Chicago Fire FC (1-2-2, 5 points) earned a point on the road with a 1-1 tie against the New England Revolution (0-4-1, 1 point) on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Designated Player Hugo Cuypers scored his second goal of the season as the Fire and New England played to their sixth-straight draw dating back to Oct. 16, 2021. Chicago was without midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri and goalkeeper Chris Brady, who are on international duty with Switzerland and the U.S. Men’s Olympic team, respectively.
Cuypers became the first Fire player to score in back-to-back games this season in the 20th minute. With the Fire attacking on the break, midfielder Fabian Herbers collected a pass from winger Maren Haile-Selassie and carried it to the top right corner of the box. He looked up to see Cuypers making the run in the center and played the ball across the face of goal for the striker to hit a first-time finish.
Despite the Fire controlling the run of play in the first half, New England managed to level the score in first half stoppage time when Carles Gil fired a shot to the near post that was mis-handled by goalkeeper Spencer Richey. The rebound fell into a dangerous area inside the six-yard box, where Nacho Gil was able to level the score with a close-range header.
Both teams pushed forward in the second half, with Chicago getting dangerously close to scoring another goal in the 67th minute. New England goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. came well out of his box to collect the ball and was preparing to clear it when second-half substitute Georgios Koutsias applied pressure. Koutsias got his foot on the clearance with a slide tackle, quickly getting up and carrying the ball to goal. With defender Ryan Spaulding on his back, Koutsias was able to send a shot on target but Edwards had recovered in time to make the save.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago continues its two-game road stretch by heading south to face Atlanta United FC on Sunday, March 31. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on MLS Season Pass and FOX. The match will also be transmitted locally via wlsam.com in English and WRTO 1200 AM in Spanish.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- With the result, the Fire’s record against the Revolution now stands at 27-24-21, with the last six matches between the two sides resulting in a draw (since Oct. 16, 2021).
- Through the first five matches of the 2024 campaign, Chicago has produced a 1-2-2 record after playing four of the top five teams from the 2023 Eastern Conference standings.
- Forward Hugo Cuypers scored for a second straight match to notch his second of the season. He ranks tied with midfielders Brian Gutiérrez and Fabian Herbers for the most goals on the team.
- Herbers donned the captain’s armband from kickoff for the first time in his career.
- Herbers notched his second assist of the season on the Fire’s lone goal of the match. The midfielder has tallied 21 assists in his MLS career, including 12 with the Fire.
- Herbers leads the team in goal contributions this season with two goals and two assists through the first five matches.
- Midfielder Gastón Giménez played in his 100th MLS match with a start against New England, all 100 of which have been as a member of the Chicago Fire. He became the first Argentine-born player to reach 100 games played for Chicago and the 31st in MLS history.
- Goalkeeper Spencer Richey and defender Jonathan Dean earned their first start of the season. Replacing Chris Brady, who is currently away on international duty, Richey made his first start since Aug. 20, 2023.
- Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (national team), defenders Andrew Gutman (upper leg) and Wyatt Omsberg (upper leg); and goalkeeper Chris Brady (national team) were not available for today’s match.
Box Score:
New England Revolution 1:1 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Cuypers (2) (Herbers 2) (WATCH) 20’
NER - N. Gil (1) (WATCH) 45+4’
Discipline:
CHI - Herbers (Yellow Card) 18’
CHI - Gutiérrez (Yellow Card) 44’
CHI - Arigoni (Yellow Card) 45+2’
NER - Harkes (Yellow Card) 60’
NER - Polster (Yellow Card) 81’
CHI - Barlow (Yellow Card) 90’
NER - C. Gil (Yellow Card) 90+5’
NER - Chancalay (Yellow Card) 90+8’
CHI: GK Richey, D Arigoni, D Czichos, D Salquist, D Dean (Gasper, 77’, Terán, 84’), M Giménez (Pineda, 77’), M Acosta, M Haile-Selassie, M Herbers (capt.), M Gutiérrez (Koutsias, 65’), F Cuypers (Barlow, 77’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Souquet, M Mueller, M Navarro
NER: GK Edwards Jr., D Romney, D Kessler, D Farrell (Spaulding, 61’), M Polster, M C. Gil (capt.), M Harkes, M N. Gil, M Jones, F Chancalay, F Vrioni
Subs not used: GK Jackson, D Mensah, D Lima, M Boateng, M Panayatou, M McNamara
Stats Summary: NER / CHI
Shots: 13 / 4
Shots on Goal: 9 / 2
Saves: 1 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 84.7% / 73.9%
Corners: 5 / 3
Fouls: 22 / 13
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 63.8% / 36.2%
Referee: Kyle Johnston
Assistant Referees: Eric Del Rosario Gandara, Derek Guerrier
Fourth Official: Kevin Morrison
VAR: Greg Barkey
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Frank Klopas
On what the team can take away from a game like today’s…
“Yeah, it's always good when you're on the road against, you know, a team that's desperate with the start that they have had but we knew that it was going to be a difficult game, obviously, because they are still a team that has a lot of quality players, and we knew that they were going to come out and we needed to have a good start in the match and I think that was important for us. Conditions were not great for both teams with the rain, but on a turf field I think it helped a little bit because the ball was moving quicker.
I think for us, look, I think we take the point. It's always good on the road to take results. We still feel we could have gotten more out of this match. I think that's for sure. But we go back, we prepare and then we're on the road again in a difficult spot before we come home for a good homestand after that.”
On the team sticking up for each other despite being a relatively new group and it being early in the season…
“Look, I think it's emotions in the game. I think both teams were working extremely hard in the end. It was a huge belief within our group that we were going to find a way to get that second goal.
And you know, there's a lot of emotions in the game. They also, from their start, there was a lot riding on this game. And it was just great to see that as a team we're together in every situation. Hopefully there's no fine that I have to pay for this one because the guys all came together.
Look, I think it's important to control emotions, as always, but I think we are all there as a team to support each other, and I think that was good to see from the group. And it just shows you the mentality and the attitude that this group has. I think it's great to see that we're there to support each other. When we go, we all go together in moments.
But look, at the end of the day, we still want to let the referee do his game. I think it's important that there's a good flow into the match. But I think when things happen, we need to be together as a team and like we were in moments tonight.”
Chicago Fire FC Forward Hugo Cuypers
Overall thoughts on the match and the playing conditions…
“I mean, I had heard a lot about the turf but I'll say it was good. It was one of the best turf fields I've played on. Nothing to complain about on that area.”
On the team grinding out a point in a tough environment…
“I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we are disappointed because we definitely felt that the three points were possible today. We didn't play well enough in the second half. I'm going to say we went back a little too much and didn't manage the crucial moments of the game well enough to get a win. A point is a point on the road, but still, we've got to get a result when we can.”
If he and the team had to adapt without Xherdan Shaqiri…
“It does, but I mean, I try to adapt with whoever I'm playing, whatever system we are playing in, and then it's up to me to adapt to the qualities of my teammate that I'm playing with. We knew when before the game that Shaq would not be available for this game, and I think we managed well the moments in the first half, finding the free man in midfield and going forward from there. But we didn't succeed in that in the second half, and that's too bad.”
Overall thoughts on MLS playing through the international break, with Chris Brady and Xherdan and Brady missing today’s match…
“I think it's strange coming from Europe where it isn't the case, but I mean, in Europe, everybody is complaining that the holidays are too short and here they are long enough. But you have to miss some key players for international games. So I mean, it's a balance to find, and every league has its own rules.”