Chicago Fire vs. DC United: Chicago Makes History with 1-1 Draw

The Chicago Fire earned their MLS-record 15th draw of the season Wednesday when they tied DC United 1-1. Although Chicago led in the 59th minute on Sebastian Grazzini's second goal of the season, they could not hold onto the lead when Josh Wolff equalized on a wacky shot in the 73rd minute. Despite breaking the league record for draws in a season, Chicago only have two wins for the season and remain at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. They will surely regret wasting so many chances and giving up a lead at home. Meanwhile, for DC, they will regret not getting a victory in the middle of a playoff push, and the two lost points could prove significant come season's end.

The first half was mostly controlled by Chicago, with Dominic Oduro finding space in the offensive third multiple times. His best chance came in the 14th minute when his shot beat DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid but it bounced off the far post. Oduro and Patrick Nyarko had good link-up play on the evening, but Oduro could not get a shot in the net. Meanwhile, DC was pretty quiet in the first half, and full credit to Hamid for making several key saves to keep the score even at the half. Unfortunately, Hamid injured his hamstring on a goal kick at the very end of the half, and could not continue. According to ESPN, Hamid was reported to have a strained right hamstring, so it is unclear how long he will be out of the lineup.

With Steve Cronin replacing Hamid at the restart, Chicago were able to make the breakthrough when Nyarko crossed the ball into the box from the left in the 59th minute. Although DC attempted to clear the cross, a header from a DC player looped into the path of Grazzini, who volleyed it past Cronin. With the lead, Chicago attempted to shut down and play back, as Grazzini was subbed off for Daniel Paladini in the 72nd minute for defensive purposes. Those efforts were ineffective, however, as Wolff got on the end of a sequence in the box and shot high over Sean Johnson's head. The shot thundered off the crossbar, bounced off the ground, and then bounced back into the net. From there, both teams struggled for additional chances, and the score remained deadlocked.