It was an error that rivaled Matt Freese’s World Cup error. And it cost New York City FC in a massive way on Saturday 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.
The goal came in the 87th minute with the Fire and NYCFC tied at 1-1. NYCFC defender Raul Gustavo made a pass to Freese from the goalkeeper’s left side, but Freese looked like he wasn’t expecting it.
Freese scrambled to get to the ball before underhitting an attempt to move it to teammate Thiago Martins. It allowed Haile-Selassie to easily steal the ball and fire a shot past 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. “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.”
Freese did not speak to the media after the loss.
It’s the second error Freese has made in 2026 that has raised eyebrows about his decision-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.
The goal Freese conceded to the Fire is sure to reignite the conversation surrounding that moment.
Saturday’s loss — arguably one of the worst NYCFC has suffered this season — extended the club’s winless streak to three 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.
Jansen was highly critical of the way his team played overall, noting the “terrible” second half that NYCFC played despite leading at halftime. On top of that, New York held a man advantage after Chicago’s Dje D’Avilla was sent off in the 43rd 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. “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. … A very bad second half.”
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.
