COLUMBUS (June 19, 2021) - Chicago Fire FC (1-5-1, 4 points) fell 2-0 against Columbus Crew SC (4-2-2, 14 points) at Historic Crew Stadium on Saturday night.
In front of a sold-out crowd, the Crew managed to score both goals in the first half as forward Gyasi Zardes found the back of the net in the 17th and 34th minutes, respectively.
NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC will return to Soldier Field to kick off a four-game homestand on Wednesday, June 23, taking on FC Cincinnati at 7:00 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast live on WGN-TV, CFFC Live and TUDN 1200 AM. Wednesday’s game will be the Club’s annual Pride Night and fans can secure their tickets for the match here.
NOTES:
- Defender Carlos Terán received his first ever start for the Fire, having recovered from an injury he picked up during preseason. The 20-year-old Columbian international made his first appearance of the 2021 season going the full 90 minutes.
- Midfielder Ignacio Aliseda earned his first start of the 2021 season after making two appearances this season. The Young Designated Player had been dealing with a lingering left thigh injury.
- Midfielder Fabian Herbers earned his 50th career start and 95th overall appearance in MLS since joining the league in 2016.
- Today’s match at Historic Crew Stadium marked the final match at the stadium for Columbus, concluding an era at the first soccer-specific stadium in MLS. The Crew are moving to Lower.com Field, a brand new stadium in downtown Columbus, which will open its doors on July 3.
- The Fire were without midfielders Przemysław Frankowski and Gastón Giménez due to international duty. Frankowski is currently with the Poland National Team as they compete in the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament. Giménez is competing at Copa América for Paraguay's National Team.
- Yesterday, the Fire unveiled the Club’s new primary crest and visual identity following a months-long, fan-focused project that saw more than 20,000 Fire fans, supporters, and Chicagoans at large add their voice to the creation of the new identity. Created by Matthew Wolff, the new crest’s primary elements - a six-pointed star contained with the letter “C,” surrounded by a modernized Florian cross incorporating the Chicago city flag colors - were the most commonly requested items across all fan touchpoints. Additional information regarding the new crest can be found here. Media assets can be downloaded here.
- Chicago Fire announced this week that the Club’s match against Atlanta United FC on Saturday, July 3 at Soldier Field will mark the debut of its full fan experience with the lifting of capacity restrictions. The match will mark the Fire’s first match without capacity restrictions at Soldier Field since the Club announced its return to the lakefront on Oct. 8, 2019.
- The Fire, along with all MLS clubs, wore Juneteenth-inspired numbers on their jerseys for tonight’s match and were designed by Indianapolis native Israel Solomon in collaboration with MLS and Black Players for Change (BPC). The game-worn jerseys and their custom commemorative boxes are set to be auctioned off beginning June 21. Proceeds from the auction will benefit local Chicago nonprofit organization, My Block, My Hood, My City (M3), chosen by Fire defender Andre Reynolds II, the Club’s BPC representative. Additional information on M3 can be found here, and auction information will be available beginning June 21 at MLSauctions.com.
- Play-by-play commentator Arlo White made his Chicago Fire broadcast debut, joining U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Tony Meola in the booth tonight. Including the match against the Crew, White is set to call four straight matches for the Club from June 19 - July 3.
Goals:
CLB - Zardes (2) 17’
CLB - Zardes (3) 34’
Discipline:
CLB - Etienne Jr. (Yellow Card) 21’
CLB - Williams (Yellow Card) 25’
CHI - Herbers (Yellow Card) 44’
CHI - Medrán (Yellow Card) 65’
Box Score:
Columbus Crew SC 2:0 Chicago Fire FC
Chicago Fire FC: GK Shuttleworth, D Sekulić (D Espinoza 58’), D Terán, D Calvo ©, D Navarro, M Pineda, M Herbers, M Aliseda, M Medrán (M Collier 83’), M Gutiérrez (M Stojanović HT), F Offor (F Berić HT)
Subs not used: GK Slonina, D Bornstein, D Omsberg, D Kappelhof, M Monis
Columbus Crew SC: GK Bush, D Williams, D Mensah ©, D Fraser, M Nagbe, M Santos (D Abdul-Salaam 87’), M Matan (M Francis 63’), M Zelarayan, M Etienne Jr. (Molino 70’), M Afful, F Zardes
Subs not used: GK Lampson, D Wormgoor, D Lillard, D Keita, M Parente, M Hairston
Stats Summary: CLB / CHI
Shots: 14 / 14
Shots on Goal: 2 / 0
Passing Accuracy: 78.9% / 82%
Saves: 0 / 0
Corners: 4 / 3
Fouls: 13 / 7
Total passes: 332 / 495
Offsides: 1 / 0
Possession: 41.1% / 58.9%
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Matthew Nelson, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Matthew Thompson
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez, Craig Lowry
