Chicago Fire FC Falls 1-0 to FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium

Cincinnati, Ohio (June 3, 2023) – Chicago Fire FC (3-5-8, 17 points) fell 1-0 to FC Cincinnati (12-1-3, 39 points) at TQL Stadium on Saturday night. Playing their third match in the last seven days, the Fire fell behind with seven minutes remaining in the contest when midfielder Luciano Acosta scored his seventh goal of the season. 

The result snapped Chicago’s four-match unbeaten run, as the League leaders won their ninth straight match at home. It also marked the Fire’s first-ever loss on the road against FC Cincinnati in the regular season head-to-head series, ending a two-match winning streak for Chicago.

NEXT MATCH: Chicago returns home to resume its quest for the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, June 6 at SeatGeek Stadium. Tickets for the Open Cup match are available for purchase here.

Four days later, Chicago will host the Columbus Crew in MLS play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 10 at Soldier Field. The match will serve as the Club’s annual Pride Night and will feature special events, a Pride flag giveaway, and activities planned to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. The match will be broadcast on Apple TV+, and transmitted locally in English on 890 WLS-AM and in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.

Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire |  Facebook

Notes:

• Six changes were made to the lineup that faced Toronto FC in Matchday 16 on Wednesday, May 31 at BMO Field, with head coach Frank Klopas rotating the squad for their ninth match in the last month.
• Forward Kacper Przybyłko returned to the 11 after alternating the previous match with Kei Kamara starting up front.
• Brian Gutiérrez returned to the XI for the first time May 20 against Atlanta, guiding the attack alongside Georgios Koutsias who started for the third consecutive time.
• Jairo Torres made his third start of the season, while Federico Navarro started for a third straight match and Fabian Herbers made his 10th start of the campaign. With his 10th start, Herbers, the team’s longest tenured player, has made double-digit starts in each of the last four seasons for the Fire.
• Goalkeeper Chris Brady (head), defenders Jonathan Dean (left upper leg), Miguel Navarro (rest), and Carlos Terán (right knee), midfielders Chris Mueller (hip), and Sergio Oregel Jr. (right lower leg) and Mauricio Pineda (concussion protocol) were unavailable for selection tonight.

Box Score:
FC Cincinnati 1:0 Chicago Fire FC

Goals:
CIN - Acosta (7) (Arias, 1) (WATCH) 83’

Discipline:
CHI - Souquet (Yellow Card) 38’
CIN - Miazga (Yellow Card) 54’
CHI - Shaqiri (Yellow Card) 67’
CHI - Haile-Selassie (Yellow Card) 73’
CIN - Barreal (Yellow Card) 89’

Chicago Fire FC: GK Richey (capt.), D Souquet (Czichos, 69’), D Omsberg, D Burks, D Aceves, M Herbers, M F. Navarro (Haile-Selassie, 62’), M Torres, M Gutiérrez (Shaqiri, 62’), F Koutsias (Kamara, 62’), F Przybyłko (Giménez, 46’)

Subs not used: GK Gal, D Ostrem, M Casas Jr., F Rodriguez

FC Cincinnati: GK Celentano, D Powell, D Miazga, D Mosquera, D Gaddis (Arias, 70’), M Angulo (Moreno, 60’), M Nwobodo, M Kubo (Vazquez, 60’), M Acosta (capt.) (Pinto, 86’), F Barreal, F Ordonez (Badji, 61’)

Subs not used: GK Kann, D Hagglund, D Murphy, M Pinto, F Valenzuela

Stats Summary: CIN / CHI
Shots: 17 / 6
Shots on Goal: 1 / 0
Saves: 0 / 0
Passing Accuracy: 85% / 83.5%
Corners: 7 / 5
Fouls: 13 / 7
Offsides: 1 / 4
Possession: 51.6% / 48.4%

Attendance: 25,513

Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Lyes Arfa, Justin Howard
Fourth Official: Calin Radosav
VAR: José Carlos Rivero
Asst. VAR: Thomas Supple