WASHINGTON (Oct. 18, 2015) – D.C. United (15-12-6, 51 points) won their second straight match and clinched a home game in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 4-0 win over the Chicago Fire (8-19-6, 30 points). It was the Black-and-Red’s biggest margin of victory since 2011, the biggest in history over the Fire and the first time that the team has won all three games in a regular season series against the Eastern Conference rival.
Chris Pontius scored in the first half, and Bobby Boswell, Fabián Espíndola and Álvaro Saborío each added goals in the second half. Bill Hamid finished with four saves and his eighth shutout of the season.
With the win, D.C. United will be the No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Black-and-Red can clinch the No. 2 seed with a victory at Columbus Crew SC on Oct. 25 (Comcast SportsNet, 5 p.m. ET).
- D.C. United moved into second place in the Eastern Conference.
- D.C. United have won four consecutive games against the Chicago Fire and are unbeaten in six straight, dating back to the start of 2014.
- D.C. United used the same starting lineup in consecutive matches for the fourth time in 2015. D.C. United have had 29 different starting lineups in 33 games.
- D.C. United have won back-to-back matches for the first time since Aug. 1 and Aug. 8.
- D.C. United recorded their first 4-0 win since beating Vancouver by the same score on Aug. 13, 2011.
- D.C. United improved to 7-2-3 when scoring first and 3-1-2 when leading at halftime.
- D.C. United recorded their first shutout since defeating Montreal, 1-0, on Aug. 8.
- D.C. United scored their 13th and 14th goals of the season between the 61st and 75th minute.
- D.C. United scored their 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute or later.
- D.C. United have scored 30 of its 43 goals in 2015 in the second half, including 27 goals in the 60th minute or later.
- Chris Pontius scored his third goal of 2015 and the 31st goal of his MLS career.
- Bobby Boswell scored his second goal of 2015 and the 16th goal of his MLS career.
- Fabián Espíndola scored his fifth goal of 2015 and the 60th goal of his MLS career.
- Álvaro Saborío scored his fourth goal of 2015 with D.C. United, and the 67th of his MLS career.
- Fabián Espíndola recorded his seventh assist of 2015 and the 35th of his MLS career.
- Nick DeLeon recorded his fifth assist of 2015 and the 15th assist of his MLS career.
- Sean Franklin made his 200th MLS start.
- D.C. United is now 11-3-3 at home in 2015.
- Bill Hamid finished with four saves and his eighth shutout of 2015.
- D.C. United’s all-time record against Chicago is now 21-18-13.
- Head Coach Ben Olsen’s overall record is now 64-76-41. He is 5-4-5 vs. Chicago.
Highlights
Full Match Highlights
Pontius Goal
Boswell Goal
Fabián Espíndola
Álvaro Saborío
D.C. United (15-12-6, 51 points) vs. Chicago Fire (8-19-6, 30 points)
MLS regular season
October 18, 2015 – RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 20,104
Goals by Period 1 2 Total
D.C. United 1 3 4
Chicago 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
DC – Chris Pontius 3 39’
DC – Bobby Boswell 2 (Fabián Espíndola 7) 67’
DC – Fabián Espíndola 5 (Nick DeLeon 5) 71’
DC – Álvaro Saborío 4 80’
Misconduct Summary
CHI – Gilberto (caution) 50’
CHI – David Accam (caution) 77’
D.C. United lineup
Bill Hamid, Taylor Kemp, Kofi Opare, Bobby Boswell, Sean Franklin; Nick DeLeon (Conor Doyle 82’), Markus Halsti, Perry Kitchen, Chris Pontius (Michael Farfan 86’), Chris Rolfe (Álvaro Saborío 76’), Fabián Espíndola.
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Dykstra, Jairo Arrieta, Steven Birnbaum, Luke Mishu.
Chicago lineup
Jon Busch, Lovel Palmer, Jeff Larentowicz, Daneil Cyrus, Joevin Jones, Patrick Nyarko, Michael Stephens, Razvan Cocis (Matt Polster 68’), David Accam (Kennedy Igboananike 78’), Harry Shipp, Gilberto.
Unused Substitutes: Alec Kann, Patrick Doody, Chris Ritter, Matt Watson, Jason Johnson.
Referee: Sorin Stoica
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Jason White
Fourth Official: Armando Villareal
