Houston Dynamo vs Chicago Fire: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Ricky Vega)
The Houston Dynamo opened the 2026 Major League Soccer season with a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 Chicago Fire FC
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Filip Dujic
Assistants: Cory Richardson, Gianni Facchini
Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero Araya
VAR: Kevin Terry, Jr.
Attendance: 20,068
Weather: 70 degrees, mostly clear
SCORING SUMMARY
CHI: Hugo Cuypers (unassisted) 31’
HOU: Guilherme (Jack McGlynn) 67’
HOU: Guilherme (unassisted) 78’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Duane Holmes (caution; foul) 13’
CHI: Joel Waterman (caution; foul) 26’
HOU: Lucas Halter (caution; foul) 75’
CHI: Chris Mueller (caution; foul) 87’
HOU: Erik Sviatchenko (caution; foul) 85’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Jonathan Bond; Lucas Halter, Antônio Carlos (C), Erik Sviatchenko, Duane Holmes (Ondřej Lingr 79’); Agustín Bouzat, Jack McGlynn (Diadié Samassékou 87’), Mateusz Bogusz; Guilherme (Franco Negri 87’), Ezequiel Ponce, Lawrence Ennali (Nick Markanich 90+3’)
Unused substitutes: Jimmy Maurer, Héctor Herrera, Matthew Arana, Blake Gillingham, Agustin Resch
Total shots: 10
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 11
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 3
Saves: 2
Chicago Fire FC: Chris Brady; Maren Haile-Selassie, Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Puso Dithejane 88’), Sam Rogers (Christopher Cupps 76’), Joel Waterman, Leonardo Barroso; Philip Zinckernagel, Anton Saletros, Dje D’Avilla (Sergio Oregel Jr. 88’), Robin Lod (Chris Mueller 76’); Hugo Cuypers
Unused Substitutes: Jason Shokalook, Mauricio Pineda, David Poreba, Josh Cohen
Total shots: 6
Shots on goal: 3
Fouls: 20
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 2
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the result:
“We needed some resilience today. Chicago is a very good and well-coached team. For the first 20 minutes, we had a little trouble figuring them out and deciding how to go about it. As I have said, we are a work in progress, and sometimes it takes a bit of grinding it out. We gifted them a goal in an unusual moment, which I do not expect to be a regular thing, and the comeback shows the personality of this team. We talked about that in the offseason, and I have been speaking about it for the last couple of weeks, about personality and bringing in guys who have been around the block. There was no hanging of heads, and they just got back to work. I thought in the second half we were the better team and deserved a few goals.”
On Guilherme’s performance:
“We gave (Guilherme) a little freedom, which is why he was a higher up the field. That is two games in a row now where he has put up numbers. This is a guy that been playing at a really high level in a serious league against great players for a long time. You can see the quality he brings, both between the boxes and also in the final third, so hopefully there is more of that to come. He is a fun guy to watch, and he is also working his tail off.”
On Dynamo fans:
“I value this community and the people who live and breathe this game. We want to be liked, we want to win and we want to be a team that our community is proud of and part of. That is why we are working day in and day out to make them proud. Sometimes we are going to fall short, but we are working our tails off to make this team as good as possible, and we have worked hard to get to this point.”
On Mateusz Bogusz’s performance:
“(Mateusz Bogusz) is everything that we thought he would be. We are moving and shifting, and he is open to playing in different spots, and there is a lot he can do for us because of his versatility. He is willing to do whatever it takes for this team. That is what you want from your Designated Player because that mentality is contagious. He was unlucky not to score tonight. You can see his quality when he gets in and around the box and is able to create a shot. He made so many little plays tonight, and I am proud that he put in that shift.”
