CARSON, CA – Chicago Fire FC got a late equalizer from Micheal Azira to earn a 1-1 tie with LA Galaxy on Saturday afternoon at Dignity Health Sports Park. The match marked the Club's final preseason warmup ahead of the 2020 MLS season, which begins March 1 in Seattle against the reigning league champion Sounders.
Including Saturday's result, the Fire finished its preseason slate with a 3-2-1 record, including wins over Nashville SC, Orange County SC, and Toronto FC.
In the 27th minute, Djorde Mihailović took a chance from 20-yards out that required Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham to make a diving save. The Fire won the battle in the box off the ensuing corner kick as a perfectly placed ball from Mihailović found Robert Berić on the back post for a one-time volley that resulted in a point-blank save from Bingham.
The match remained scoreless through halftime and into the first few minutes of the second half before the hosts broke through courtesy of a close-range Sacha Kljestan finish. Kenneth Kronholm made a pair of saves in the box on the play, two of his four stops on the afternoon.
With time ticking down, Azira subbed on for Fabian Herbers in the 82nd minute. Two minutes later, Azira gathered a loose ball in the box from Mihailović and Berić and drove it into the back of the net for the tying goal.
The Fire will fly home to Chicago on Sunday for a week of training before its season-opening clash against Seattle next week (Sunday, March 1 at 2:00 pm CT on ESPN).
Chicago Fire Starting XI: Kenneth Kronholm; Brandt Bronico, Johan Kappelhof, Francisco Calvo ©, Jonathan Bornstein; Mauricio Pineda, Przemysław Frankowski, Djorde Mihailović, Fabian Herbers, Alvaro Medran; Robert Berić
Substitutes: Bobby Shuttleworth (76’); Micheal Azira (82’)
