Chicago Fire (12-11-6, 42 points) fell 3-1 against New York City FC (14-9-5, 47 points) on Saturday night at Soldier Field.
The Fire remains in the final playoff spot in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 42 points, behind eighth place Miami (46 points). Philip Zinckernagel scored his 13th goal of the season in the first half, to increase his total contributions to 26 during the 2025 MLS regular season.
Chicago struck in the 13th minute when Brian Gutierrez intercepted a pass in the midfield and carried the ball forward. He slipped a pass to Zinckernagel on the right and the Danish winger took one touch forward before sending it just inside the far post.
New York leveled the score in the 40th minute with a goal from Nicolas Fernandez and pulled ahead in the 57th minute with a goal from Alonso Martinez.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago heads to the land of 10,000 lakes to face Western Conference foe Minnesota United FC. The match on Saturday, Sept. 20 is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com (English) and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish). A replay of the match will be available at 7:00 p.m. CT on Monday, Sept. 22 on Marquee Sports Network.
Notes:
- Center back Joel Waterman started his first match as a member of the Men in Red after returning from international duty with the Canada Men’s National Team. He becomes the 15th player to make his Fire debut in 2025.
- Philip Zinckernagel tallied his 13th goal of the season Saturday. His combined 13 goals and 13 assists in 2025 place him second in goal contributions for a Fire player in a single season. The Danish winger now trails only Nemanja Nikolić’s 28 goal contributions in 2017 as the most in one campaign.
- Defenders Leonardo Barroso (lower body) and Chase Gasper (lower body), and midfielders Rominigue Kouamé (lower body) and Chris Mueller (not due to injury) were unavailable for selection tonight.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 1:3 New York City FC
Goals:
CHI - Zinckernagel (13) (Gutiérrez 5) (WATCH) 13’
NYC - N. Fernandez (4) (O’Toole 1) (WATCH) 40’
NYC - Martinez (15) (WATCH) 57’
NYC - Reid (1) (Ojeda 3) (WATCH) 90+3’
Discipline:
NYC - O’Neill (Yellow Card) 37’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Waterman (Barlow, 81’), D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman; M Franco (Oregel Jr., 55’), M D’Avilla, M Gutiérrez; F Zinckernagel, F Cuypers, F Bamba (Haile-Selassie, 67’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Rogers, M Pineda, M Acosta, D González, D Reynolds
New York City FC: GK Freese, D Martins (capt.), D O’Toole, D Gray, D Gustavo (Tanasljevic, 90’), D Haak, M N. Fernandez (Ojeda, 80’), M Wolf, M O’Neill (Shore, 72’), F Moralez, F Martinez (Reid, 90’)
Subs not used: GK Romero, F Murray, M Carrizo, M Ilenic, F J. Fernandez
Stats Summary: CHI / NYC
Shots: 14 / 11
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Saves: 2 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 85.3% / 81.7%
Corners: 2 / 4
Fouls: 7 / 16
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 48.1% / 51.9%
Attendance: 20,636
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Kieso, Jeffrey Greeson
Fourth Official: Benjamin Meyer
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Benjamin Meyer