By Townhall Chicago News Staff
The Chicago Fire FC closed out the 2026 MLS regular season Saturday with a 4-3 loss to the Columbus Crew at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, securing the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The result gives Chicago its highest regular season finish since placing third in 2017. The Fire finished at 16-11-7 with 55 points and will face Charlotte FC in a best-of-three first-round playoff series, according to the club’s match recap.
Forward Robert Lewandowski scored twice from the penalty spot, recording his second multi-goal game of the regular season. The Polish striker converted his first penalty in the eighth minute after a Columbus defender handled a shot in the box. He added a second in the 22nd minute on a foul against winger Philip Zinckernagel, bringing his season totals to nine goals and five assists.
Lewandowski finished the regular season with three penalty goals without a miss.
Winger Maren Haile-Selassie scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season, extending his home scoring streak to six consecutive matches. That run is the longest home scoring streak in club history since Nemanja Nikolic scored in seven straight from 2017 to 2018, according to the team’s match notes.
The Fire’s three goals against Columbus helped the team finish the season with 65, the third-highest total in franchise history behind last year’s record of 68 and the 67 scored in 2000.
Columbus forward Gonzalo Tapia equalized twice, scoring in the 16th and 62nd minutes. The Crew took the lead late, with a goal from Mendez three minutes into stoppage time to clinch seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the loss, the match featured momentum swings for both sides. After Tapia’s first equalizer, the Crew scored again just seconds after Lewandowski’s second penalty to level the match at 2-2 in the 23rd minute. The Fire regained the lead four minutes into first-half stoppage time when captain Anton Saletros crossed toward Lewandowski, whose header glanced off the near post and into the path of Haile-Selassie for an easy finish.
Midfielder Andre Franco made his first home appearance since the 2025 season, entering as a substitute in the 69th minute. His last home match also came against Columbus on Sept. 27, 2025, according to the club’s match notes.
Head coach Gregg Berhalter’s squad drew 19,419 fans to SeatGeek Stadium for the regular season finale. Chicago controlled 51.3 percent of possession and outshot Columbus 14-11.
The Fire will now prepare for their second consecutive postseason appearance. The best-of-three series against Charlotte FC marks the club’s first postseason matchup against that franchise. Dates, times and locations for the series will be announced in the coming days, according to the team.
Matches will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, with local coverage on wlsam.com in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 in Spanish.
With the playoff berth, Chicago has also secured qualification for Leagues Cup 2027, the annual Concacaf-sanctioned competition featuring 18 qualifying MLS clubs and all 18 Liga MX clubs.
