Coming off their first loss since late April, the Chicago Fire on Saturday weren't able to generate the response they were looking for, falling on the road to Sporting Kansas City, 3-2, at Children's Mercy Park. Below are a few of the news and notes from the matchup:
- Despite losing back-to-back games, the Fire (11-5-5, 38 points) can still close the weekend second in the MLS Supporters' Shield standings. League-leading Toronto FC (11-3-7, 40 points) is set to face NYCFC (11-6-4, 37 points) Sunday afternoon at BMO Field, and with a win could preserve Chicago's hold on the No. 2 spot.
- Sporting KC has now won three of the last four meetings against Chicago and is 4-1-3 against the Fire since the opening of what is now Children's Mercy Park.
- Saturday's game marked the most goals allowed for the Fire since conceding three at Toronto FC on April 21. The only other game this season in which the Fire surrendered three or more goals came in the 4-0 loss at Atlanta United on March 18, when Johan Kappelhof was issued a red card in the game's 12th minute.
- David Accam came off the bench to record a goal for the second straight game, finding net in the 78th minute for his 12th goal of the year -- tied for third in Major League Soccer.
- Accam now has 31 career MLS goals and 36 across all competitions, both good for fourth in Fire history.
- Homegrown defender Patrick Doody recorded his first competitive appearance with the Fire first team since Oct. 25, 2015, the final game of the 2015 regular season. Doody, who appeared in seven games in his rookie campaign, stepped in at left back for the injured Brandon Vincent and recorded his second career assist on David Accam's second-half tally. Doody's only other assist came in that 2015 finale against the New York Red Bulls.
- Dax McCarty returned to the Fire lineup after returning from international duty with the U.S. Men's National Team, where he helped the squad claim its sixth CONCACAF Gold Cup championship. McCarty played all 90 minutes Saturday in his 291st career MLS regular season match.
- Sporting KC conceded more than one goal in a game for only the fourth time in 22 MLS regular season outings this season, and for the first time on their home pitch at Children's Mercy Park. SKC has allowed a league-low 17 goals this year, five fewer and the next-best team in MLS.
- The Sporting KC own goal conceded by Matt Besler marked the first own goal granted to the Fire this season.
- The loss was the first for the Fire against a Western Conference opponent this season (5-1-2).
- With the result, Sporting KC remained one of four MLS teams with unbeaten marks at home, joining the Fire, Toronto FC and Houston Dynamo.
- Chicago held 51.2% of possession for the match but was outshot 19-10 on total shots and 9-3 in shots on goal.
- The 2017 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target descends on Chicago this week and will see four Fire players -- Bastian Schweinsteiger, Nemanja Nikolic, Dax McCarty and Johan Kappelhof -- in the squad that will face Real Madrid at Soldier Field on Wednesday (Aug. 2) at 8 p.m. From there, the Men In Red will get set to host the New England Revolution Saturday (Aug. 5) in the club's first match at Toyota Park since July 1, with the Fire entering the match riding an 8-game home winning streak.
