{"id":3888,"date":"2026-08-24T13:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=3888"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:18:16","slug":"red-bulls-rally-late-to-earn-point-against-chicago-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=3888","title":{"rendered":"Red Bulls Rally Late to Earn Point Against Chicago Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HARRISON, N.J. \u2014<\/strong> Red Bull New York hosted the Chicago Fire Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium, but this wasn\u2019t a regular weekend or just another game in the MLS schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two Eastern Conference clubs arrived in New Jersey heading in very different directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago entered Saturday as one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer, carrying a six-match winning streak across all competitions and an 11-6-2 MLS record with 35 points. The Fire\u2019s run had built considerable momentum coming out of the summer break and placed them firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Red Bulls were searching for momentum of their own. New York entered the match with 25 points and looking to turn around a difficult stretch in which results had become increasingly hard to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the teams\u2019 recent form wasn\u2019t the only reason this particular Saturday night felt different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also Robert Lewandowski<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Young
Young fans showing support for their favorite Polish soccer player against the Red Bulls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Young
Very excited young fans hold up sign and messages for their favorite player<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Lewandowski
#9 Robert Lewandowski of Chicago Fire warm up against NY Red Bulls at home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The arrival of the Polish international in Chicago this summer brought one of world soccer\u2019s most recognizable names to Major League Soccer. Lewandowski came to the Fire following a decorated European career that included Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, along with more than 700 goals for club and country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His presence with the visiting Fire brought an additional level of attention to Saturday\u2019s match in Harrison, with fans getting an opportunity to see one of the game\u2019s most accomplished strikers at Sports Illustrated Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewandowski began the night among Chicago\u2019s substitutes, leaving the focus at kickoff on two teams with very different objectives \u2014 Chicago looking to extend its winning streak and New York trying to stop its slide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the match got underway, Chicago struck first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fire broke through in the 38th minute following an attack that developed from their own half. Jonathan Bamba helped move Chicago forward before the ball eventually reached Viktor Radojevi\u0107 on the left. Radojevi\u0107 found Maren Haile-Selassie near the edge of the penalty area, and Haile-Selassie curled his finish into the upper corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
#17 Cameron Harper being challenged by two Chicago Fire defenders in midfield<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
#6 Roald Mitchell maintains posession as he gets in between two Chicago Fire players at SI Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Player
#7 Haile Selasie of Chicago Fire being congratulated after his opening goal against NY Red Bulls at home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chicago took that advantage into halftime and continued protecting it as New York searched for an equalizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in the 65th minute, the moment many inside Sports Illustrated Stadium had been waiting for arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewandowski entered the match for Philip Zinckernagel, making his first appearance at Sports Illustrated Stadium as a Chicago Fire player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
#9 Lewandowski of Chicago Fire controls a pass just outside the 18 against NY Red Bulls at SI Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
#9 Lewandowski for Chicago Fire charges taking the space towards goal against NY Red Bulls at home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With Lewandowski now leading the Chicago attack, the Red Bulls continued pressing for a way back into the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York head coach Michael Bradley had already begun turning to his bench. Omar Valencia entered in the 56th minute, followed shortly afterward by veteran forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. As the match moved toward its closing stages, those changes helped New York increase the pressure on Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakthrough finally came in the 86th minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valencia and Choupo-Moting helped create the opportunity before Cameron Harper, another Red Bulls substitute, met the ensuing cross with a header that beat Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady and brought Sports Illustrated Stadium to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
#17 Cameron Harper celebrates after finding the equalizer for the Red Bulls against Chicago Fire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
NY fans erupts as their home team equalizes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
#13 Choupo-Moting of The NY Red Bulls with the cross to assist the equalizer against Chicago Fire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After spending nearly 50 minutes chasing Chicago\u2019s lead, New York was level at 1-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither side found another goal before the final whistle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Red Bulls, Harper\u2019s late equalizer salvaged a point on a night when they had trailed since the first half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Chicago, the result ended its six-match winning streak but extended its unbeaten run across all competitions to seven matches \u2014 the club\u2019s longest such streak since 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on a Saturday night that began with much of the attention surrounding Lewandowski\u2019s arrival in New Jersey, it was ultimately a Red Bulls substitute who delivered the final defining moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Bull New York 1, Chicago Fire 1.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne HARRISON, N.J. \u2014 Red Bull New York hosted the Chicago Fire Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium, but this wasn\u2019t a regular weekend or just another game in the MLS schedule. The two Eastern Conference clubs arrived in New Jersey heading in very different directions. Chicago entered Saturday as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[65,33,27,66,67,50],"class_list":["post-3888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mls","tag-chicago-fire","tag-major-league-soccer","tag-mls","tag-new-york-red-bulls","tag-nyrb","tag-soccer"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3893,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3888\/revisions\/3893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}