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Matt Freese of New York City FC made a critical mistake leading to a goal in the team's 2-1 loss against Chicago Fire on Saturday, just months after his error during the World Cup. The deciding goal came in the 87th minute when Freese mishandled a pass, allowing Maren Haile-Selassie of Chicago to score easily. This incident is drawing comparisons to Freese's previous blunder at the World Cup and raises concerns about NYCFC’s playoff chances as they face their worst performance this season with three consecutive winless games.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Saturday, Chicago Fire rallied from behind to beat New York City FC (NYCFC) 2-1. Chicago’s comeback began when Anton Salétros scored an equalizer in the second half and concluded with Maren Haile-Selassie scoring the winner in the 87th minute. The game was marred by a critical error by NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made a poor pass that allowed Haile-Selassie to intercept the ball and score the decisive goal. This loss brings NYCFC’s record down to 8-11-9, raising concerns about their ability to secure a playoff spot given they have just one win in their last ten matches. Chicago Fire, now at 14-8-6, has won three consecutive games and is poised for a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference despite starting the day behind several teams.
Written for “MLS Soccer Match” on 2026-10-11,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
It was an error that rivaled Matt Freese’s World Cup error.
asserted
that → rival → error
And it cost New York City FC in a massive way on Saturday afternoon.
asserted
it → cost → afternoon
Freese made an ugly pass attempt near the net that was easily intercepted by Chicago Fire midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie, leading to the decisive goal in NYCFC’s 2-1 loss as the club desperately tries to cling to a playoff spot.
asserted
club → make → spot
The goal came in the 87th minute with the Fire and NYCFC tied at 1-1.
asserted
Fire → come → 1
NYCFC defender Raul Gustavo made a pass to Freese from the goalkeeper’s left side, but Freese looked like he wasn’t expecting it.
asserted
he → make → it
Freese scrambled to get to the ball before underhitting an attempt to move it to teammate Thiago Martins.
asserted
Freese → scramble → Martins
It allowed Haile-Selassie to easily steal the ball and fire a shot past Freese.
asserted
Selassie → allow → Freese
“The second goal is something I don’t understand, because just prior to the moment of conceding this second goal there’s a brilliant save from Matty Freese inside the box,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said following the match.
asserted
Jansen → understand → match
“For Matty to make this call in this moment during the game is a strange one for me and that is something we have to discuss, because obviously something that backfired to us.”
asserted
that → make → us
Freese did not speak to the media after the loss.
asserted
Freese → speak → loss
It’s the second error Freese has made in 2026 that has raised eyebrows about his decision-making.
asserted
that → ’ → making
He faced criticism during the World Cup after a glaring error in the U.S. men’s national team’s 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16, when he misplayed a ball and allowed an easy, open-net goal that gave Belgium a 3-1 lead.
asserted
that → face → lead
The goal Freese conceded to the Fire is sure to reignite the conversation surrounding that moment.
asserted
Freese → concede → moment
Saturday’s loss — arguably one of the worst NYCFC has suffered this season — extended the club’s winless streak to three games.
asserted
NYCFC → suffer → games
The team now has just one win over its last 10 matches, raising serious questions about whether New York City FC will even make the postseason.
asserted
FC → have → postseason
Jansen was highly critical of the way his team played overall, noting the “terrible” second half that NYCFC played despite leading at halftime.
asserted
NYCFC → play → halftime
On top of that, New York held a man advantage after Chicago’s Dje D’Avilla was sent off in the 43rd minute.
asserted
D’Avilla → hold → minute
“You see a pattern on pitch where people back down, they don’t challenge maximum, they don’t go for full-intensity press,” Jansen said.
asserted
Jansen → see → press
“We get done in on the right side on [the Fire’s first goal], and that is, for me, the example of what happened in the second half, because we challenged that ball with no intensity.
asserted
we → do → intensity
Hannes Wolf scored for NYCFC in the 19th minute to give them the lead before Chicago’s Anton Salétros answered 10 minutes into the second half.
asserted
Salétros → score → half
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