Orlando might be nicer this time of year, but the Chicago Fire is fine with staying home.
An own goal by New England in the 99th minute gave the Fire a 2-2 tie on Oct. 18 on the road. That allowed the Fire, seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference, to play an MLS wild-card home game at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview Oct. 22 against ninth-seeded Orlando. It’s the first time the Fire hosted a playoff game since 2017.
Had the Fire (15-11-8) lost, they would have played the game in Orlando.
Fire defender Joel Waterman appreciated getting to open at home, even though it wasn’t at their main facility: Soldier Field.
“We made the playoffs and we get a home playoff game,” he said after the game. “We’ll be in front of our home fans.”
If the Fire pulled off the wild-card win they would enter a best-of-three series against top-seeded Philadelphia. According to MLS, the first game is at Philadelphia at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and the second takes place at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at home; Ticketmaster has that potential game in Bridgeview as well. If needed, the third game would be Nov. 8 in Philadelphia.
Tickets for the wild card match are on sale at bit.ly/FireVsOrlando. Gates open at 6 p.m. and kickoff takes place at 7:30 p.m.
MLS Season Pass and Apple TV will broadcast every match of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. The match will be transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM (English) and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish).
Stars swamped by Wave
The Chicago Stars gave up four goals in the first half and went on to lose 6-1 to the San Diego Wave Oct. 18 on the road, which all but guarantees they will finish in last place in the NWSL.
The Stars (2-12-11) are in 14th place and 13th-place Bay FC is three points ahead. Even if Chicago ties Bay in points, Bay has a sizable advantage in the point-differential tiebreaker with a minus-14 while the Stars are at minus-23.
Bea Franklin’s goal in the 71st minute was the lone score for the Stars against the Wave (10-8-7).
The NWSL takes a short international break, and the Stars return to host Angel City (7-11-6) at a time to be announced on Nov. 2 in their final game at SeatGeek Stadium. They plan to play in Evanston next year.
Fire II advances
The Chicago Fire II is headed to the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference semifinals after beating the New England Revolution II 1-0 on Oct. 19.
David Probera scored the only goal in the game in the 86th minute. David Molenda recorded the shutout in goal.
The conference semifinals matchups, dates and times were not announced as of Oct. 19.
Curie grad leads SXU
Curie graduate Cam Manney had a 24-yard interception return for the game’s only touchdown and St. Xavier beat St. Francis (Illinois) 10-0 in a Mid-States Football Association Midwest League opener Oct. 18 in Joliet.
It was the fifth straight win for the Cougars (5-2, 1-0), who earned their first shutout since 2021.
The Cougars host St. Francis (Indiana), which is ranked 24th in the nation by the NAIA, at noon Oct. 25 at Deaton Field.
Another Morton shutout
Morton College’s women’s soccer team beat Harper 8-0 on Oct. 13 to finish the regular season with six straight shutouts.
The Panthers (11-5-2) were awaiting to hear their Region IV playoff opponent to start the postseason.