Red Bull New York picked up a convincing 3-1 road victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night at Soldier Field behind goals from Jorge Ruvalcaba, Cade Cowell and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
New York struck first just before halftime when Ruvalcaba capitalized on assists from Emil Forsberg and Adri Mehmeti in the 45th minute to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 advantage heading into the break. The goal marked Ruvalcaba’s fourth in 12 appearances this season, while Forsberg recorded his fourth assist of the campaign after tallying a career-best 11 last year.
The Red Bulls doubled their lead early in the second half as Cowell found the back of the net in the 49th minute off passes from Ronald Donkor and defender Robert Voloder. It was Cowell’s first goal of the season and the 11th of his MLS career. Donkor continued his strong start to the year with his fourth assist, already a career high, while Voloder registered his second assist of the season.
Veteran forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added a third goal in the 81st minute, converting from the penalty spot after entering the match at halftime. The 37-year-old now has two goals this season after scoring 17 in his debut league campaign a year ago.
Chicago avoided the shutout late when Hugo Cuypers scored in the 87th minute, extending his goal-scoring streak to nine consecutive matches. Cuypers’ 11th goal of the season moved him into sole possession of the league lead in the Golden Boot race, one ahead of FC Dallas forward Petar Musa. The Fire striker had entered the match after recording braces in three straight games.
Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath made three saves for New York, helping the Red Bulls secure their first win at Soldier Field since 2022. The victory improved New York to 2-2-1 in its last five visits to Chicago.
Chris Brady finished with one save for the Fire, who saw Philip Zinckernagel’s five-match streak with a goal contribution come to an end.
The match also marked a milestone appearance for Maren Haile-Selassie, who became the 24th player in club history to reach 100 appearances for Chicago.
Chicago still leads the all-time series 33-23-16, while Josef Martínez remains the MLS record holder for consecutive matches with a goal at 15, set with Atlanta United in 2019.
Up next, the Red Bulls return home to host the Columbus Crew on Wednesday, while Chicago travels to face D.C. United.
