CHICAGO (May 23, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC (8-4-2, 26 points) recorded its third win in a row after defeating Toronto FC (3-6-5, 14 points) 2-1 on Saturday night at Soldier Field. Defender Andrew Gutman struck his first goal of the season in game-winning fashion for his hometown side, following forward Robin Lod’s third goal with Chicago in the first half.
Looking for a goal for an 11th consecutive game, forward Hugo Cuypers recorded a different kind of goal contribution to open the match for the Fire. The Belgian striker got on the end of a long ball and passed back to Maren Haile-Selassie. The winger laid the ball off to a speeding Lod, who deftly slipped a ball past goalkeeper Luke Gavran and in for the opening goal.
Toronto responded in the 34th minute, as midfielder Alonso Coello recovered the ball in the midfield, fed it to Daniel Sallói, then got the ball back to send it forward. His through ball was collected by forward Josh Sargent in stride, who blasted home the equalizer off the upper corner of the goal.
Both sides settled for a tense second half before the Fire earned a free kick. Philip Zinckernagel’s delivery was rejected by the Toronto defense, but the Danish winger collected the rebound and swung in a perfect curve into the top of the six-yard box. A leaping Gutman flicked the ball perfectly into the far post to put Chicago in the lead for good as Chicago went into the World Cup break on a three-game winning streak.
NEXT MATCH: The Men in Red will join the rest of Major League Soccer in observing a break for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, returning to play host to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Thursday, July 16. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be followed by a Two Friends concert to conclude the Summer Concert Series, presented by Café Bustel. The action will be broadcast globally on Apple TV and transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 and Uforia by TREBEL app in Spanish.
Match Notes:
- Defender Andrew Gutman headed in his first goal of the year to win the match for Chicago. The goal was his first since Sept. 27, 2025, when he also tallied a game-winner in a 2-0 shutout victory over Columbus Crew at Soldier Field.
- Robin Lod made his 150th regular season start of his Major League Soccer career. Lod put Chicago in the lead in the 14th minute of play with his second goal in three games. He also opened the scoring for Chicago in Washington to spark a 3-1 comeback win against D.C. United on May 13, which preceded two straight 90-minute performances from the veteran.
- Winger Philip Zinckernagel delivered the fifth game-winning assist of his career with Chicago on Gutman’s goal. Zinckernagel has recorded a goal contribution for three consecutive matches, adding his seventh assist of the year to go with five goals this year,
- Hugo Cuypers’ shot at MLS history came to an end on Saturday after Toronto denied him any goals for the first time this season. Cuypers remains only the third player to score in 10 consecutive regular season appearances in MLS, trailing only Carlos Vela (11) and Josef Martínez (15). The Belgian striker did contribute to the Fire’s victory, assisting Lod’s opening goal for a team-leading 15th goal contribution of 2026.
- Defender Leonardo Barroso (Lower Body) and winger Jonathan Bamba (Not Due to Injury) were unavailable for selection against Toronto FC. Midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) remains on the league Injured List and will be unavailable through the World Cup break.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #cf97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 2:1 Toronto FC
Goals:
CHI - Lod (3) (Haile-Selassie 5, Cuypers 2) (WATCH) 22’
TOR - Sargent (3) (Coello 4, Sallói 5) (WATCH) 34’
CHI - Gutman (1) (Zinckernagel 7) (WATCH) 65’
Discipline:
TOR - Henry (Caution) 14’
CHI - Cuypers (Caution) 40’
CHI - Gutman (Caution) 60’
TOR - Zimmerman (Caution) 79’
CHI - Salétros (Caution) 87’
TOR - Corbeanu (Caution) 90+1’
TOR - Osorio (Caution) 90+1’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Elliott (capt.), D Mbokazi (Waterman, 62’), D Gutman, M Salétros, M Pineda (D’Avilla, 61’), M Zinckernagel, M Haile-Selassie (Dithejane, 74’), F Lod, F Cuypers (Mueller, 90+3’)
Subs not used: GK Cohen, D Radojević, D Borso, M Oregel Jr., F Shokalook
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Toronto FC: GK Gavran, D Henry (Vilsaint, 85’), D Franklin, D Zimmerman, D Gomis (Monlouis, 46’), D Gilman (Edwards, 85’), M Etienne Jr. (Corbeanu, 75’), M Coello, M Osorio (capt.), M Sallói, F Sargent (Aristizábal, 61’)
Subs not used: GK De Rosario, GK Yarbrough, D Kapor
Head Coach: Robin Fraser
Stats Summary: TOR / CHI
Shots: 14 / 10
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 3 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 87.0% / 85.8%
Corners: 3 / 4
Fouls: 14 / 12
Offsides: 0 / 0
Possession: 53.4% / 46.6%
Venue: Soldier Field (Chicago)
Attendance: 26,752
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Joe Surgan
VAR: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Rhett Hammil
