FC Cincinnati gets their fourth win in a row and continue their winning streak, thanks to some fortunate bounces, as they beat the Chicago Fire 3-2 on Saturday night.
First Half
Before the game started, the Chicago Fire held a moment of silence for the late Aaron Boupendza. The former FC Cincinnati striker tragically passed away in China last week, and the team honored him both with the moment of silence and black armbands.
Once the game started, FCC opened the scoring in the 9th minute. Evander gathered the ball just inside the midfield line and drove the length of the field, scoring on a deflected shot from just outside the box. Justifiably, Chicago Fire players were furious as the attack was started when the referee and Chicago defensive midfielder Mauricio Pineda clipped feet and prevented the Chicago midfielder from collecting a clearance from the FCC box.
Chicago was able to equalize in the 31st minute, with Hugo Cuypers slotting it past Roman Celentano. The 2023 Belgian Jupiler League Golden Boot winner found himself on the end of a through ball, before sending it under Celentano’s outstretched arm.
But the 2024 Jupiler League Golden Boot winner, Kévin Denkey, had his own response in the closing minutes of the first half. In the 42nd minute, Sergio Santos was able to pressure the Chicago Fire’s Sam Rogers, a first half sub for Carlos Teran who came off injured in the 21st minute, into turning over the ball just before the endline. With a clever turn, Santos was able to dribble into the Fire box, before laying it off to a waiting Denkey, who one-timed a shot into the far netting.
The FCC #9 then reeled off to the corner flag and lifted his shirt to reveal a final tribute of the night, the man who previously held his number, Aaron Boupendza.
Second Half
Cincinnati started the second half on the front foot and managed to get their third goal of the night when Evander took a tight angle shot that squeezed past Chicago Goalkeeper Chris Brady and into the net. Brian Anunga stole the ball near midfield and made a quick pass to Luca Orellano. The Argentinian immediately turned up field and found the overlapping run of Evander, who held off a Chicago defender before sneaking it through the legs of the Chicago goalkeeper.
However, FCC conceded a penalty kick in the 83rd minute. Miles Robinson tackled Hugo Cuyper, pushing the ball away from the pair. It fell in the path of an onrushing Andrew Gutman who was caught by an outstretched Robinson for the penalty. A minute later, homegrown Brian Gutierrez sent Celentano the wrong way, and converted the PK.
With that FC Cincinnati locked down the defense and saw out their 35th one goal victory since the start of 2023.
MATCH REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Chicago Fire FC
Date: April 19, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Soldier Field | Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 17,732
Kickoff: 8:40 p.m. ET/7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 50 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CHI: 1-1-2
CIN: 2-1-3
CHI – Hugo Cuypers (Bamba) 31’, Brian Gutiérrez (PK) 85’
CIN – Evander (Santos) 9’, Kévin Denkey (Santos) 42’, Evander (Orellano) 71’
CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel, Nick Hagglund, Matt Miazga (C) (Gilberto Flores 46’), Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 86’), Pavel Bucha, Tah Brian Anunga, Sergio Santos (Luca Orellano 54’), Evander (Gerardo Valenzuela 80’), Kévin Denkey (Corey Baird 86’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Stiven Jimenez, Brad Smith, Stefan Chirila
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
CHI: Chris Brady, Jack Elliott (C), Carlos Terán (Sam Rogers 21’), Andrew Gutman, Omari Glasgow, Philip Zinckernagel (Kellyn Acosta 70’), Brian Gutiérrez, Jonathan Bamba, Mauricio Pineda (Dje D’Avilla 64’), Sergio Oregel (Maren Haile-Selassie 64’), Hugo Cuypers
Substitutes not used: Jeffrey Gal, Sam Rogers, Tom Barlow, Johnny Dean, Omar Gonzalez, Justin Reynolds
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
STATS SUMMARY: CHI/CIN
Shots: 19 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 8
Saves: 5 / 2
Corner Kicks: 6 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 11
Offside: 0 / 2
Possession: 56.2 / 43.8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Yellow Card) 46’
CHI – Kellyn Acosta (Yellow Card) 89’
CIN – Roman Celentano (Yellow Card) 90’+5
CIN – Luca Orellano (Yellow Card) 90’+6
Next Match
MLS Regular Season: vs. Sporting Kansas City at 2:30 PM on Saturday April 26; Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
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