CHICAGO (May 16, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC will look to begin a four-game road trip with a win against Eastern Conference rivals Charlotte FC on Saturday, May 17 in the Queen City.
The Fire will hope to make it three unbeaten in a row in MLS play – and three wins in a row across all competitions – after a 4-0 home victory against Detroit City FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 last Wednesday and a 2-1 victory against Atlanta United FC last Saturday at Soldier Field.
In both matches, MLS goal leader Hugo Cuypers tallied before the quarter hour mark to give the Fire the lead. While the Men in Red cruised against Detroit, Atlanta fought back to equalize with ten minutes left in regulation. But just minutes after entering the match as substitutes, Maren Haile-Selassie and Omari Glasgow combined to assist Rominigue Kouamé on an 86th minute goal that handed Chicago its first win at Soldier Field in 2025.
Charlotte returns home after a 2-1 road loss at Nashville SC. Forward Liel Abada took advantage of a Nashville giveaway just three minutes into the second half to give his side the lead. But Nashville equalized just seconds later, before Jacob Shaffelburg tallied the eventual game-winner in the 54th minute to hand Charlotte its fourth road loss this year. The Crown enjoy one of the league’s best homefield advantages, with a 5-1-0 record at Bank of America Stadium this season that the Fire will have to contend with to get their fourth road win of the season.
Game Information
CHICAGO FIRE FC (4-4-4, 16 points) at Charlotte FC (6-5-1, 19 points)
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, North Carolina
All-Time MLS Regular Season Record vs. CLT: (1-5-0)
Last Game vs. CLT: May 15, 2024 (0-1 L) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap)
Last Game at CLT: October 2, 2024 (3-4 L) – Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, N.C. (Match Recap)
Keys to the Match
- Get Guti Going: Homegrown Midfielder Brian Gutiérrez leads all active players on either team with 12 shots in the all-time series. Following a few missed games due to injury and national team duty, “Guti” has been ramping back up to form, playing over 80 minutes in each of the last two regular season matches and assisting in the Fire’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory over Detroit City FC. He is rounding into form just as the Fire embarks on a four-game road trip.
- Road Warriors, Redux: With such a road trip on the horizon, the Fire will hope to recover the road form from a perfect 3-0 trip back in March. The conditions differed – a rainy night in Frisco, a crisp day game in Toronto, and indoor conditions in Vancouver – but all resulted in wins that saw the Fire score eight goals. The Fire’s record of 3-3-0 in those games shows they are among the best at getting points away from home in MLS.
- Seek Revenge: Charlotte has won the last five against the Fire, including matches late in the 2022 and 2023 seasons that essentially took the Men in Red out of playoff contention. Those losses will serve to motivate a Chicago team looking for a playoff spot in 2025, as will their first meeting: a 3-2 victory in the Queen City in 2022.
By the Numbers
2 – In his second appearance in Major League Soccer, goalkeeper Jeff Gal recorded two saves on his way to his first career win in league play. The Chicagoland area native earned praise from teammates and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, who raved about his calm demeanor in his first start. “I think the most important thing for Jeff is that he looked like he belonged,” Berhalter said. “For his first start, you didn't see any wobbles, you didn't see any unsureness or lack of confidence.”
4 – Rominigue Kouamé became the fourth player to tally a game-winning goal this season for Chicago Fire FC, joining Leonardo Barroso, Hugo Cuypers and Philip Zinckernagel. His 86th minute goal was also the latest to win a match this season for Chicago, beating Barroso’s 84th minute goal against FC Dallas on March 8 by merely two minutes.
6 – Chicago and Charlotte have only played a total of six matches against each other since The Crown’s inaugural 2022 season. Only three players for both teams have seen the field in all six of those matches: Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina and midfielder Brandt Bronico, and Chicago Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez. Kahlina has started all six and may very well make it seven on Saturday as Charlotte’s starting netminder. But he may face trouble from Gutiérrez, whose 12 shots against Charlotte lead all active players on either team in the recent rivalry.
How to Watch
Kickoff in the Carolinas is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. It will be transmitted locally on wlsam.com (English), and Que Buena 105.1 via the Uforia app (Spanish).
