Washington, D.C. (May 25, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC (2-8-5, 11 points) earned a hard-fought point on the road in a 1-1 tie against D.C. United (4-5-6, 18 points) on Saturday night at Audi Field.
Midfielder Kellyn Acosta scored his second goal of the season for the Men in Red when he provided the equalizer at the beginning of the second half.
The home team struck first in the 20th minute when midfielder Mateusz Klich sent a free kick into the 18-yard box. Defender Steven Birnbaum connected a header to redirect the ball toward the goal, where defender Christoper McVey stuck out his leg and slotted the ball into the net.
Chicago leveled the score in the 53rd minute with a play that began with defender Andrew Gutman, who was active in the attacking third in tonight’s match. The Chicago native played a quick one-two and carried the ball up the left flank, before passing it into the center for Acosta. Running toward goal, Acosta combined with forward Hugo Cuypers before perfectly placing his shot into the bottom left corner..
NEXT MATCH: Chicago returns to the lakefront for a midweek match, facing Orlando City SC on Wednesday, May 29 at Soldier Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 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:
- Tonight’s match marked the 70th regular season contest between the Fire and D.C. United since 1998. Chicago’s record against D.C. now stands at 23-26-21.
- Midfielder Kellyn Acosta donned the captain’s armband for the Fire for the first time from the outset. Acosta’s 53rd-minute goal marked his second of the season for Chicago.
- Acosta is now one goal away from tying his career-high for goals in a single MLS season (three).
- Forward Tom Barlow made his first start for the Men in Red, participating in his 12th match of the 2024 regular season.
- Forward Hugo Cuypers started his 15th consecutive match for the Fire, making him the only player on the squad to have started every match so far in 2024. His assist on Acosta’s goal puts him at a team-leading four goal contributions (three goals, one assist).
- Defenders Chase Gasper (leg) and Tobias Salquist (leg); and midfielders Chris Mueller (leg) and Xherdan Shaqiri (international duty) were unavailable for today’s match.
Box Score:D.C. United 1:1 Chicago Fire FC
Discipline:
CHI - Arigoni (Yellow Card) 36’
DCU - Dajome (Yellow Card) 42’
CHI - Terán (Yellow Card) 45’
DCU - Benteke (Yellow Card) 46’
DCU - Birnbaum (Yellow Card) 83’
CHI - Nagamura (Ejection) 90’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Terán, D Czichos, D Gutman (Souquet, 85’), D Arigoni (Dean, 65’), M Pineda, M Acosta (capt.) (Herbers, 65’), M Navarro, F Cuypers (Haile-Selassie, 85’), F Barlow (Koutsias, 78’), F Gutiérrez
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Omsberg, M Giménez
DCU: GK Bono, D Bartlett (Tubbs, 79’), D Birnbaum (capt.), D Herrera, D McVey (Peltola, 46’), M Stroud (Murrell, 71’), M Ku-DiPietro (Fletcher, 71’), M Hopkins (Pirani, 83’), M Klich, F Dajome, F Benteke
Subs not used: GK Miller
Stats Summary: DCU / CHIShots: 14 / 11
Shots on Goal: 5 / 3
Saves: 2 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 75.6% / 77%
Corners: 8 / 1
Fouls: 15 / 14
Offsides: 2 / 2
Possession: 49.2% / 50.8%
Referee: Mark Allatin
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Adam Wienckowski
Fourth Official: Joshua Encarnacion
VAR: Ian McKay
