Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez tallied the Fire’s first playoff goal since 2012 in the Club’s 22nd all-time postseason win
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Oct. 22, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC opened the 2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win over Orlando City SC on Wednesday night at SeatGeek Stadium. Forward Hugo Cuypers tallied twice in his first MLS postseason match after Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez’s opening goal of the match.
With the victory, the Fire advanced to the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 series to face 2025 Supporters Shield winners Philadelphia Union.
Chicago broke through three minutes into the second half. Defender Jonathan Dean controlled the ball on the right flank, lobbing a pass into the box. Homegrown midfielder Gutiérrez brought it down with his quad before firing a shot that flew past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and into the net.
Cuypers doubled the lead in the 57th minute with some high pressure in the box. He started the play by winning a goal and getting it out to the right flank where it was played back in for Bamba. The Orlando defense touched the ball as Cuypers ran back into the box to get a toe on it. Gallese came out to clear but it bounced off Cuypers, who was cutting down the space, and into the goal.
The Fire’s third goal came in the 67th minute when Jonathan Bamba won a challenge on the left and carried the ball up before passing it to Philip Zinckernagel in the middle. Zinckernagel took a look and passed it to his right where Cuypers collected the pass and fired a shot for his second tally of the night.
With a minute left in regulation, Orlando got one back via winger Tyrese Spicer. But the goal was too little too late, as Chicago played the rest of the match out for a Wild Card game victory at home.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC will kick off the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 with a road match at the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, Oct. 26. Kickoff at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT. Chicago will then welcome Philadelphia the following Saturday, Nov. 1 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill. for the second match, with kickoff also at 4:30 p.m. CT. A deciding third game, if necessary, will be played on Saturday, Nov. 8 back in Subaru Park at a time yet to be determined.
MLS Season Pass and Apple TV will broadcast every match of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. MLS Season Pass is available through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, and game consoles, as well as on the web at tv.apple.com. The match will be transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM (English) and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish).
Notes:
- Chicago recorded its first MLS Cup Playoff victory in 16 years, when the Fire defeated the New England Revolution 2-0 in the return leg of the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals at SeatGeek Stadium.
- In his first postseason appearance with Chicago, Hugo Cuypers recorded the first multi-goal appearance for a Fire player in the postseason since Ivan Guerrero scored twice in a 4-0 win at D.C. United on Oct. 30, 2005.
- Winger Philip Zinckernagel recorded two assists, becoming the first Fire player with multiple assists in a postseason match since Calen Carr’s two in Chicago’s 2-2 draw at D.C. United on Nov. 1 2007 at RFK Stadium.
- Chicago’s 25 shots in the match were the most ever recorded in Fire playoff history, three more than the 22 tallied on Oct. 15, 2000 at the Kansas City Wizards and in MLS Cup 2003 against the San Jose Earthquakes on Nov. 23, 2003. The number also matched the Fire’s season-high set in their 4-1 victory at Charlotte FC on May 15.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 3:1 Orlando City SC
Goals:
CHI - Gutiérrez (1) (Dean 1, Zinckernagel 1) (WATCH) 48’
CHI - Cuypers (1) (WATCH) 57’
CHI - Cuypers (2) (Zinckernagel 2, Bamba 1) (WATCH) 67’
ORL - Spicer (1) (Marin 1) (WATCH) 89’
Discipline:
CHI - Gutman (Yellow Card) 45’
ORL - Atuesta (Yellow Card) 58’
ORL - Schlegel (Yellow Card) 74’
ORL - Brekalo (Yellow Card) 90’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Waterman, D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman, M D’Avilla, M Oregel Jr. (Kouamé, 81’), M Gutiérrez (Acosta, 86’), F Zinckernagel, F Cuypers, F Bamba (Haile-Selassie, 81’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Rogers, D González, D Reynolds, M Pineda, F Barlow
Orlando City SC: GK Gallese, D Brekalo, D Jansson (capt.), D Schlegel (Marin, 76’), D Freeman, M Araujo (Guske, 75’), M Atuesta, M Angulo (Spicer, 56’), M Pasǎlić (Muriel, 69’), F Ojeda, F McGuire
Subs not used: GK Otero, D Smith, M Rodriguez, M Thorhallsson, M Taifi
Stats Summary: CHI / ORLShots: 25 / 7
Shots on Goal: 9 / 4
Saves: 3 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 84.2% / 85.2%
Corners: 3 / 3
Fouls: 11 / 11
Offsides: 2 / 1
Possession: 52.4% / 47.6%
Attendance: 13,783
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistant Referees: Ryan Graves, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Rosendo Mendoza
VAR: Timothy Ford
AVAR: Tom Supple
