CHICAGO (June 28, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC (8-7-4, 28 points) wrapped up a three-game homestand with a 3-2 win over Charlotte FC (8-11-1, 25 points) Saturday night at Soldier Field.
MLS All-Star Philip Zinckernagel tallied his eighth goal and assisted midfielder Brian Gutiérrez’s career-high seventh goal of the season. Forward Hugo Cuypers scored his 11th goal of the season and third game-winning goal of 2025 to help Chicago move up two places to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference.
The Fire came out looking for a goal and got it 23 minutes in. Defender Jonathan Dean stepped in front of a pass and served it up for Zinckernagel, who took off from midfield and into the Charlotte box before rifling a shot past the foot of goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina for the 1-0 lead.
Just two minutes later, Zinckernagel combined with Gutiérrez on a series of touches in the Charlotte box that left the Homegrown midfielder alone in the box. Gutiérrez then hit a one-time shot off a defender’s foot to beat Kahlina and double the lead.
The onslaught continued for the Fire, pressing Charlotte into a mistake in the 33rd minute. Cuypers jumped on a defender’s pass back to Kahlina, intercepted it and finished for his 11th goal of the season and a 3-0 Fire lead they would take into the break.
Charlotte took the initiative to start the second half, as winger Wilfried Zaha sent a cross into the box that midfielder Pep Biel chested down and volleyed home to cut the deficit to two goals in the 56th minute. Just three minutes later, Biel threaded a ball to Idan Toklomati that the forward finished in the Fire box for the second Charlotte goal. The visitors continued to insist, but the Fire maintained their shape and played out the last half hour of the match to earn their second home win of the year.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will head to the banks of the Ohio River to face FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 5. The Eastern Conference rematch will kick off at 6:30 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:
- Winger Philip Zinckernagel recorded his eight goal and eighth assist of the season in his 17th match of the season, becoming the fastest to reach the mark in Club history (per MLS). Midfielder Roman Kosecki previously reached the mark in 22 matches in Fire’s inaugural 1998 season.
- Brian Gutiérrez recorded his seventh goal of the season, the most in a single season for the Homegrown midfielder. His previous high was set in 2024, when Gutiérrez scored his sixth goal of the year on August 24, in his 25th match of the season.
- Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter recorded the 75th regular season victory of his career on Saturday night, becoming the 25th head coach in Major League Soccer history to reach the milestone.
- Defender Omar González entered the pitch in the 89th minute to record the 300th career appearance of his MLS career. González joins a list of 71 players in league history with 300 games, including just 13 active players in the league.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady (international duty); defenders Carlos Terán (Lower Body) and Christopher Cupps (Lower Body); and midfielders Rominigue Kouamé (Lower Body), Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) and David Poreba (Lower Body) were unavailable for selection in the match.
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Box Score:Chicago Fire FC 3:2 Charlotte FC
Goals:
CHI - Zinckernagel (8) (Dean 4) (WATCH) 23’
CHI - Gutiérrez (7) (Zinckernagel 8) (WATCH) 25’
CHI - Cuypers (11) (WATCH) 33’
CLT - Biel (6) (Zaha 5) (WATCH) 56’
CLT - Toklomati (3) (Biel 8, Diani 1) (WATCH) 59’
Discipline:
CHI - Haile-Selassie (Yellow Card) 50’
CLT - Zaha (Yellow Card) 60’
CHI - Dean (Yellow Card) 77’
CLT - Biel (Yellow Card) 79’
CHI - Gutman (Yellow Card) 80’
CHI - Rogers (Yellow Card) 82’
CHI - Oregel Jr. (Yellow Card) 88’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Gal, D Dean, D Rogers (González, 89’), D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman, M Pineda (D’Avilla, 46’), M Oregel Jr. (Acosta, 88’), M Gutiérrez, F Zinckernagel, F Cuypers (Barlow, 90+3’), F Bamba (Haile-Selassie, 46’)
Subs not used: GK Dowd, D Barroso, M Glasgow, M Williams
Charlotte FC: GK Kahlina, D Marshall-Rutty, D Privett, D Malanda, D Doumbia (Scardina, 18’), M Biel, M Westwood (capt.), M Biel, F Abada (Diani, 46’), F Toklomati (Smalls, 89’), F Zaha
Subs not used: GK Bingham, D Tuiloma, M Williamson, M Petkovic, F Cambridge
Stats Summary: CHI / CLT
Shots: 12 / 8
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Saves: 0 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 54.4% / 45.6%
Corners: 3 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 10
Offsides: 1 / 1
Possession: 54.4% / 45.6%
Attendance: 17,837
Referee: Sergii Boiko
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Nick Balcer
Fourth Official: John Matto
VAR: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Robert Schaap
