By: Alex Murphy – Editor in Chief

The Chicago Fire FC Leagues Cup run came to an end after a 2-1 loss to C.F Monterrey on Aug. 25. After winning all three games in Phase One of the Leagues cup, Chicago was disqualified from the cup in the quarterfinals. 

The Aug. 25 match marked the first time the two teams played each other, and the first time Chicago has lost to a LIGA MX team since 2024.

18,131 fans were in attendance to watch their teams battle it out for a place in the semifinals. Possession between the two teams was nearly equal with Monterrey having possession 50.8% of the time and the Fire at 49.2%. 

Both teams took many opportunities to score a goal with Monterrey making 14 shots, 4 of those on goal, and Chicago 9, with 3 of those on goal.

The game stayed scoreless for a majority of the first half; it wasn’t until the four minutes of additional time where a point was put on the board by Monterrey. 

Monterrey’s Victor Guzmán scored a header with an assist by Gerado Arteaga, making the score 1-0 just moments before the halftime whistle blew. 

Chicago came out of the locker room ready to give it their all in the second half and put a point on the board at the 59th minute when Philip Zinckernagel scored a goal. 

Hopes became higher once Chicago tied up the game and both teams became determined to score again to secure the win. Chicago morale declined after Monterrey player Orbelín Pineda scored in the 83rd minute, and despite Chicago’s efforts, they were unable to tie it up in the last seven minutes. 

“It’s always challenging to get a goal late in the game,” said Gregg Berhalter, head coach for the Chicago Fire. “They get more compact; they put more numbers behind the ball. We need to play more direct, get the ball in, put a center back up there, make it difficult for them … We were a little bit hesitant to get the ball in the box. When you do that – when you put the ball in the penalty box – good things happen: you get deflections, you get opportunities. We didn’t do that quickly enough.”

Despite the loss against Monterrey, Chicago still holds a winning streak in the Major League Soccer league and many more opportunities to win games in the MLS regular season. 

Chicago Goalkeeper Chris Brady reflected on his team’s performance in the cup and noted what the team needs to do to make more playoffs and what they have learned from the Leagues Cup.

“Like I said first, when faced with games, moments, opportunities to win, and advance in tournaments like these,” Brady said. “Come playoff time, we know we’re all going to have to be at our best. This is another indicator of that, so we take this with a grain of salt, regroup, reevaluate, and understand what’s going to be needed for the playoffs.”

Chicago has many more opportunities to play games and build their team to prepare for playoffs with many more MLS regular season games on their schedule.