Hugo Cuypers Ties Fire Record for Consecutive Games With a Goal as Cincinnati Rallies for 3-3 Draw

Down 3-1 three minutes into the second half, FC Cincinnati had every reason to fold on Saturday night at TQL Stadium. Instead, the hosts kept swinging, buried a penalty and drew level on a late own goal to rip a point away from Chicago Fire FC.

FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire FC drew 3-3. Hugo Cuypers scored twice for Chicago, and the Fire said he tied the club record for most consecutive games with a goal. Cincinnati answered with Tom Barlow, an Evander penalty and a late Djé D'Avilla own goal.

Chicago Comes Out Flying

Chicago came out firing. Maren Haile-Selassie forced Roman Celentano into a save in the 4th minute, Cuypers had two shots blocked in the 5th, and the Fire had three more blocked in the 8th. Cincinnati picked up two yellows inside the first 11 minutes, for Samuel Gidi and Barlow.

The breakthrough came in the 26th minute. Philip Zinckernagel slipped a through ball to Cuypers, who finished from the center of the box into the bottom right corner. Chicago described it as a half volley that bounced under Celentano.

Haile-Selassie hit the bar in the 33rd minute, and Chicago looked in control. Then Cincinnati found a way in. In the 42nd minute, Chris Brady saved a Bryan Ramírez shot, and, per Cincinnati, Barlow, a former Fire forward, buried the rebound from point-blank range for the equalizer. Cincinnati said it was Barlow's first goal against his former club.

Stoppage-Time Penalty, Quick Strike After the Break

The end of the first half was chaos. Brady made three saves in the 44th and 45th minutes, Haile-Selassie hit the right post in the second minute of stoppage time, and moments later Gidi fouled Cuypers in the box. Zinckernagel converted the penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time for a 2-1 Chicago lead.

Cincinnati hit the bar too, through a Kenji Mboma Dem header, right after the restart. Two minutes later, Cuypers punished them. Chicago said Andrew Gutman's ball across the box was headed up by Miles Robinson, and Cuypers pounced on the rebound, finishing left-footed into the bottom left corner in the 48th minute. At 3-1, it looked finished.

Valenzuela Changes the Game

Cincinnati kept firing. Ramírez hit the left post in the 61st minute, and coach Pat Noonan sent on Gerardo Valenzuela and Ayoub Jabbari in the 70th. Valenzuela made the difference. In the 77th minute, he drew a foul from Mbekezeli Mbokazi in the box, and Evander converted the penalty in the 79th with a chip that Cincinnati said floated over the goalkeeper's hands and under the crossbar.

"When you're pushing, pushing, pushing, now there's more expectation to finish a play from the penalty spot," Noonan said.

Seven minutes later, Cincinnati was level. According to the club, Evander lofted a set piece into the box, the ball floated past Gidi's head and deflected off D'Avilla into the net. Ten minutes of stoppage time followed, and Nick Hagglund had two headers that could have won it, but neither found the target. Brady also saved from Valenzuela in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Milestones on Both Benches

Cuypers was ruthless: two goals on four shots, plus the foul he drew for the penalty. The brace gave him six goals on the season, per the Fire, and the record he matched is shared with David Accam and Robert Berić. The club added that Cuypers joined Andrew Gutman as the only players on the current roster with more than one goal against Cincinnati. Zinckernagel had a goal and an assist on five shots, and the Fire said he has now scored or assisted in four straight matches across all competitions.

Brady made seven saves. Chicago said it was his 100th regular-season appearance for the club, making him the 23rd player in club history to reach that mark and the first Homegrown goalkeeper to do it.

For Cincinnati, Evander took seven shots and finally broke through with his first goal of the season, per the club. Cincinnati said the penalty was his 43rd career MLS goal, which tied him with Wélton for the most goals scored by a Brazilian in MLS history. "I was happy to see the first one go in, and he had a strong game. He was influential in our attack," Noonan said. "There's been plenty of good moments," he added. "It's just the final piece that is missing." The club also said the goal was Evander's 23rd for Cincinnati, moving him into fifth on its all-time scoring list.

Kenji Mboma Dem, making his first career MLS regular-season start according to Cincinnati, nearly scored with that header off the bar, and Valenzuela's cameo swung the night. The sellout crowd of 25,513 got its money's worth.

Chaos, Quantified

• Shots: Cincinnati 23, Chicago 18. Shots on target: Cincinnati 9, Chicago 6.
• Saves: Brady 7, Celentano 3.
• Woodwork: Four hits in all, two for each side.
• Corners: Cincinnati 9, Chicago 1.
• Clearances: Chicago 39, Cincinnati 12.

Chicago's Streak Ends, Cincinnati Keeps Scrapping

Chicago moves to 4-2-2 with 14 points. The draw ended a three-match winning streak in the league, against Philadelphia, Nashville and Atlanta, but the Fire are unbeaten in four. They open a four-game homestand across all competitions against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, per the club.

Cincinnati sits at 2-2-4 with 8 points and has taken a point in back-to-back weeks, after a 1-1 draw at Toronto. The club said it is now 4-1-1 at TQL Stadium in 2026 across all competitions. Cincinnati visits New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

A Finale With No Last Word

This was a game that refused to sit still. Six goals, two penalties, four strikes off the frame and an own goal to finish it. Chicago had a record-tying striker and a two-goal cushion. Cincinnati had more shots, more corners and, in the end, enough stubbornness. Think of it as a season finale that cuts to black mid-argument, which, honestly, was the fairest ending available.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLS (mlssoccer.com); additional match notes from FC Cincinnati (fccincinnati.com) and Chicago Fire FC (chicagofirefc.com).