Orlando, Fla. (June 22, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC (4-9-6, 18 points) fell 4-2 on the road to Orlando City SC (5-8-6, 21 points) on Saturday night at INTER&Co Stadium.
Chicago finished the match with 19 shots and 13 shots on target, forcing Orlando goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar to make 11 saves on the night. Despite the strength of the Fire’s attack, the home team struck first when Facundo Torres collected a ball from Dagur Thorhallsson in the right side of the box in the fourth minute. Torres held the ball with a few touches before sending a powerful, well-placed ball into the top right corner.
Orlando doubled their lead in the 20th minute after Cesar Araújo was fouled in the box and referee Natalie Simon pointed to the spot. Luis Muriel took the spot kick, sending it just to the left of Chris Brady. Ivan Angulo added a third in the 29th minute when Brady saved a shot at the near post but the rebound landed to Angulo in front of the net.
Chicago pulled one back in the 53rd minute with the second penalty kick of the match. Simon once again pointed to the spot, this time after Orlando defender Rodrigo Schlegel was called for handling the ball in the box as he slid to shut down Maren Haile-Selassie. The young Swiss winger took the shot himself, sending it into the right side of the net for his third goal of the season as Stajduhar went to the left.
Torres scored his second of the night in the 60th minute, sending a blast into the top left corner from just outside the top of the box.
Designated Player Hugo Cuypers added to his scoring account, cutting Orlando’s lead in half in the 69th minute. Fabian Herbers controlled the ball on the left side of the field before sending a cross meant for Chris Mueller on the right. The cross was intercepted but misdirected by the Orlando defense and Cuypers pounced in the center of the box, slipping the ball past Stajduhar for his seventh goal of the season. Cuypers became the first Fire player to contribute to a goal in five consecutive matches since the 2020 season, when Robert Berić scored in five straight games.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will complete its three-game road stretch with a trip West to face Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, June 29. Kickoff at Lumen Field is scheduled for 9:30 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:
- After recording a fifth straight start, defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda became the first Homegrown Player to earn 100 starts for the Chicago Fire.
- Striker Hugo Cuypers scored for a fourth consecutive match, notching his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
- Cuypers started his 19th game of 2024, making him the only player to start every game for the Fire in the 2024 regular season.
- Midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie started for the 11th time in the 2024 regular season. With his third goal of the season, and first from the penalty spot, he joined Cuypers as the second Fire player to score in consecutive matches this season.
- Midfielder Fabian Herbers recorded an assist on Cuypers goal, tallying his fifth in 2024 while also setting a career-high for assists in a single season with the Fire.
- It also marked the third assist in the last two matches for Herbers, who leads the team in assists this season.
- Defender Carlos Terán started his eighth straight game of the regular season and his ninth overall in 2024. With 74 appearances, Terán surpassed compatriot Wilman Conde for the most all-time appearances by a Colombian-born player in Fire history.
- Defenders Chase Gasper (leg), Andrew Gutman (leg), Tobias Salquist (leg); and midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri (national team) and Federico Navarro (leg) were unavailable for today’s match.
Box Score:Orlando City SC 4:2 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
ORL - Torres (4) (Thorhallsson, 1) (WATCH) 4’
ORL - Muriel (3) (Penalty) (WATCH) 20’
ORL - Angulo (2) (McGuire, 2) (WATCH) 29’
CHI - Haile-Selassie (3) (Penalty) (WATCH) 53’
CHI - Cuypers (7) (Herbers, 5) (WATCH) 69’
Discipline:
CHI - Cuypers (Yellow Card) 46’
CHI - Araújo (Yellow Card) 83’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Terán, D Pineda, D Dean (Koutsias, 77’), D Arigoni (Mueller, 46’), D Souquet, M Herbers (capt.) M Acosta (Giménez, 70’), M Haile-Selassie, M Gutiérrez, F Cuypers (Barlow, 90+2’)
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Czichos, D Omsberg, M Casas Jr.
Orlando City SC: GK Stajduhar, D Santos (Smith, 78), D Jansson (capt.), D Schlegel, D Thorhallson, M Araujo, M Torres, M Lodeiro (Kocevski, 67’), M Angulo, F Muriel (Ojeda, 59’), F McGuire
Subs not used: GK Otero, D Freeman, D Williams, M Martins, F Lynn, F Rivera
Stats Summary: ORL / CHIShots: 7 / 18
Shots on Goal: 5 / 12
Saves: 10 / 1
Passing Accuracy: 85.4% / 90.3%
Corners: 1 / 3
Fouls: 11 / 12
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 42.2% / 57.8%
Referee: Natalie Simon
Assistant Referees: Corey Rockwell, Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Chris Penso
VAR: Sorin Stoica, Mike Kampmeinert
