Chris Brady Posts Second Straight Clean Sheet as Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew Draw 0-0

The Columbus Crew threw everything at the wall in their home opener: 13 shots, seven corners, 22 crosses and one 51st-minute goalmouth scramble that played out like a pinball machine stuck on multiball. Nothing stuck. Chris Brady, a Homegrown debutant named Dylan Borso and a Chicago back line that made 24 clearances made sure of it.

Chicago Fire FC and the Columbus Crew drew 0-0 on Saturday night in front of 20,121 fans at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. Brady made four saves for his second straight clean sheet, which the Fire said was his first run of back-to-back shutouts this season. Chicago moved to 1-1-1 with four points. Columbus, still looking for their first win of 2026, sit at 0-2-1 with two points.

The Crew Bring the Pressure, Brady Brings the Gloves

Columbus came out like a team happy to be home. The club noted that opening a campaign with two road matches was a first in its history, so this was the home crowd's first real look at Henrik Rydström's side. Taha Habroune tested Brady with a header in the 9th minute, and the Crew piled up four corners between the 17th and 19th minutes. Max Arfsten had an effort blocked in the 21st minute and sent another one high and wide three minutes later.

Chicago's night got complicated early. Leonardo Barroso went down injured in the 25th minute and Borso replaced him in the 28th. The Fire said the Chicago native was making his debut for his hometown club and became the 24th Homegrown Player to appear in an MLS match in club history. Nobody told him to ease in gently.

Brady kept the first half level in the 30th minute, keeping out an Amar Sejdic header that came off an Arfsten cross. Halftime arrived goalless.

Groundhog Day in the 51st Minute

The best chance of the night came six minutes into the second half, and it arrived in waves. Wessam Abou Ali had a shot blocked from the right side of the six-yard box. Habroune followed with an effort from point-blank range that Brady saved. Arfsten got a shot away next, and according to the Fire, Borso blocked it on the goal line. Then Sejdic got a header away and Brady saved again. Four Columbus attempts logged in the same minute, zero goals. Shot, block, save, repeat. Bill Murray would have recognized the loop.

Chicago nearly punished them right away. Jonathan Bamba fired over on a 52nd-minute fast break. Then Chris Mueller went down in the 53rd minute and Robin Lod replaced him in the 55th, with Dje Tah D'Avilla coming on for Mauricio Pineda at the same time. The Fire said it was Mueller's first start for Chicago since Oct. 19, 2024, which made the early exit sting a little more.

Borso and the Fire Find a Second Wind

The swing toward Chicago came from the kid who started the night on the bench. In the 71st minute Borso met a Lod cross with a header that Patrick Schulte saved, and a minute later he fired high and wide from outside the box after a corner. After the hour, Columbus managed a blocked Diego Rossi shot in the 67th minute, an Abou Ali free kick that sailed over in the 84th and another blocked Rossi effort in stoppage time.

Rydström did not dodge it afterward. "We created enough to be in the lead," he said, before conceding the late fade: "Then we got a little bit tired and then they could control the game without creating anything."

The final act belonged to a center back. Six minutes into stoppage time, Mbekezeli Mbokazi carried the ball the length of the field on a counterattack, per the Fire, and hit a right-footed shot from the middle of the box that Schulte saved. Borso had dragged one wide two minutes earlier. A Chicago winner there would have been a heist. Instead, both sides walked off with a point.

Who Showed Up

Chris Brady made four saves, including two during that 51st-minute flurry. He has now gone back-to-back matches without conceding, following the 3-0 home win over CF Montréal.

Dylan Borso led the Fire with three shots, put one on target and made the goal-line block the club highlighted. For a debut that began with an emergency call in the 28th minute, that is a serious first impression.

Taha Habroune put both of his shots on target, and Brady stopped both.

Max Arfsten led Columbus with three shots and supplied the cross for Sejdic's first-half header.

Patrick Schulte made two saves, both on Chicago's best looks, and was blunt about the clean sheet. "Obviously it's my job not to allow a goal but I'd rather win a game than keep a shutout, personally," he said.

The Turning Point

The 51st minute. Columbus had the crowd, the momentum and four cracks at goal in a single minute. Brady and Borso said no, and a minute later Chicago were breaking the other way. The Crew never got that close again.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Columbus 13, Chicago 8. On target, the Crew led 5 to 3.
• Saves: Brady 4, Schulte 2.
• Crosses: Columbus sent in 22 and completed 5. Chicago attempted 7.
• Clearances: Chicago 24, Columbus 10.
• Cards: Chicago took four yellows, Columbus two.

What It Means

Chicago are 1-1-1 with four points after a loss at Houston, the win over Montréal and now two straight shutouts. They did it without Hugo Cuypers, Andrew Gutman, Sam Rogers and André Franco, all listed by the club as unavailable with lower-body injuries. The Fire also said this was the 80th MLS meeting between the clubs, making the Crew their most common opponent, with the all-time league series level at 28-28-24. Chicago host D.C. United at Soldier Field on March 14.

Columbus are 0-2-1 after a 3-2 loss at Portland and a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City. The Crew's site called it their first clean sheet of 2026, and it came on a night when Zawadzki, per the club, wore the captain's armband at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field for the first time in his career. He sounded more annoyed than satisfied. "We played three games, we scored four goals," Zawadzki said, arguing the finishing is in there somewhere. The Crew host Nashville SC on March 14.

The Last Word

Rydström summed up the night with a metaphor that every kid who ever gagged on cough syrup will understand. "Sometimes you just have to take your medicine and it doesn't taste so good, but you will get healthy by it," he said. Columbus swallowed a goalless draw on opening night at home. If they keep creating chances like this, the cure is probably one finish away.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details and postgame quotes from ChicagoFireFC.com and ColumbusCrew.com.