COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 20, 2023) – Chicago Fire FC (8-12-9, 33 points) fell 3-0 to the Columbus Crew (14-9-6, 48 points) at Lower.com Field on Wednesday night.
Columbus scored all three goals in the first half, as the home team was awarded consecutive penalty kicks in an eight-minute stretch early in the first half. Striker Cucho Hernández converted his initial attempt from the spot in the eighth minute of play, before finishing another penalty kick in the 16th minute. Hernández then scored his third and final goal of the match on a header from a corner kick in the 23rd minute.
Chicago was forced to make an early substitution when defender Mauricio Pineda went down in the 25th minute. Pineda was replaced by Wyatt Omsberg, who made his first League appearance for the Fire since July 1. Shortly afterward, defender Carlos Terán entered the match for team captain Rafael Czichos at the halftime break, with the German defender being forced to exit due to injury. The Fire would then finish the match with 10 men after midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri was shown a second yellow card in the 66th minute.
Following the result, Chicago sits in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, three points below the playoff line with five matches remaining in the 2023 regular season.
NEXT MATCH: The Fire will return to the lakefront on Saturday, Sept. 23 as the Club hosts the New England Revolution at Soldier Field at 7:30 p.m. CT. The upcoming contest will serve as the Club’s annual Hispanic Heritage Night and the first 5,000 fans to enter Soldier Field will receive a Fire-themed Luchador Mask as part of the night's festivities.
Tickets to attend the match are available for purchase here. The match will also be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and will be transmitted locally on WLS-AM 890 in English and in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- With the result, the Fire’s all-time regular season record against the Crew now stands at 27-25-23 in 75 matches played since the 1998 season.
- Midfielders Javier Casas (right lower leg), Chris Mueller (right upper leg) and Federico Navarro (left upper leg), and forward Victor Bezerra (right lower leg) were not available for selection in tonight’s match.
Box Score:
Columbus Crew 3:0 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CLB - Hernández (11) (penalty) (WATCH) 8’
CLB - Hernández (12) (penalty (WATCH) 16’
CLB - Hernández (13) (Gressel 6) (WATCH) 23’
Discipline:
CHI - Brady (Yellow Card) 8’
CHI - Souquet (Yellow Card) 13’
CHI - Czichos (Yellow Card) 33’
CHI - Shaqiri (Yellow Card) 44’
CHI - Shaqiri (Second Yellow, Ejection) 66’
CHI - Koutsias (Yellow Card) 72’
CHI - Przybyłko (Yellow Card) 74’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Souquet (Dean, 46’), D Pineda (Omsberg, 29’), D Czichos (capt.) (Terán, 46’), D Aceves, M Doumbia, M Giménez (Herbers, 57’), M Haile-Selassie, M Shaqiri, M Torres (Przybyłko, 70’), F Koutsias
Subs not used: GK Richey, D M. Navarro, M Gutiérrez, F Kamara
Columbus Crew: GK Schulte, D Camacho, D Gressel (Farsi, 46’), D Amundsen, D Moreira, M Nagbe (capt.) (Medranda, 82’), M Morris (Zawadski, 46’), M Yeboah, M Matan (Molino, 70”, F Hernández (Ramírez, 70’), F Rossi
Subs not used: GK Bush, D Cherberko, M Arftsen, F Russell-Rowe
Stats Summary: CLB / CHI
Shots: 17 / 8
Shots on Goal: 4 / 1
Saves: 1 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 91.9% / 82.4%
Corners: 6 / 3
Fouls: 6 / 14
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 65.5% / 33.5%
Attendance: 20,349
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistant Referees: Claudiu Badea, Justin Howard
Fourth Official: Marcos DeOliveira
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
Assistant VAR: Fabio Tovar
