Chicago Fire 1-0 Seattle Sounders FC

CHICAGO, IL—They say that defense wins games and the Chicago Fire FC defense won this game at both ends of the pitch as they made Rafael Czichos’s goal stand in a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC. 

The Fire have won back-to-back games for the first time since March and are just three points behind seventh-place Charlotte FC (3-2 losers at Miami), though they have five teams to pass and all but Charlotte have matches in hand on the Fire. Meanwhile, the Sounders have now lost three on the bounce and four of their last five staying behind the Western playoff line.

The game’s only goal came in the 23rd minute. Federico Navarro sent a ball into the box where Czichos, who was up front for a corner kick prior, got in between two defenders and headed past Stefan Cleveland. 

“It was a corner,” said Czichos. “That’s why I was in the offense, because normally I stay a little deeper. Then, I saw [Navarro] had a lot of space. I’m really happy that he saw me. Nice cross and the rest is history.”

From there, the defense went to work for the Fire. Gaga Slonina made two saves, both on shots from Jordan Morris, and the defense blocked seven more shots. 

“We had to be very good defensively,” said Fire head coach Ezra Hendrickson. “How we defend as a team, it’s a big part of what we do. The guys up front, they have to put into work because of how we defend; what they do depends a lot on how well the guys in the back do, because everything is predictable for the guys in the back. When the guys up top do their jobs, the guys in the back know where to be, know their positioning and everything. And to come away with a victory like that, not giving up a goal, speaks a lot about this team and what the potential is there with us.”

It was revealed after the match by coach Ezra Hendrickson that there was a team meeting of 45-60 minutes after the loss to Columbus, last Saturday.

“We were so disappointed and we knew we have to change something,” said Czichos. “We have enough quality to play good soccer. I think we’ve been showing it a lot this year already. It was mentally really difficult for us. We got together as a team. The last two games showed that we are learning [to bounce back after a tough loss].

Jhon Duran did not dress on Saturday night after picking up a knock on his ankle in Wednesday’s match. It is hoped he can return for next Saturday at Vancouver where coach Hendrickson hopes they can continue their form. Kickoff is at 9pm CT on WGN-TV. 

SCORING SUMMARY:

CHI-Rafael Czichos (F. Navarro) 23

BOOKING SUMMARY:

SEA-Kelyn Rowe (caution, reckless foul) 25

CHICAGO FIRE (4-2-3-1):  #1-Gaga Slonina; #2-Boris Sekulic, #23-Carlos Teran, #5-Rafael Czichos, #3-Jonathan Bornstein; #30-Gaston Gimenez (#22-Mauricio Pineda 37), #31-Federico Navarro; #8-Chris Mueller (#21-Fabian Herbers 60), #10-Xherdan Shaqiri, #40-Brian Gutierrez (#7-Jairo Torres 60); #11-Kacper Przybylko (#9-Chinoso Offor 83)

Subs not used:  #18-Spencer Richey, #6-Miguel Navarro, #14-Jhon Espinoza, #99-Stanislav Ivanov, #9-Chinoso Offor, #36-Andre Reynolds II

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (3-4-3):  #30-Stefan Cleveland; #3-Xavier Arreaga (#25-Jackson Ragen 65), #28-Yeimar, #5-Nouhou (#99-Dylan Teves 83); #22-Kelyn Rowe (#16-Alex Roldan 57), #11-Albert Rusnak, #10-Nico Lodeiro, #75-Danny Leyva (#12-Fredy Montero 65); #7-Cristian Roldan, #17-Will Bruin (#23-Leo Chu 57), #13-Jordan Morris

Subs not used:  #26-Andrew Thomas, #94-Jimmy Medranda, #99-Dylan Teves, #45-Ethan Dobbelaere, #84-Josh Atencio

TOTAL SHOTS:  CHI 9-15 SEA

SHOTS ON GOAL:  CHI 5-2 SEA

FOULS:  CHI 11-9 SEA

OFFSIDES:  CHI 1-3 SEA

CORNER KICKS:  CHI 6-10 SEA

SAVES:  CHI 2-4 SEA

Referee:  Pierre-Luc Lauziere

Assistant Referees:  Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho, Lyes Arfa

4th Official:  Calin Radosa

VAR:  Jose Carlos Rivero

Attendance:  13,601

Weather:  Fair and 70º

Man of the Match:  Rafael Czichos (CHI)