Chicago Fire FC (3-4-4, 13 points) earned a point against Orlando City SC (4-2-5, 17 points) in a 0-0 draw Saturday night at Soldier Field. Goalkeeper Jeff Gal and Homegrown defender Christopher Cupps made their Major League Soccer debuts in the match.
After a handful of missed opportunities in the opening 15 minutes, Chicago took a further hit when Chris Brady was sent off in the 36th minute. Gal came into the match in the 40th minute, making only one save as the Fire backline denied Orlando through the first half despite being a man down.
Orlando took a greater share of possession of the ball in the second half, seeking an opener. But Chicago sought to strike back on counters, nearly doing so in the 68th minute, when Philip Zinckernagel’s long-range effort was turned away by Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Forward Hugo Cuypers nearly struck his eighth on the rebound, but Gallese made a save to keep his fifth consecutive shutout intact.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago returns to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a midweek match against Detroit City FC in the Round of 32. Kickoff in the historic competition is slated for 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 3, at SeatGeek Stadium. The match will be transmitted on Paramount+.
Notes:
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One week after making his Major League Soccer debut, Homegrown defender Christopher Cupps became the youngest player to start a match for Chicago Fire FC in Club history at 16 years, 342 days. The Chicago native played the 90 minutes, completing over 90 percent of his passes in the process.
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Goalkeeper Jeff Gal earned his Major League Soccer debut, entering the match in the 40th minute after Chris Brady’s red card in the 36th minute. The goalkeeper only had to make one save, but otherwise played a clean match that earned the Fire their second clean sheet of the season.
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Six Chicago Fire Academy graduates started the match for the Fire tonight, breaking a record set earlier this season in Chicago’s 2-1 victory at Toronto FC on March 15. Cupps joined Brady, Andrew Gutman, Sergio Oregel, Jr., Mauricio Pineda and Brian Gutierrez on the starting XI, also tying a record for most Homegrown players sharing the field from the start with five.
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Per Elias Sports Bureau, the match marked the first time six Chicagoland area players started for the Fire since July 15, 2015, when Patrick Doody, Eric Gehrig, Mike Magee, Chris Ritter, Michael Stephens and Harry Shipp all featured in the starting XI against Columbus Crew SC. With the addition of Bartlett native Jeff Gal, the match saw seven Chicagoland natives in the match – a number never seen in Fire history.
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The match saw a combined 40 shots between Chicago and Orlando. Per Elias Sports Bureau, this is the highest number of combined shots taken in a Fire match that resulted in a 0-0 draw. The Major League Soccer record is 48, set between Portland Timbers and Minnesota United on September 22, 2019.
- Unavailable for selection were defenders Leonardo Barroso (Lower Body), Carlos Terán (Lower Body) and Chase Gasper (Lower Body); and midfielders Kellyn Acosta (Upper Body), David Poreba (Lower Body) and Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury).
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 0:0 Orlando City SC
Goals:
None
Discipline:
CHI - Oregel, Jr. (Yellow Card) 27’
CHI - Brady (Red Card Send-Off) 35’
CHI - Gutiérrez (Yellow Card) 45’
CHI - Gutman (Yellow Card) 70’
ORL - Thorhallsson (Yellow Card) 90’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean (Glasgow, 60’), D Cupps, D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman (González, 84’), M Oregel, Jr. (D’Avilla, 84’), M Pineda, M Gutiérrez (Kouamé, 84’), F Zinckernagel, F Cuypers, F Bamba (Gal, 40’)
Subs not used: D Rogers, M Haile-Selassie, M Williams, F Barlow
Orlando City SC: GK Gallese, D Freeman, D Schlegel (Thorhallsson, 82’), D Jansson (capt.), D Brekalo, M Pašalić (Enrique, 82’), M Smith (Ojeda, 57’), M Araújo, M Angulo (Santos, 81’), F McGuire, F Muriel
Subs not used: GK Otero, D Williams, M Rodriguez, M Guske, M Caraballo
Stats Summary: CHI / ORL
Shots: 17 / 23
Shots on Goal: 8 / 2
Saves: 2 / 8
Passing Accuracy: 83.1% / 85.3%
Corners: 7 / 6
Fouls: 16 / 8
Offsides: 2 / 0
Possession: 46.7% / 53.3%
Attendance: 17,876
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins
Fourth Official: Luis Diego Arroyo
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert