Chicago City Wire

Chicago Fire FC is set to embark on a four-game road trip, starting with a match against Eastern Conference rivals Charlotte FC on Saturday, May 17. The game will take place at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Fire aim to extend their unbeaten streak in MLS play to three games. They recently secured a 4-0 victory against Detroit City FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 and defeated Atlanta United FC 2-1 at Soldier Field.

In both matches, Hugo Cuypers, who leads the MLS in goals, scored early to give Chicago an advantage. Against Atlanta, substitutes Maren Haile-Selassie and Omari Glasgow assisted Rominigue Kouamé for an 86th-minute goal that clinched Chicago's first home win of the year.

Charlotte returns home after losing 2-1 on the road to Nashville SC. Liel Abada scored for Charlotte early in the second half before Nashville equalized and Jacob Shaffelburg scored the winner. Charlotte has a strong home record this season with five wins and one loss at Bank of America Stadium.

Chicago Fire's all-time regular-season record against Charlotte stands at one win and five losses. Their last encounter ended in a 1-0 defeat for Chicago at Soldier Field on May 15, 2024.

Brian Gutiérrez of Chicago leads active players with 12 shots against Charlotte. He has been recovering from injury and national team duty but has played significant minutes recently and contributed an assist against Detroit City FC.

Chicago hopes to replicate their previous successful road trip from March when they won three consecutive away games. They are also motivated by past losses to Charlotte that affected their playoff chances.

Jeff Gal, in his second MLS appearance as goalkeeper for Chicago, recorded two saves leading to his first career win. Head Coach Gregg Berhalter praised Gal's composure during his debut start.

Rominigue Kouamé became the fourth player this season to score a game-winning goal for Chicago Fire FC with his recent late goal against Atlanta United FC.

The match between Chicago Fire FC and Charlotte FC will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, with local broadcasts available through wlsam.com (English) and Que Buena 105.1 via the Uforia app (Spanish).