Chicago Fire advance to Eastern Conference quarterfinals, face Union

Chicago Fire advanced to the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Oct. 22, 2025, defeating Orlando City 3-1 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Brian Gutiérrez opened the scoring early in the second half and Hugo Cuypers added a brace as the Fire moved past the wild card round and set up a first-round, best-of-three series against the Supporters Shield-winning Philadelphia Union.

The match was scoreless at halftime before Gutiérrez converted a Jonathan Dean cross in the 48th minute, sending a shot into the bottom left corner to put Chicago ahead. Cuypers, the team’s leading scorer in the regular season, capitalized on a defensive error in the 57th when he got a foot to a clearance and the ball deflected into the net. He completed his brace in the 68th, finishing a breakaway pass from Philip Zinckernagel to make it 3-0. Tyrese Spicer scored for Orlando in the 89th minute, but the late goal was not enough to change the outcome.

Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady made a key save in the 55th minute that helped preserve the lead as the Fire pressed for insurance goals. The match drew a crowd of about 13,783, and players and coaches described a lively atmosphere inside the smaller venue.