Chicago Fire FC (7-15-6, 27 points) defeated New York City FC (11-10-6, 39 points) 2-0 at SeatGeek Stadium on Wednesday night. The result marked the Fire’s seventh shutout of the season and its second in the last two matches.
After creating a number of chances in the first half, including both Robert Berić and Jhon Espinoza hitting the woodwork in the 42nd minute, the Fire eventually found the breakthrough goal just three minutes into the second half when Berić scored his fourth of the season (WATCH). Midfielder Álvaro Medrán slipped a ball through New York City’s backline off a set play, which the Slovenian calmly slotted into the back of the net.
The Fire would double the lead in the 66th minute when Federico Navarro notched his first career goal for Chicago (WATCH). Berić was able to find the feet of Navarro, who hit a low shot past a diving Sean Johnson.
Chicago homegrown goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, 17, made three saves in his fifth appearance of the campaign, earning his third career shutout.
NEXT GAME: The Fire will head north of the border to face Toronto FC on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 3:00 p.m. CT (WGN-TV, CFFC Live and WOJO 105.1 FM HD-3). The Fire will play five of its six remaining regular season games on the road. The Club’s regular season home finale will take place on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7:00 p.m. CT against Real Salt Lake.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #CFFC #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
NOTES:
- Tonight’s match marked the second straight shutout for 17-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina. The Fire Homegrown now has three shutouts in five career starts for the Club.
- Medrán tallied his team-leading sixth assist of the season.
- Navarro scored his first career goal for the Fire.
- The Fire have lost just two of their last 11 home matches dating back to June 26 (5-2-4).
- Overall, the Fire have posted a 3-2-3 home record against NYCFC since 2015.
- In 230 games played at SeatGeek Stadium, the Fire hold a 102-54-74 record in regular season play.
- Fire players wore the names and ages of 20 pediatric cancer patients from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago on the back of their warm-up tops. The player-worn warm-up tops will be autographed and included in a care package from the Club that is being gifted to the patients and their families.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 2:0 New York City FC
Goals:
CHI - Berić (4) (Medrán 6) 48’
CHI - F. Navarro (1) (Berić 3) 66’
Discipline:
NYC - Medina (Yellow Card) 10’
CHI - F. Navarro (Yellow Card) 16’
NYC - Acevedo (Yellow Card) 27’
CHI - Giménez (Yellow Card) 59’
Chicago Fire FC: GK G. Slonina, D Kappelhof, D Pineda, D Bornstein ©, M Espinoza, M F. Navarro, M M. Navarro, M Giménez, M Medrán (Stojanović 90’), F Berić (Offor 74’), F Herbers (Aliseda 85’)
Subs not used: GK Shuttleworth, D Omsberg, M Casas Jr., M Monis, F Offor, F Collier, F Ivanov
New York City FC: GK Johnson, D Tinnerholm, D Chanot, D Callens, D Thorainsson (Amundesen 76’), D Acevedo (Rodriguez 58’), M Morales (Heber 86’), M Medina (Tajouri-Shradi 76’) , M Parks, F Moralez, F Magno (Thiago 59’)
Subs not used: GK Barraza, D Gray, M Zelalem, F Jasson
Stats Summary: CHI / NYC
Shots: 12 / 10
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 79.1% / 79.4%
Saves: 3 / 3
Corners: 5 / 8
Fouls: 15 / 13
Offsides: 2 / 2
Possession: 48.5% / 51.5%
Attendance: 5,593
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistant Referees: Peter Balciunas, Andrew Bigelow
Fourth Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr., Peter Manikowski
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina …
“I mean, look, he had a very good game again, very calm, but I am going to be very, very careful with these expressions. He’s young. We all believe in him, but it’s important that at that age when you have good games that you stay on the ground. And it’s my job, and our job, to keep you on the ground. I have no doubt he will because he is a very mature 17-year-old, he’s very professional. But I once was young, I was professional when I was 16, and once you have everyone from all the sides telling you how good you are, it’s not always easy to stay level-headed. So that’s the most important thing I think right now.”
