Chicago Fire FC Play Columbus Crew to a Scoreless Draw at Lower.com Field
September 3, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Chicago Fire FC News Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chicago Fire FC (8-13-8, 32 points) played the Columbus Crew (9-6-13, 40 points) to a scoreless draw at Lower.com Field on Saturday evening. Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina earned his 12th shutout of the season, making a career-high nine saves in a single match in the process.
Chicago is now unbeaten in two-straight matches with five games left to play in the Eastern Conference.
In a first half that saw the Crew utilize high pressure, the Fire was forced to make a substitution in the 33rd minute when midfielder Brian Gutiérrez was replaced by Jhon Durán after going down with an injury. The team shifted into a 4-4-2 formation for the first time in the season, with Kacper Przybyłko and Durán leading the charge on the attack.
Goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina was called into action during the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Derrick Etienne Jr. took advantage of a wall created by his teammates at the top of Chicago’s box, curling a shot around to the second post that Slonina did well to dive to his right to make the save.
Slonina and the Fire defense were once put on high alert in the 63rd minute by Columbus forward Cucho Hernandez, who took a shot that Slonina reacted well to save. Both players quickly went after the rebound, with Slonina blocking the shot and Fire defender Carlos Terán then clearing the ball out of danger.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will return to Chicago for two consecutive home matches, hosting Inter Miami CF on Saturday, Sept. 10 at SeatGeek Stadium. Beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT, the match will be televised on WGN-TV and CF97 Live, and transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
Social: Twitter – @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram – @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
Chicago has stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in 19 of their 29 games so far in 2022. Only the Philadelphia Union (24) has done this more often in Major League Soccer this season.
Chicago Fire Homegrown product Andre Reynolds II started in consecutive matches for the first time in his MLS career.
The Fire extended their unbeaten run to two-straight matches, having shutout the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
It is Gabriel Slonina’s 12th shutout of the season, good for third-place in Major League Soccer. Slonina recorded a career-high nine saves in a single match against the Columbus Crew.
Box Score:
Columbus Crew 0:0 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
None
Discipline:
CLB – Diaz (Yellow Card) 74′
CHI – Herbers (Yellow Card) 85′
CHI – Espinoza (Yellow Card) 90+7′
Chicago Fire FC: GK Slonina, D Sekulić (Bornstein, 68′), D Czichos ©, D M. Navarro, D Terán, M Pineda, M Herbers, M Reynolds II (D Espinoza, 61′), M Gutiérrez (Durán, 33′), M Mueller, F Przybyłko (Shaqiri, 68′)
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Burks, M F. Navarro, F Bezerra, M Oregel Jr.
Columbus Crew: GK Room, D Mensah ©, D Degenek, D Sands (Farsi, 80′), D Moreira, M Nagbe, M Zelarayán, M Morris (Artur, 80′), F Hernández, F Díaz (M Yeboah, 87′), F Etienne Jr. (Molino, 68′)
Subs not used: GK Bush, D Williams, F Hurtado, D Anibaba, M Igbekeme
Stats Summary: CLB / CHI
Shots: 25 / 6
Shots on Goal: 9 / 1
Saves: 1 / 9
Passing Accuracy: 89.5% / 81.3%
Corners: 10 / 0
Fouls: 11 / 13
Offsides: 0 / 0
Possession: 62.1% / 37.9%
Attendance: 18,189
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistant Referees: Chantal Boudreau, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Jair Marrufo, Fabio Tovar
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