Kansas City, Kan. (June 24, 2023) – Chicago Fire FC (5-6-8, 23 points) picked up its second straight win on the road, defeating Sporting Kansas City (5-10-6, 21 points) 1-0 on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park. Fabian Herbers’ goal in the second half proved to be the difference between the two teams, while Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady recorded his third-career shutout with the Fire.
Despite playing to a scoreless first half, the Fire created more chances to score in the opening 45, outshooting Kansas City 3-2 in shots on target. The first chance for the Fire came in the eighth minute of play when Kei Kamara received a low cross from Herbers on the edge of the six-yard box, hitting his attempt high of the target.Â
The Fire created another close-range chance in the 37th minute when Kamara cut the ball back across the 18-yard box to Jairo Torres, who hit a left-footed shot on target to force a save from goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh. Then, in the final minute of the first half, Brian Gutiérrez connected with Torres on the right flank, before cutting inside on his right foot. The Homegrown midfielder skipped past his defender and blasted an attempt just wide of the far post.Â
Building off its first-half momentum, Chicago found the opening goal just minutes after the halftime break when Torres received a pass from Gutiérrez and fired a shot on target that forced a poor clearance. The rebound fell kindly for Herbers near the penalty spot, and the German attacker buried his shot into the ground and in the back of the net to give the visitors the lead just two minutes into the second half .It marked the second straight goal in as many matches for Herbers, and his third of the 2023 MLS campaign.
With the result, head coach Frank Klopas’ side has opened the second half of the campaign with back-to-back wins on the road for the first time since Aug. 6, 2022. It also marked the 300th MLS regular season victory in Chicago Fire history.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago heads to the Sunshine State to face Orlando City at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 1 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The match will be broadcast on Apple TV+, streamed in English on wlsam.com, and transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- Chicago is one of nine teams in MLS history to record 300 MLS regular season wins.
- The result marked the Fire’s fourth shutout of the 2023 regular season.
- Chicago’s three wins away from home are tied for the second-most in the Eastern Conference.
- The Fire are a perfect 4-0-0 against Western Conference opponents in League play in 2023.
- Fabian Herbers scored his 11th career goal for the Fire and his first game-winning goal of the season.
- Midfielders Javier Casas Jr. (right upper arm) and Chris Mueller (right upper leg), and defender Miguel Navarro (right lower leg) were unavailable for selection tonight.
Box Score:Sporting Kansas City 0:1 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Herbers (3) (WATCH) 47’
Discipline:
CHI - Czichos (Yellow Card) 38’
CHI - Pineda (Yellow Card) 64’
CHI - Souquet (Yellow Card) 67’
SKC - Shelton (Yellow Card) 88’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Souquet, D Pineda, D Czichos (capt.), D Aceves (Dean, 70’), M F. Navarro, M Giménez (Shaqiri, 59’), M Herbers (Haile-Selassie, 58’), M Gutiérrez (Koutsias, 89’), M Torres (Terán, 70’), F Kamara
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Omsberg, D Burks, F Przybyłko
Sporting Kansas City: GK McIntosh, D Fontas, D Leibold, D Castellanos, M Radoja, M Davis (Shelton, 84’), M Thommy (Kinda, 55’), M Walter, F Russell (capt.) (Tzionis, 55’), F Pulido, F Salloi
Subs not used: GK Pulskamp, D Rindov, D Voloder, M Espinoza, M Hernandez, F Afrifa
Stats Summary: SKC / CHIShots: 13 / 12
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Saves: 4 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 89.9% / 81.4%
Corners: 7 / 1
Fouls: 9 / 12
Offsides: 0 / 2
Possession: 66.1% / 33.9%
Attendance: 18,032
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Matthew Nelson, Diego Blas
Fourth Official: John Griggs
VAR: Luis Guardia
Asst. VAR: Jonathan Johnson