On Slonina dealing with the fan excitement at such a young age…
“Well look, those are questions for him. You have to ask him how he feels about that. It’s just very, very important. He can be proud of what he does, but he has to keep working hard, he has to stay very, very focused on the next game and the next training. And I have no doubt he will do that, the way I know him now - a year-and-a-half, almost two years. But it’s not always easy when you are so young.”
On the fan atmosphere and the grass surface tonight compared to Wednesday...
“I think, let’s not compare. Let’s not compare. Saturday there was an American football game on the field and the week before, as well, so let’s not compare. It’s not fair. Tonight, I think let’s talk about the game. I think we have seen a great team performance. I think we’ve seen some really good football. I think this was against one of the top teams again in the East. We have shown what we are capable of. I think the crowd was good. The field was good, but let’s not compare things. I am just really happy about the performance from the team from tonight and I think it was a well-deserved win.”
On the goal and performance from Robert Berić…
“Yeah, look, Robert had a good game. Not only because of his goal, but obviously he’s a number nine, a striker, they always want (a) goal. I am happy for him. It was a great finish with his left foot. It was a great pass, I think if I am not wrong it was Gaston playing a quick free kick, I am not sure, Medran, okay. But yeah, it was a great finish for him and I am happy for him. He had a good performance for the team, as well.
On the performance of Federico Navarro…
“Yeah, good performance for him. Very good. He brings to the table what we expect from him. He had an early yellow card, which is not easy in that position then to manage your game over 90 minutes, especially when you are as aggressive as he is. He did very well being aggressive, but not over aggressive, not really risking a second yellow card. So, I am happy for him and great performance, as well. But overall, I have to say it was a really, really good team performance tonight."
Chicago Fire FC Forward Robert Berić
On the feeling of the team after a victory...
“I mean, I'm glad that we won. It's always nice to have this positive energy. We play again (Sunday), so yeah, that's a good motivation for it. We have Toronto away, I think that's a game where we can also take three points. Yeah, I'm happy.”
On stopping a long scoring drought...
“It was not easy. I have (had) a tough season. On top of that, we are not doing amazing, as you know. So, yeah, it’s a tough season. I'm fighting every day, every game, and trying to do my best. That’s it.”
On Álvaro Medrán's assist...
“We had one second before this eye contact, and he played the ball. In that split second, there was a space. He made a perfect pass for me and then I scored. So, I think it was a nice action.”
On playing at SeatGeek Stadium...
“Yeah, it's funny, right? It was my first game here, actually, since I arrived. We train here, we are everyday here, but still we never played (an) official game here. It felt good. The stadium, it's nice, it's a soccer stadium, I can say. We had this one, we won the game and it felt good.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender Johan Kappelhof
On the team’s performance and playing back at SeatGeek Stadium…
“Yeah, I think it's a good performance today. It's a very good team performance. You could see, like, everyone working very hard for each other, covering each other, fixing each other’s mistakes. And we were solid up front, we finished two chances and we collected the three points , so a very mature victory. Being back here is, for me, is familiar, of course. For a lot of guys (it’s) not but for me it feels good to be in this stadium. Played a lot of games here.”
On overcoming frustrations late in the season...
“Is it frustrating? Yeah, I think we should have had more points with the quality we have but the season is still not over. We can still fix the season and climb. So we are looking game-to-game and that's our main focus, the next game. That's the only thing we control, what we're doing at training and keep going, keep believing. I still believe in all of us so we keep going.”
On Federico Navarro’s performance...
“Yeah, of course, he needed some time to adjust, new country, you know. But you can see he's a ball winner, you know? Like the 50/50 balls, he's there and that gives a boost to the team. Someone there to win, go full in every duel and cover the spaces. He can run a lot, so that's really important for the team.”