CHESTER, Pa. (March 21, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC (2-2-1, 7 points) earned a 2-1 road victory against the Philadelphia Union (0-5-0, 0 points) Saturday afternoon at Subaru Park.
Forward Hugo Cuypers scored in a fourth consecutive match, assisted by defender Andrew Gutman in his first appearance of 2026. Winger Jonathan Bamba finished a cross from Robin Lod to tally his second game-winning goal of the year.
Following a physical opening 45 minutes, the fourth official added seven minutes of stoppage time to the first half. Chicago took advantage of it first, as Gutman got on the end of a deflected ball from Lod on the left wing, then sent a perfect cross for Cuypers to head past Union goalkeeper Andre Blake. The hosts answered just before the whistle, however, as Milan Iloski directed a looping header just over the gloves of Chris Brady to tie it.
Chicago got on the front foot to open the second half, earning a goal in the 58th minute for the effort. On a counterattack, Cuypers sent a through ball to an open Lod on the right wing, who spotted an open Bamba on the left and sent a well-placed ball across the six-yard box. The Ivorian winger volleyed it home to finish the scoring in the match, as the Fire backline held off the Union’s response to take three points on the road.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago returns to the lakefront to take on Nashville SC on Saturday, April 4, following a week off for the FIFA international break. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com, Uforia by TREBEL app and 106.7 FM HD2.
Notes:
- Hugo Cuypers started his fourth match of the season, tallying his fourth goal in first half stoppage time. The Belgian striker’s four-game scoring streak is his third with the Fire, claiming a streak once in each of his first three years with the Club. Cuypers is now one more match with a goal away from tying the Club record for consecutive games with a goal.
- Jonathan Bamba scored his second goal of the season – his second of the game-winning variety – to wrap the scoring in Chester. The two game-winning goal this season are now a career-high for Bamba, who got one in his inaugural 2025 season with Chicago.
- After becoming only the fourth player in Club history to start all 34 regular season matches last year, Andrew Gutman made his first appearance and start of 2026 against Philadelphia. The Chicago Fire Academy graduate finished 2025 with a career-high 10 assists, continuing that form with his first assist of the 2026 campaign on Cuypers’ goal.
- In his fifth appearance of the season, midfielder Robin Lod played all but a minute of the match, notching his first assist and second goal contribution of the year with Chicago.
- Chicago recorded its second win of the season and third all-time at Subaru Park. The Fire earned their first victory in Chester since a win by the same score on Aug. 3, 2013.
- Goalkeeper Josh Cohen (Not Due to Injury), defender Jack Elliott (Not Due to Injury) and midfielder Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) were unavailable for selection against Philadelphia. Defender Sam Rogers (Lower Body) and midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) are currently on the league Injured List and will be unavailable for multiple weeks.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #cf97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:
Philadelphia Union 1:2 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Cuypers (4) (Gutman 1) (WATCH) 45+3’
PHI - Iloski (1) (Bedoya 2) (WATCH) 45+7’
CHI - Bamba (2) (Lod 1, Cuypers 1) (WATCH) 58’
Discipline:
CHI - Lod (Caution) 8’
CHI - D’Avilla (Caution) 23’
PHI - Ndinga (Caution) 37’
CHI - Radojević (Caution) 87’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Barroso, D Waterman, D Mbokazi, D Gutman (Radojević, 46’), M Salétros, M D’Avilla, M Lod (Shokalook, 89’), F Zinckernagel (Haile-Selassie, 31’), F Cuypers, F Bamba (Dean, 89’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Sandmeyer, M Pineda, M Oregel Jr., F DithejaneÂ
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Philadelphia Union: GK Blake, D Westfield, D Harriel, D Makhanya, D Ndinga (Bender, 76’), M Bedoya (capt.) (Vassilev, 61’), M Bueno (Lukic, 46’), M Jean Jacques (Rafanello, 66’), M Sullivan (Jakupovic, 62’), F Damiani, F Iloski
Subs not used: GK Rick, D Martinez, D Sery Larsen, F Korzeniowski
Head Coach: Bradley Carnell
Stats Summary: PHI / CHI
Shots: 12 / 11
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 2 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 69.8% / 72.4%
Corners: 6 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 15
Offsides: 0 / 0
Possession: 47.2% / 52.8%
Venue: Subaru Park (Chester, Pa.)
Attendance: 18,753
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Kieso, Ian McKay
Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero Araya
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Tom Supple
