CHICAGO (March 1, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC (0-1-1, 1 point) earned its first point of 2025 in a 2-2 draw against D.C. United (0-0-2, 2 points) Saturday night at Soldier Field. Hugo Cuypers scored his first two goals of the season, while Philip Zinckernagel and Jack Elliott notched their first assists of the year in their home debuts with Chicago.
On the coldest home opening match in Chicago Fire FC history, D.C. United got hot first. D.C. left back Daniel Schnegg played a ball forward to Gabriel Pirani, who immediately played the ball into the box to Benteke. The forward was able to peel away from his defender before the pass to hit an easy tap-in and give his side the lead just four minutes into the match.
Chicago fought back, looking for Jonathan Bamba on the left wing. The winger eventually forced a corner kick in the 30th minute, which fellow winger Zinckernagel took. The Dane hit a line drive with his right deflected by Elliott into the path of Cuypers, who tapped the ball home rushing into the far post. His first goal of the season brought the momentum back to the Fire who were unable to convert further chances before the referee ended the half.
The Men in Red continued to push the envelope and wound up with a similar opportunity in the 71st minute. Zinckernagel once again took a corner from the left flag, deflecting off Elliott and into the path of Cuypers crashing the goal. Along the way, the ball took a bounce off a D.C. defender, thus erasing the assists but giving the Fire the lead it would hold through the end of regulation.
Trailing by one with seconds left in the match, the Black and Red sent every player into the box in a late corner kick, including goalkeeper Kim Joon-Hong. After the kick was taken, the ball took several bounces in the box until it reached Jacob Murrell, who struck a high-arching bicycle kick that tucked into the far post’s upper 90. The stunning goal was enough to kill the remaining clock, giving the visitors a late, unexpected point.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will embark on a three-game road trip with a match against Brimstone Cup rivals FC Dallas on Saturday, March 8 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. First kick is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on wlsam.com (English) and La Que Buena 105.1 via the Uforia app (Spanish).
Notes:
- With a 26-degree (fahrenheit) temperature at first kick, Saturday’s match was officially the coldest home opener in Chicago Fire FC history, and second coldest match recorded, behind a 3-3 draw against FC Cincinnati on March 18, 2023 (22 degrees).
- Saturday’s match marked the Major League Soccer debuts of midfielder Sam Williams, defender Sam Rogers and midfielder Harold Osorio. Williams played 84 minutes as a starter, filling in for Brian Gutiérrez in the center of the pitch, while Rogers was thrusted into the starting role and a full 90 minutes following an injury to Carlos Terán in pregame warmups. Osorio, meanwhile, checked into the match one minute into stoppage time for Kellyn Acosta.
- Cuypers’ first goal of 2025, and 11th overall with Chicago, was assisted for the first time by Zinckernagel and Elliott, who both made their Fire home debuts on Saturday night.
- Defender Omar González also recorded his first minutes with the Fire, checking in for Sergio Oregel, Jr. in the 84th minute. The match was the 292nd MLS regular season appearance for the veteran center back.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:Chicago Fire FC 2:2 D.C. United
Goals:
DC - Benteke (2) (Pirani 1, Schnegg 1) (WATCH) 4’
CHI - Cuypers (1) (Elliott 1, Zinckernagel 1) (WATCH) 30’
CHI - Cuypers (2) (WATCH) 71’
DC - Murrell (1) (Herrera 1) (WATCH) 90+6’
Discipline:
DC - Rowles (Yellow Card) 42’
DC - Herrera (Yellow Card) 50’
CHI - Rogers (Yellow Card) 89’
DC - Schnegg (Yellow Card) 90+3’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Rogers, D Elliott, D Gutman, M Acosta (capt.) (Osorio, 90+2’), M Oregel, Jr. (González, 84’), M Williams (Pineda, 84’), F Zinckernagel (Glasgow, 72’), F Cuypers (Barlow, 72’), F Bamba
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Reynolds, D Cupps
D.C. United: GK Joon-Hong, D Herrera, D Rowles, D Bartlett, D Schnegg, M Enow (Badji, 75’), M Servania (Peltola, 61’), M Kijima (Zouhir, 85’), M Pirani, M Stroud (Murrell, 61’), F Benteke (capt.)
Subs not used: GK Barraza, D McNaughton, D Tubbs, D Dodson, M, M Barajas
Stats Summary: CHI / DCShots: 11 / 19
Shots on Goal: 4 / 6
Saves: 4 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 75.1% / 79.5%
Corners: 5 / 10
Fouls: 13 / 17
Offsides: 0 / 3
Possession: 43% / 57%
Attendance: 20,372
Referee: Marcos DeOliveira
Assistant Referees: Jeffrey Greeson, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Nabil Bensalah
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Craig Lowry
