The Chicago Fire will play their final game at SeatGeek Stadium Sunday (5 pm ET | TSN4 — Full TV & streaming info) when they face Toronto FC in a match with massive Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs implications.
The Fire will move to downtown Chicago for the 2020 season, saying goodbye their home in Bridgeview, Ill. for the past 13 years.
The 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, the league’s fourth oldest behind MAPFRE Stadium, Dignity Health Sports Complex and Toyota Stadium, has hosted a number of memorable moments.
Here’s a few of the best ones.
2006 U.S. Open Cup final
The newly-minted stadium was the site of the 2006 U.S. Open Cup final, where the Fire raced out to a quick two-goal lead thanks to early strikes by Nate Jaqua and Andy Herron six minutes apart.
Alan Gordon pulled the LA Galaxy back a goal in the 51st minute, but Thiago sealed the win and Chicago’s fourth U.S. Open Cup title with an insurance goal two minutes from full time.
2006 MLS All-Star Game
A month earlier, the best in MLS met Chelsea FC in the 2006 MLS All-Star Game, the 11th in the league’s history. Dwayne De Rosario provided the late drama with the 70th-minute winner to send Jose Mourinho’s side to defeat.
2008 MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals
After a scoreless draw in the first leg against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium, the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals moved to Bridgeview for the decisive second leg. Chris Rolfe and Wilman Conde scored quickly on either side of the halftime interval and Gonzalo Segares capped the victory with a 74th-minute tap-in at the edge of the six-yard box.
2009 MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals
A year later, the Fire and Revs were at it again for the fifth consecutive season. But this time, Chicago faced a 2-1 deficit after the opening leg in Foxborough. John Thorrington leveled the aggregate series with a sliding strike in the 35th minute and Mexican legend Cuauhtémoc Blanco struck for the winner in the 83rd minute.
2017 MLS Regular Season
A sellout crowd came out on this Saturday night in May to watch their beloved Fire take on the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders and they were treated to a wild 4-1 victory. Nemanja Nikolic bookended the rout. Clint Dempsey leveled early, but David Accam and Luis Solignac scored 13 minutes apart in the second half to help Chicago pull away.
