Chicago Fire FC Fall 2-0 on the Road at Columbus Crew in Final Match of the Season

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Nov. 7, 2021) - Chicago Fire FC (9-18-7, 34 points) fell 2-0 to the Columbus Crew (13-13-8, 47 points) on Sunday afternoon at Lower.com Field.

Gabriel Slonina tied his season-high with eight saves. In the 27th minute, Slonina was faced with a left-footed curled shot from outside the box, but Slonina was able to parry it away to keep the match scoreless.

Columbus took the lead in the 31st minute with a counterattack goal from Lucas Zelarayan. Steven Moreira gathered an errant pass in the midfield and slotted the ball to Derrick Etienne Jr. The midfielder found Zelarayan running towards goal. The Argentine took a couple touches evading Fire defenders before firing a close-range shot past Slonina.

In the 58th minute, the Crew’s Miguel Berry went one-on-one with Slonina, and the 17-year old was able to make the initial save, diving to his left. But Berry scored on the rebound after Video Review confirmed that it crossed the line before Fire defender Miguel Navarro looked to have cleared it off the line.

Chicago Fire Homegrown player Alex Monis made his Major League Soccer debut, entering the match in the 72nd minute for forward Chinonso Offor. 

NOTES:

• Chicago fielded five Homegrown players tonight: Javier Casas Jr., Brian Gutiérrez, Monis, Mauricio Pineda and Slonina.
• The Fire started seven players aged 23 or younger in today’s match - Aliseda, Gutiérrez, F. Navarro, M. Navarro, Offor, Slonina, Terán.
• Homegrown Brian Gutiérrez made his first start for the Fire since Sept. 28, playing 80 minutes tonight. The midfielder made his sixth start and 17th appearance of the season and earned Man of the Match honors.
• Defender Carlos Terán returned to the lineup for the first time since Sept. 22 after being unavailable for roster selection as he recovered from a right thigh injury.
• Forward Chinonso Offor became the only Fire player to have started or appeared in every Fire match this season.
• The Fire are now the fourth team in a 34-game regular season in MLS to have gone an entire year without a penalty kick awarded - Philadelphia Union (2013), Portland Timbers (2012) and CD Chivas USA (2011).
• Midfielder Fabian Herbers missed the match due to a broken nose he suffered in training on Saturday.

Box Score:
Columbus Crew 2:0 Chicago Fire FC

Goals:
CLB - Zelarayan (12) (Etienne 5, Moreira 3) 31’
CLB - Berry (8) 58’

Discipline:
CHI - M. Navarro (Yellow Card) 59’
CHI - Offor (Yellow Card) 62’
CHI - Espinoza (Yellow Card) 88’
CHI - Ivanov (Yellow Card) 89’

Chicago Fire FC: GK G. Slonina, D Sekulić (Espinoza, 71’), D Bornstein ©, D Terán (Omsberg, 80’), D M. Navarro, M Pineda, M F. Navarro, M Medrán (Ivanov, 46’), F Gutiérrez (Casas Jr., 80’), F Offor (Monis, 72’), F Aliseda

Subs not used: GK Brady, M Collier, M Stojanović, F Berić

Columbus Crew: GK Room, D Williams, D Wormgoor, D Valenzuela, D Moreira (Afful, 87’), M Nagbe ©, M Santos (Matan, 83’), M Zelarayan, M Hairston (Fraser, 62’), M Etienne Jr. (Diaz, 62’), F Berry (Wright-Phillips, 87’)

Subs not used: GK Bush, D Francis, D Abdul-Salaam, D Keita

Stats Summary: CLB / CHI
Shots: 29 / 14
Shots on Goal: 10 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 84.5% / 84.1%
Saves: 3 / 8
Corners: 9 / 4
Fouls: 2 / 19
Offsides: 0 / 2
Possession: 51.6% / 48.4%

Referee: Tim Ford
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner, Matthew Nelson
Fourth Official: Chris Ruska
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr., Claudiu Badea