In his first year with the team, midfielder Philip Zinckernagel became the first player in Chicago Fire history to reach double figures in goals and assists in a season.
His coach believes the Danish star can do even more than that.
“I think he can get to 15 and 15 before the year is over,” Fire coach Gregg Berhalter said. “There are not too many people in the league that can do that. He’s been a consistent contributor to our offense.”
Zinckernagel has 11 goals and 13 assists entering an MSL game against New England at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. It’s the third and final time the Fire (11-10-6) will play a league game in Bridgeview this year as they will host their final three home games back at their regular home, Soldier Field.
Zinckernagel, 30, is in his first MLS season after playing all over the world since 2018. He has a four-year deal with the Chicago club.
Can he be a 15-15 man?
“Obviously I want to try to hit 15 and 15, but I don’t like putting a number to my stats because I want to keep the hunger,” he said. “I don’t want to be satisfied whenever I reach that number. I want to try and get as many as possible, but I’m happy that (Berhalter) trusts me and believes in me.”
Berhalter is happy to have Zinckernagel around for four years.
“I think that his performances speak for themselves,” Berhalter said. “He is a guy that we found out pretty quickly that he is a leader by performance, he sometimes goes out and carries the team. He is an important player for this group, really strong mentality — a winning mentality.”
In his previous game at SeatGeek Stadium, Zinckernagel had a goal and an assist on Aug. 16 in a 3-2 win over St. Louis.
The Fire are 2-0-0 in Bridgeview and 2-4-5 at Soldier Field in 2025 in MLS games.
Stars tie in Jacobson’s debut
The Chicago Stars tied Washington 1-1 on the road on Aug. 31 in Anders Jacobson’s debut as interim coach.
Ludmilla who was the NWSL’s Player of the Week for hat trick in a 10-minute, nine-second span against North Carolina Aug. 22 at SeatGeek Stadium, scored the lone goal for the Stars (1-9-8) against Washington.
The Stars have five ties in a row and seven ties in their last eight matches.
Jacobson will be an assistant coach come January, when Martin Sjogren takes over as head coach.
“Chicago is something new,” Jacobson said. “It’s a huge city with a lot of history of well-performing teams and sport. There is a huge interest, I would say.”
The Stars host Orlando at 2 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Northwestern’s Martin Field in Evanston.
Fire II draws with New England
The Chicago Fire II tied New England 2-2 on the road on Aug. 31.
Chase Nagle scored his first MLS NEXT Pro goal in the 22nd minute and Trip Fleming closed the scoring with a goal in the 59th minute for the Fire (11-6-6).
The Fire II host Cincinnati 2 at 2 p.m. Sept. 10 at SeatGeek Stadium.