The New York Red Bulls delivered a commanding performance on Saturday, powered by a trio of scorers—rookie Jorge Ruvalcaba, Cade Cowell, and veteran Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting—to secure a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. It was a statement win for the Red Bulls, who snapped a long drought in Chicago by winning there for the first time since 2022.
Ruvalcaba opened the scoring just before halftime, finding the net in the 45th minute with assists from Emil Forsberg and Adri Mehmeti. The 20-year-old's fourth goal of the season came at a crucial moment, giving New York a 1-0 lead heading into the break. Forsberg, who posted a career-best 11 assists last season, notched his fourth helper of the campaign.
The Red Bulls doubled their lead just four minutes into the second half. Cowell, combining with Ronald Donkor and defender Robert Voloder, scored his first goal of the season—the 11th of his 114-match career. Donkor now has a career-high four assists, while Voloder recorded his second assist of the year, matching his total from four seasons with Sporting Kansas City.
Choupo-Moting, who entered as a substitute at the start of the second half, sealed the win with a penalty kick in the 81st minute, making it 3-0. The 37-year-old, who scored 17 goals in his debut MLS season last year, now has two goals this season.
The Fire avoided a shutout when Hugo Cuypers scored in the 87th minute, extending his remarkable goal-scoring streak to nine matches. Cuypers, who had scored two goals in three straight games to help Chicago climb to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, now has 11 goals this season—moving him one ahead of FC Dallas's Petar Musa in the Golden Boot race.
Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath made three saves for New York, helping the Red Bulls improve to 2-2-1 in their last five visits to Chicago. Meanwhile, Maren Haile-Selassie reached a milestone, becoming the 24th player to make 100 appearances for the Fire.
Chicago's Philip Zinckernagel saw his career-best five-match streak with a goal contribution come to an end. The Fire still lead the all-time series 33-23-16, but Saturday's result was a reminder of the Red Bulls' resilience on the road.