Herbers makes history with opening goal in Fire's return to Soldier Field

Chicago Fire midfielder Fabian Herbers inked his name in Fire history on Tuesday night, scoring the opening goal in the Club’s long-awaited return to Soldier Field en route to a 3-0 victory over FC Cincinnati.

With his second-minute finish, the 27-year-old became the first Fire player to score a regular season goal at Soldier Field since Jesse Marsch did it against Columbus Crew SC on Oct. 8, 2005 - nearly 15 years ago.

“On social media, they wrote that I made history, but I'm just happy to help the team, that we got an early goal, got ahead and got those three points,” he told media postgame. “That's what matters most to me and to the team in this moment of the season."

The goal came as Herbers made a central run into the Cincinnati 18-yard-box, where Gastón Giménez picked him out with a floated pass from midfield. With a first-time effort, Herbers lifted the ball over and past goalkeeper Przemysław Tyton, but the strike was ruled offside. It was a ruling of which, initially, Herbers felt himself guilty.

"I thought for sure, personally, that I was offside,” he said. “I thought I was one or two steps ahead. But thanks to VAR, you know, they called it back and credited me with the goal, so I was obviously very pleased. “

The goal marked the second time in less than a year that Herbers made his name the answer to a Fire trivia question, after additionally scoring the Club’s final goal at SeatGeek Stadium last season. That one came in the Fire's 2-2 draw against Toronto FC on Sept. 29, 2019.

“That’s a nice statistic,” Herbers said. “It feels nice. I just try to help the team when I’m out there. The statistic doesn’t really mean much to me. It’s just important that we get the three points and move on from here.”

The Fire’s three-goal outburst was a welcome one, with the team having struggled to score in its three matches prior. In the tenth minute, Álvaro Medrán scored his first goal in a Fire shirt with a solo blast from distance that pinged off Cincinnati’s post and into the net. Ignacio Aliseda then opened up his MLS account in the 67th minute with a cool finish inside the 18-yard-box that capped a fluid team buildup and earned assists for Boris Sekulić and Elliot Collier.

“We were struggling in the past games to really be clinical in front of goal,” Herbers said. “We just didn't get our chances and were losing some games even though we had the chances to win those games, actually, or to at least get a tie out of those games. Today, we showed that when we are clinical in front of the goal, that we can really dominate teams and be a good team and win games.”

Herbers and the Fire are right back at it this weekend, when they travel east to take on New York City FC at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on WGN-TV, ESPN+ and TUDN 1200 AM.