REMAINING FIXTURES: Chicago Fire FC’s final nine fixtures were announced on Tuesday. After their Sunday night match against Atlanta United, the Fire will have five away and four home matches in October and early November. This third and final phase of the regular season will start on October 3rd against the Montreal Impact at Red Bulls Arena (the Impact’s home for Phases 2 and 3) with a 6:30pm CT kickoff. The next home game after this week will be against DC United on October 11th at 6:30pm. “Decision Day” will be Sunday, November 8th against New York City FC at 2:30pm. Below is the full list of the last nine fixtures:
| Opponent | Time | Broadcast | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 3 | at Montreal Impact (Red Bull Arena) | 6:30 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Wednesday, Oct. 7 | at Sporting Kansas City | 7:30 p.m. CT | ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | D.C. United | 6:30 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Wednesday, Oct. 14 | at Minnesota United FC | 7:00 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Saturday, Oct. 17 | Sporting Kansas City | 2:30 p.m. CT | Univision, TUDN, @TUDNUSA (Twitter Live Stream), 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | New York Red Bulls | 6:30 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Wednesday, Oct. 28 | at Philadelphia Union | 6:30 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | at Nashville SC | 7:30 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
| Sunday, Nov. 8 | New York City FC | 2:30 p.m. CT | WGN-TV, ESPN+, 105.1 WOJO-HD2 |
THOUGHTS ON THE FIRE: After the loss in Orlando, we will see if the Fire have the ability to bounce back from a match where they could feel it was 12-on-11 with the 12th man being the VAR after two goals disallowed, but the Fire were again poor at both ends of the pitch. If the Fire are going have playoff aspirations, the defense needs to stop being a hot mess and the attack needs to finish more chances. Anything short of the playoffs, especially since ten teams will make it from the East, will show that zero progress on the pitch has been made despite 17 new players.
THOUGHTS ON THE RED STARS: It was eleven months since the Red Stars had last played at SeatGeek Stadium. Despite not being able to host fans, the Red Stars made the most of their home advantage and Kealia Watt finally broke her duck and scored twice. Sarah Luebbert is showing more promise as a second option in attack in lieu of Rachel Hill. The back four held their own without Julie Ertz and Casey Short, and Vanessa DiBernardo, Morgan Gautrat, and Danielle Colaprico were terrific in midfield.
The team with the most points after four matches in the Fall Series will win the Verizon Community Shield. The Red Stars after Sunday’s action currently sit in their place behind North Carolina and Portland, who have a game in hand. A CBS-televised game awaits on Saturday against Washington and a chance for revenge after a heartbreaking loss, last week.
