Fire continue ascent, knock off Western Conference-leading Whitecaps

Maren Haile-Selassie tallied a goal and an assist and the host Chicago Fire continued their ascent by handing the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday night.

In a game rescheduled from July due to wildfire smoke, the Fire (13-8-6, 45 points) also received goals from Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel as they passed Charlotte for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Robert Lewandowski assisted Haile-Selassie's goal in the 88th minute to secure the result. Johan Gomez made the key pass, a backheel with his back to the net to spring the Polish national team star.

Lewandowski faced the approaching Vancouver goalie Yohei Takaoka and laid the ball off for Haile-Selassie, who enjoyed an open shot on net as a result.

Lewandowski, who recently arrived back in the U.S. after playing for Poland in the UEFA Nations League, subbed on in the 76th minute. The match was a reunion for Lewandowski and Whitecaps midfielder Thomas Muller, who were longtime Bayern Munich teammates.

Mathias Laborda scored in the second half and Takaoka made four saves to keep Vancouver (15-7-5, 50 points) in the match. The Fire had a 21-14 edge in shots and an 8-2 advantage in shots on target.

Bamba's goal in the ninth minute came as the result of a strong individual effort. He collected a pass from Anton Saletros, cut in from the left toward the top of the box and fired a long shot to the bottom-right corner that beat Takaoka's dive.

Bamba stayed active and earned Chicago a penalty kick later in the first half when his pass from the end line led to a handball in the box by Laborda. But Zinckernagel's penalty attempt in the 27th minute caromed off the left post.

The Fire struck again in the 50th minute when they shuttled the ball to Zinckernagel near the arc. Zinckernagel one-timed a pass to Haile-Selassie, and he used two quick touches to feed it right back to Zinckernagel, who had run into the box for an open shot. He converted for his sixth goal of the season.

Laborda made it a match again in the 73rd minute when he headed Oliver Larraz's corner kick to the bottom-right corner.