CHICAGO (July 12, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC (8-9-4, 28 points) fell 2-1 against San Diego FC (13-6-3, 42 points) Saturday night at Soldier Field. Forward Hugo Cuypers tallied his 12th goal of the season in Chicago’s first match all-time against San Diego.
San Diego scored the opening salvo in the first matchup between both teams. Left back Luca Bombino sent a ball across the face of goal that was tipped by Hirving Lozano into the path of Anders Dreyer, who finished at the opposite end for the lead. The latter two would combine once more with a minute left in stoppage time, this time on a counter, to double up the lead going into the break.
Chicago created opportunities from the beginning of the second half, finally cashing in with four minutes left in regulation. Fresh off the bench, midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie sent a corner kick toward the back post, where a sprinting Cuypers extended to volley home the Fire’s first goal. The forward looked for more in stoppage time, but couldn’t muster a goal as San Diego took the opening match of the interconference series.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago takes to the road for two consecutive matches, first heading south to face Atlanta United at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, July 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Fire will then travel north to play against CF Montréal at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 19, at Stade Saputo. Both matches will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com (English) and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish).
Notes:
- Forward Hugo Cuypers tallied his 12th goal of the season, extending his lead among Fire goal scorers this season. His dozen goals are the most by any Fire player in a single season since Robert Berić tallied 12 in 2020.
- Maren Haile-Selassie tallied his fourth assist of the regular season in Cuypers’ 86th minute goal. The Swiss midfielder matched his total from his first Fire season of 2023, when he recorded four in 32 appearances.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady returned to the Starting XI for the first time in league play since the Fire’s 3-1 road victory at Orlando City SC on May 31. The Naperville native recorded two saves in the 79th regular season appearance of his career.
- Rominigue Kouamé also made his first appearance in a Fire match since the Fire’s 7-1 win over D.C. United on June 7. The midfielder checked in for Sergio Oregel Jr. at halftime, finishing the match with a passing accuracy percentage of over 90 without committing a foul in the center of the pitch.
- Defenders Carlos Terán (Lower Body), Justin Reynolds (Head) and Christopher Cupps (Lower Body); and midfielders Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) and David Poreba (Lower Body) were unavailable for selection.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:Chicago Fire FC 1:2 San Diego FC
Goals:
SD - Dreyer (10) (Lozano 8, Bombino 2) (WATCH) 8’
SD - Dreyer (11) (Lozano 9) (WATCH) 45+3’
CHI - Cuypers (12) (Haile-Selassie 4) (WATCH) 87’
Discipline:
SD - Valakari (Yellow Card) 2’
CHI - Pineda (Yellow Card) 30’
SD - Boateng (Yellow Card) 82’
CHI - Gutiérrez (Yellow Card) 90+6’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Barroso (Dean, 66’), D Rogers (Barlow, 86’), D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman, M Pineda (D’Avilla, 72’), M Oregel Jr. (Kouamé, 46’), M Gutiérrez, F Zinckernagel (Haile-Selassie, 72’), F Cuypers, F Bamba
Subs not used: GK Gal, D González, M Acosta, M Glasgow
San Diego FC: GK Sisniega, D Verhoeven, D McVey, D McNair (Pilcher, 46’), D Bombino (Negri, 90+1’), M Valakari, M de la Torre, M Tverskov (capt.), F Dreyer, F Ángel (Boateng, 81’), F Lozano (Mighten, 58’)
Subs not used: GK Jackson, D Diop, M Loffelsend, M Duah, F Iloski
Stats Summary: CHI / SDShots: 18 / 7
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 2 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 83.6% / 87.8%
Corners: 7 / 0
Fouls: 17 / 11
Offsides: 0 / 0
Possession: 45.3% / 54.7%
Attendance: 27,631
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Oscar Mitchell, Eduardo Jeff
Fourth Official: Lorenzo Hernandez
VAR: Daniel Radford
AVAR: Tom Supple
