CHICAGO (Feb. 28, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC (1-1-0, 3 points) opened the home portion of the 2026 regular season schedule with a 3-0 victory against CF Montréal (0-2-0, 0 points) on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field. The match marked the first time Chicago scored twice in stoppage time since a 4-3 comeback victory against Montréal – also a day game – on the lakefront on March 16, 2024.
In his first appearance of the season, winger Jonathan Bamba scored the first goal of the match and the game-winner, following goalkeeper Chris Brady’s shutout performance. Forward Hugo Cuypers tallied his second in as many matches, while midfielder Robin Lod wrapped up the day with his first goal with Chicago.
The Fire struck first in the 27th minute. Winger Mar-Haile-Selassie laid off a pass on the right to an overlapping Leonardo Barroso, who sent a cross pawed down by goalkeeper Thomas Gillier. But the deflected ball fell into the path of Bamba, who did not hesitate to put his side up one.
The Men in Red controlled the match through the start of the second half until a VAR review led to a red card for left back Jonathan Dean. Playing down one man, Chicago held on through the end of regulation, until Cuypers was fouled in the box on a counterattack. The Belgian striker coolly finished the ensuing penalty to double the lead four minutes into stoppage time.
Cuypers almost had a second when he looped a deflected shot off the crossbar five minutes later that landed just off the goal line. But Lod arrived to tap home the third goal of the afternoon.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will travel to take on Eastern Conference foes Columbus Crew in a Walmart Saturday Showdown on March 7 at Scott’s Miracle Gro Field. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on wlsam.com and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia by Trebel app.
Notes:
- In his first start and appearance of 2026, winger Jonathan Bamba tallied his first goal of season and sixth in regular season play. The goal was also his second of the game-winning variety in his Major League Soccer career.
- Forward Hugo Cuypers scored his second goal of the season in as many matches. The Belgian striker scored for the first time in back-to-back contests since July 2025, when he tallied against Montréal and Red Bull New York.
- Midfielder Robin Lod entered the match for Philip Zinckernagel six minutes into stoppage time and made his presence known by getting his first goal with Chicago. Lod’s first with the Fire was his 35th all-time in MLS regular season play in his 160th career appearance.
- Homegrown midfielder Mauricio Pineda made his 75th appearance at Soldier Field in the 120th start of his MLS career. Pineda continues to lead all current Fire players with 153 appearances all-time for his hometown club.
- Saturday marked the first time Chicago opened the home portion of the season against Montréal, and the 13th home opener at Soldier Field, compiling a record of 6-2-4 in those matches. The match also marked the first home opener victory in front of fans since 2017.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 3:0 CF Montréal
Goals:
CHI - Bamba (1) (WATCH) 27’
CHI - Cuypers (2) (Penalty) (WATCH) 90+4’
CHI - Lod (1) (WATCH) 90+10’
Discipline:
MTL - Vera (Caution) 30’
CHI - Zinckernagel (Caution) 44’
MTL - Jaimes (Caution) 53’
CHI - Dean (Ejection) 56’
MTL - Gillier (Caution) 90+3’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Barroso, D Elliott (capt.), D Mbokazi, D Dean, M Salétros, M Pineda (D’Avilla, 89’), M Zinckernagel (Lod, 90+4’), F Haile-Selassie, F Cuypers, F Bamba (Waterman, 57’)
Subs not used: GK Cohen, D Cupps, M Poreba, M Oregel Jr., F Mueller, F Dithejane
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
CF Montréal: GK Gillier, D Guboglo (Bugaj, 63’), D Morales, D Neal (Craig, 46’), D Vera (Streit, 63’), M Longstaff (Carmona, 78’), M Loturi, M Synchuk, M Jaime (Ríos, 72’), M Thórhallsson, F Owusu (capt.)
Subs not used: GK Breza, D Petrasso, M Piette, M Escobar
Head Coach: Marco Donadel
Stats Summary: CHI / MTL
Shots: 18 / 4
Shots on Goal: 11 / 2
Saves: 2 / 7
Passing Accuracy: 74.2% / 79.2%
Corners: 9 / 3
Fouls: 8 / 7
Offsides: 0 / 2
Possession: 46.4% / 53.6%
Venue: Soldier Field (Chicago, Illinois)
Attendance: 20,872
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
Assistant Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Nick Balcer
Fourth Official: Pierre-Luc Lauzière
VAR: Kevin Stott
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert
