It was a rough night both on and off the field for Chicago Fire fans on Nov. 1 in the second game of the best-of-three opening round of the playoffs.
The Fire were eliminated in a 3-0 loss by Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference portion of the MLS playoffs at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
A crowd of 17,431 fans were ready for a fun night. But soon, the Fire were down 2-0 in the first 16 minutes and backup goalie Jeff Gal was booed when he touched the ball after that. Gal was a last-minute replacement for Chris Brady, who suffered an injury in training the day before.
Some fans started derogatory chants, and the game was held up twice. At one point, Fire coach Gregg Berhalter approached the fans and urged them to stop.
“We’re disappointed in the unacceptable chanting that came from a group of supporters at this evening’s match,” Berhalter said after the game. “That behavior does not reflect who we are as a club or the values we stand for.”
The Fire also issued a statement denouncing the chants. It should be noted that offensive chants have been an MLS problem for years and not just with Chicago fans.
The ugly night came at the end of a season in which the Fire took steps forward as they made the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
“I think reaching the playoffs is great,” winger Philip Zinckernagel said. “I think we’ve shown there is a lot of potential in this team. Right now, it’s a little bit of a disappointing feeling. But maybe we can look back at the season and be proud and grateful for all the work we put in.”
Stars finish with thriller
Ally Schegel’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time gave the Chicago Stars a 2-1 win over Angel City in an NWSL game that represented their finale at SeatGeek Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 4,219.
They are leaving Bridgeview to play in Evanston next season. Jameese Joseph also scored for the Stars (3-12-11).
High five for D’Ambrosio
Former Andrew standout Dominic D’Amrosio accounted for five touchdowns — four passes and one run — to lead St. Xavier in a 50-21 victory over Judson Nov. 1 in a Mid-States Football Association Midwest League game in Streamwood.
Richards grad Marquel Porter had three catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns for SXU (6-3, 2-1).
Moraine runners head to nationals
Moraine Valley’s men and women’s cross country teams qualified for the NJCAA Championships, which take place Nov. 8 in Iowa.
Andrew Leon led the Cyclones men with a second-place finish in the Region IV Championships in Geneva with a time of 28 minutes, 09.22 seconds in the 8K race.
Evan Zimmermen led the women with a first-place finish with a time of 19:57.69 in the 5K run.
Tumpane reaches World Series
St. Laurence graduate John Tumpane was on the umpiring crew for the wild seven-game World Series.
He worked the plate in Game 4 in Los Angeles.
He has been in the majors since 2010 and has been in a number of postseason series, but this was his first World Series.