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FC Cincinnati will hunt for their fourth straight win in Saturday’s away match against the struggling Chicago Fire.

Cincinnati is mourning the loss of former attacker Aaron Boupendza, who died after falling from the 11th floor of his apartment building in China.

“I’ll try to think of the good moments. Aaron was a part of our Supporters’ Shield-winning team in 2023 and had some important goals and contributions. That’s what you try to remember in a difficult time,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said Thursday.

“It’s tough. But he was a part of our family, and we’re here to support those close to him.”

FC Cincinnati (5-2-1, 16 points) claimed wins over Nashville, New England and D.C. United before this weekend’s match. Eight of their 10 goals this season have come in the second half, six in the last 20 minutes. Their ability to fight tooth and nail in the game’s dying moments and pull out late winners has made them a feared opponent in the East.

“We know that if we’re not succeeding with the ball and not creating chances consistently or putting teams under pressure, we must understand how to defend in those moments,” Noonan said.

Their scrappy style of play was clear in their recent win over D.C. United. They were tireless in tracking back, denied D.C. any breathing room, and slowed the game to a crawl with their compact defense. Roman Celentano posted his second consecutive clean sheet.

Cincinnati can make up for an inconsistent attack with a fierce defense, something Chicago (3-2-3, 12 points) could have trouble with this weekend.

Chicago has yet to win a game at home and is aiming for its first win in four games. The Fire rank second in the East with 14 goals scored. Their attacking trio of Jonathan Bamba (one goal, four assists), Hugo Cuypers (five goals, one assist), and Philip Zinckernagel (two goals, three assists) could be a problem for Cincinnati given the chance.

None of them broke through in Chicago’s last match, a 0-0 draw against Inter Miami.

“I’ve been saying consistently since I’ve been here that in Major League Soccer, you can win every game, you can lose every game,” Fire coach Gregg Berhalter said. “So I think that no matter who the opponent is, I think we can put up a performance that can beat them, but we can also put up a performance that we lose the game.”

–Field Level Media