueller (Koutsias, 77’), M Gutiérrez (Barlow, 90+5’), M Acosta, M Acosta, M Giménez (capt.), F Haile-Selassie, F Cuypers
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Salquist, D Pineda, D Konincks, M Casas Jr., M Poreba
New York City FC: GK Freese, D Tanasijevic, D Martins (capt.), D McFarlane, D Ilenic, M Sands, M Perea (Haak, 12’), M Parks; F Rodriguez (Risa, 87’), F Martinez (Bakrar, 68’), F Wolf (Ojeda, 68’)
Subs not used: GK Barraza, D Hope-Gund, F Mijatovic, F Fernandez, F Magno
Stats Summary: CHI / NYCShots: 11 / 8
Shots on Goal: 1 / 1
Saves: 1 / 1
Passing Accuracy: 79.6% / 76.8%
Corners: 6 / 4
Fouls: 13 / 10
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 50.9% / 49.1%
Attendance: 25,179
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner, Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
Fourth Official: Elvis Osmanovic
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr., Robert Schaap
