The Chicago Fire FC (7-7-8) defeated CF Montreal (8-12-2) 3-0 at Soldier Field on July 12.
The Fire's first-ever win against Montreal at Soldier Field moved Chicago into ninth place, passing Montreal (10th place) and the New York Red Bulls (11th place), and putting the Fire in playoff position.
A late lineup change after warmups had midfielder Gaston Gimenez replace defender Carlos Teran, with Mauricio Pineda reprising his role as a defender to kick off the match. Local forward Missael Rodríguez made his MLS debut in the 76th minute, coming on for Georgios Koutsias, who had two assists on the night.
Outscoring their opponents four to zero in the last two matches, the Fire held back-to-back shutouts for the first time this season. Gutierrez, Maren Haile-Selassie and Xherdan Shaqiri all scored goals for Chicago.
The Fire will continue their homestand with the final of three consecutive home matches, facing off against Toronto FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 15 at Soldier Field.
Also on July 12, the Chicago Sky (8-12) fell to the Connecticut Sun (15-5) 84-72 at Wintrust Arena.
Kahleah Copper had 22 points and Elizabeth Williams 16 for the Sky, who have lost three consecutive games, per ESPN. The Sky had a 38-36 halftime lead, but the Sun turned things around in the second half.
Chicago will next take on the Brittney Griner-led Phoenix Mercury in Arizona on Thursday, July 20, after the All-Star break.
Andrew Davis