MONTRÉAL, Quebec (July 19, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC (9-9-5, 32 points) posted a 2-0 shutout against CF Montréal (3-15-6, 15 points) Saturday night at Stade Saputo. Forward Hugo Cuypers opened the scoring in the first half, followed by Jack Elliott’s first goal as a member of the Fire in the second. Winger Philip Zinckernagel tied the Major League Soccer record for most consecutive road matches with a goal contribution with his assist on Elliott’s goal.
The Fire took an early lead in the 13th minute when Zinckernagel switched the ball to a sprinting Leonardo Barroso on the right wing. The Portuguese right back struck a well-placed shot off the far post that spilled out to the six-yard box, where Cuypers tapped home his 13th goal of the season for the 1-0 lead.
Chicago sought to double the lead from the onset of the second half, doing so nine minutes in. Zinckernagel swung a corner kick to the near post, where Elliott crashed to head home the Fire’s second goal of the match.
The hosts sought a goal, coming close on a handful of clear cut chances well into stoppage time. But Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady stood tall, making four saves en route to his second clean sheet of the season and sixth win of the year for Chicago.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago returns to the lakefront for an Eastern Conference rematch against New York Red Bulls. Kickoff at Soldier Field is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be followed by the second show of the Summer Concert Series presented by Café Bustelo featuring Chicago artist Chance the Rapper. The match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM (English) and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish).
Notes:
- Forward Hugo Cuypers scored his 13th goal of the regular season in the 13th minute of the match against Montréal. The Belgian striker matched forward CJ Sapong’s tally in 2019, the ninth highest single season total for a player in Club history.
- With his assist on Jack Elliott’s 54th minute goal, winger Philip Zinckernagel registered a goal contribution for a 10th consecutive road match, matching the Major League Soccer record set by Atlanta’s Josef Martînez in 2018. He will now have an opportunity to break the record in the Fire’s next road match on August 23 at Philadelphia.
- Zinckernagel also tallied his 10th assist of the season on Chicago’s second goal of the match. The winger thus becomes the first player in Chicago Fire FC history to record a minimum of 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season. The Danish winger is now tied with Jerzy Podbrozny (1998) and Ante Razov (2003) for the sixth most goal contributions in a single season at 20.
- Defender Jack Elliott headed in his first goal for Chicago Fire FC in the 54th minute of the match. The veteran center back tallied the 11th goal of his nine-year career, recording his third goal contribution of the season after notching two assists earlier in the year.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady posted his second clean sheet of the season and the team’s third. The Naperville native also posted his third all-time shutout against the Canadian side, earning both of his previous shutouts in 2023. His sixth win of the season was also the Fire’s third win at Stade Saputo all-time.
- Chicago Fire FC’s seventh road victory of the season is the most since 2000 and one short of the Club record set in 1999, when the Fire won eight times away from home. The three points earned in Montréal helped the team reach 32 points, surpassing last season’s total by two.
- Defenders Carlos Terán (Lower Body) and Christopher Cupps (Lower Body), and midfielders Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury), Sergio Oregel Jr. (Yellow Card Accumulation) and David Poreba (Lower Body) were unavailable for selection.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:
CF Montréal 0:2 Chicago Fire FC
Discipline:
MTL - Herbers (Yellow Card) 27’
CHI - Pineda (Yellow Card) 32’
CHI - Rogers (Yellow Card) 36’
MTL - Pearce (Yellow Card) 57’
CHI - Kouamé (Yellow Card) 66’
MTL - Waterman (Yellow Card) 71’
MTL - Donadel (Yellow Card) 73’
MTL - Bench (Yellow Card) 74’
MTL - Bugaj (Yellow Card) 87’
MTL - Álvarez (Yellow Card) 90+7’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Barroso, D Rogers (González, 42’), D Elliott (capt,), D Gutman (Dean, 63’), D Kouamé (D’Avilla, 80’), D Pineda, D Gutiérrez (Acosta, 63’), F Haile-Selassie, F Cuypers, F Zinckernagel (Bamba, 80’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, M Glasgow, M Williams, F Barlow
CF Montréal: GK Sirois, D Waterman, D Álvarez (Escobar, 83’), D Craig, D Petrasso (Pearce, 46’), M Piette (capt.) (Clark, 16’), M Loturi, M Synchuk (Vrioni, 64’), F Sealy, F Owusu, F Herbers (Bugaj, 46’)
Subs not used: GK Breza, D Guboglo, M Duke, F Graham-Roache
Stats Summary: MTL / CHI
Shots: 17 / 10
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 2 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 84.7% / 84.4%
Corners: 5 / 3
Fouls: 16 / 13
Offsides: 4 / 0
Possession: 52.5% / 47.5%
Referee: Jon Freemon
Assistant Referees: Chris Elliot, Gianni Facchini
Fourth Official: Renzo Villanueva
VAR: Kevin Terry, Jr.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar
