CHICAGO (Oct. 10, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC (14-8-6, 48 points) earned a 2-1 victory against New York City FC (8-11-9, 33 points) on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field. The result put Chicago one victory short of the 2025 total and into second place in the Eastern Conference at the completion of the match.
Winger Maren Haile-Selassie, who earlier this week signed a contract extension through the 2028-29 season, notched a game-winning goal in the second half to help the shorthanded Fire win their 14th match of the year. He also assisted midfielder Anton Salétros tally his first goal in Major League Soccer and second with Chicago.
New York City took the lead in the 19th minute, capitalizing off a turnover that culminated in a bender from winger Hannes Wolf. The tally was compounded by a pair of yellow cards issued to midfielder Dje D'Avilla that left the Fire one goal and one man down at halftime.
Just 10 minutes into the second half, forward Robert Lewandowski dropped into the midfield to swing the ball out to Haile-Selassie. The Swiss winger played a cross to the penalty spot, where Salétros headed home the equalizer that gave new life to a 10-man Fire.
The Men in Red pushed for the lead, applying pressure on the New York City backline at any opportunity. With three minutes left in regulation time, a corner kick header by captain Jack Elliott went wide of the mark. On the ensuing goal kick, Haile-Selassie sprinted for a loose pass in the box and promptly slotted the ball home for the 2-1 lead that held despite the visitors' additional player on the field.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago closes out a three-game homestand at Soldier Field with a midweek match against Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 and Uforia by TREBEL app in Spanish.
Match Notes:
- Maren Haile-Selassie recorded his second consecutive match with a goal and an assist. This is the first time in his Major League Soccer career that the winger has back-to-back games with a goal and an assist. The game-winning goal was the second of the season and third with the Fire.
- The goal and assist also made Haile-Selassie the second player to record 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season in Club history following Philip Zinckernagel's record-setting 15/15 tally last year. His assist also gave the Fire two players with double-digit figures in the category in 2026, the fourth season in Club history with multiple players recording such figures.
- Haile-Selassie also tallied his 23rd goal with Chicago, giving him ninth place in the category all-time in Club history. He also became the seventh player to record 30 assists for Chicago, while raising his goal contribution total to 53 since joining the Fire in 2023.
- One match after tallying his third assist of the season, Anton Salétros scored his first goal in MLS with Chicago. The midfielder previously tallied his first goal with Chicago in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match against St. Louis CITY SC on April 29.
- Defender Sam Rogers (Lower Body), and midfielders André Franco (Lower Body), Robin Lod (Lower Body) and Anzor Mekvabishvili (Lower Body) were not available for selection on Saturday afternoon.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #cf97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 2:1 New York City FC
Goals:
NYC - Wolf (6) (Ojeda 11, Martínez 1) (WATCH) 19’
CHI - Salétros (1) (Haile-Selassie 10, Lewandowski 4) (WATCH) 55’
CHI - Haile-Selassie (10) (WATCH) 87’
Discipline:
CHI - D'Avilla (Caution) 20’
CHI - D'Avilla (Second Caution, Ejection) 43’
CHI - Mbokazi (Caution) 63’
CHI - Pineda (Caution) 90+4’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Elliott (capt.), D Mbokazi, D Barroso (Allen, 71'), M Salétros, M D'Avilla, M Zinckernagel (Dithejane, 71'), M Bamba (Pineda, 46'), F Lewandowski (Gómez, 71'), F Haile-Selassie (Hanche-Olsen, 90+5')
Subs not used: GK Cohen, D Gutman, M Poreba, M Oregel Jr.
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
New York City FC: GK Freese, D Gray, D Martins (capt.), D Sands (Shore, 76'), D Cavallo (O'Toole, 46'), M O'Neill, M Fernández Mercau, M Perea (Raul Gustavo, 60'), F Ojeda (Traoré, 75'), F Martínez (Luighi, 60'), F Wolf (Jones, 82')
Subs not used: GK Romero, D Miazga, F Murray
Head Coach: Pascal Jensen
Stats Summary: CHI / NYC
Shots: 15 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 5
Saves: 4 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 78.8% / 79.3%
Corners: 4 / 4
Fouls: 18 / 10
Offsides: 4 / 2
Possession: 50.8% / 49.2%
Venue: Soldier Field
Attendance: 31,893
Referee: Brandon Stevis
Assistant Referees: Ian McKay, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Rubiel Vazquez
VAR: David Barrie
AVAR: Kathryn Nesbitt
