Chicago Fire FC Defeats Toronto FC 4-1, Extends Unbeaten Run to Four Matches
Toronto, Ontario (June 15, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC (4-8-6, 18 points) secured its first road win of the season, defeating Toronto FC (7-8-3, 24 points) 4-1 on Saturday night at BMO Field.
The Men in Red received goals from four different players – attackers Hugo Cuypers and Maren Haile-Selassie, defender Allan Arigoni, and defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda – as the Club extended its unbeaten run to four matches in MLS regular season play (2-0-2). The result also marked the second time that the Fire have scored four goals in a match this season.
The Fire created multiple shots on goal early and often throughout the match against Toronto. After a close chance from Cuypers in the eighth minute, Chicago followed up with another dangerous opportunity just two minutes later when Arigoni cut inside and struck a curling, left-footed effort that had goalkeeper Luka Gavran beat, but went just high of the target.
Moments later, the Fire continued to put pressure on the Toronto backline and came close to scoring on two separate occasions in a two-minute span. In the 16th minute, midfielder Kellyn Acosta and Haile-Selassise combined on a short corner, creating space for Acosta to curl a well-placed cross to an unmarked Cuypers who just missed the inside of the near post with a first-time volley. Two minutes later, after receiving the ball on the left wing, Haile-Selassie confidently cut inside on his right foot and hit a powerful effort on target, which was denied by another strong save from Gavran.
Chicago eventually found the opening goal in the 41st minute from a Haile-Selassie header. The Fire pressed Toronto deep in their own half and midfielder Fabian Herbers was able to recover the ball, before clipping a cross into the box for the Swiss attacker, who made no mistake with his header to give Chicago a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
However, the Fire’s lead was short-lived as Toronto managed to find the equalizer just three minutes later when Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady was unable to hold onto midfielder Lorenzo Insigne’s deflected right-footed shot.
Despite conceding just before the break, the Fire continued their strong play in the second half and added two goals in three minutes to take a two-goal lead. In the 57th minute, Cuypers dispossessed defender Kevin Long on the right wing and charged toward goal. The Belgian striker held off his defender and carefully curled a well-placed, left-footed strike into the far corner to tally his sixth of the season.
Shortly afterward, the Fire scored their third goal after once again winning the ball back deep inside Toronto’s half. After playing a give-and-go with Haile-Selassie, Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez played the ball to the edge of the 18-yard box for defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda, who perfectly placed his shot into the far right corner with a powerful strike to notch his first of the campaign.
Chicago added its fourth and final goal of the match when Arigoni received a pass from Herbers on the right wing. Arigoni carried the ball forward and cut inside on his left foot, curling his shot past Gavran and into the far corner to round out the scoring for the Fire.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will play its second of three straight matches on the road when the team travels to face Orlando City SC on Saturday, June 22. Kickoff at INTER&Co Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass and transmitted locally via wlsam.com (English) and WRTO 1200 AM (Spanish).
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- The Fire’s regular season record against Toronto FC now stands at 12-14-12.
- Tonight’s victory marked the Fire’s first win in Toronto since 2012.
- With the win, the Fire are now unbeaten in four straight matches in League play – their longest stretch without a loss in 2024.
- During that stretch, forward Hugo Cuypers has led the way for the Fire in the attacking third with four goal contributions in the last four matches (three goals, one assist).
- Following the win, Chicago moved into 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and is now just two points below the playoff line.
- The result marked Chicago’s first road win in 2024 (1-3-5, 8 points), with the Fire also scoring four or more goals on the road for the first time since Oct. 20, 2021.
- Cuypers now leads the team with six goals in 18 matches played (18 starts) in his debut season in MLS with the Fire.
- Winger Maren Haile-Selassie scored his second goal of the season.
- With two assists tonight, midfielder Fabian Herbers now has four in 2024, tying his career high for assists in a single season with the Fire.
- Herbers is also now tied with Haile-Selassie for the most assists on the team this season.
- Defender Allan Arigoni notched his first career goal for the Fire, while defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda tallied his first of the season.
- With Arigoni and Pineda each finding the back of the net, Chicago has now received goals from nine different players in 2024.
- Pineda started for the fourth straight time this season and for the 99th time in his career. He is now one start away from becoming the first Homegrown Player to reach 100 starts for the Men in Red.
- With a start in tonight’s match, defender Carlos Terán made his 73rd appearance for the Fire, tying former Fire defender Wilman Conde for the most appearances by a Colombian-born player in Club history.
- Defender Wyatt Omsberg made his first appearance of the season when he entered the match for Terán in the 73rd minute.
- Midfielder Javier Casas made his first appearance of the season, replacing Herbers in second half stoppage time.
Box Score:Toronto FC 1:4 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI – Haile-Selassie (2) (Herbers, 3) (WATCH) 41’
TOR – Insigne (5) (Petretta, 3) (WATCH) 44’
CHI – Cuypers (6) (WATCH) 57’
CHI – Pineda (1) (Gutiérrez, 3) (WATCH) 60’
CHI – Arigoni (1) (Herbers, 4) (WATCH) 89’
Discipline:
None
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Arigoni, D Terán (Omsberg, 73’), D Pineda, M Souquet, M Acosta (Giménez, 73’), M Herbers © (Casas, 90+3’’), M Dean, F Gutiérrez, F Cuypers (Koutsias, 84’), F Haile-Selassie (Barlow, 73’)
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Konincks, M Mueller
TOR: GK Gavran, D Long, D Petretta (Mailula, 84’), D Rosted (Thompson, 63’), M Marshall-Ruty (Mabika, 69’), M Longstaff, M Coello (Franklin, 63’), M Flores, F Etiennne Jr., F Insigne ©, F Kerr (Owusu, 63’)
Subs not used: GK Ranjitsingh, M Cimermancic, M Ayari
Stats Summary: TFC / CHIShots: 16 / 15
Shots on Goal: 6 / 8
Saves: 4 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 88% / 80%
Corners: 5 / 5
Fouls: 7 / 12
Offsides: 1 / 1
Possession: 60% / 40%
Attendance: 28,303
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Gerard-Kader Lebuis, Andre PIckler
Fourth Official: Mathieu Souare
VAR: Jair Marrufo, Logan Brown
Stats Summary:
TFC / CHIShots: 16 / 15
Shots on Goal: 6 / 8
Saves: 4 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 88% / 80%
Corners: 5 / 5
Fouls: 7 / 12
Offsides: 1 / 1
Possession: 60% / 40%
Attendance: 28,303
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Gerard-Kader Lebuis, Andre PIckler
Fourth Official: Mathieu Souare
VAR: Jair Marrufo, Logan Brown
