Troy Lesesne has pushed his way to build on their impressive 2-1 victory over FC Ccinnati last Saturday, giving DC United a precious victory at TQL Stadium.
Conner Antley's decisive 19th minute Header sealed the result in favor of DC after an early targetMouth campaign saw both parties just saw it.
Gabriel Pirani placed DC ahead within the first two minutes and threw the ball in the top left corner, before Kevin Denkey Cincinnati level pulled only 13 minutes later.
DC regained the lead only four minutes later, with Antley's header sufficient to seal the victory and to lift DC in 12th place in the rankings of the Eastern Conference.
Lesesne was full of praise for the performance of his team and called it the “biggest result” of his term of office in the capital.
“Look, we watched the team and have seen a number of good moments and a few hard moments, really, in the course of the past year and a half,” Lesesne said after the game.
“And we try to achieve more consistency here. Because this match is about tonight, I thought that this is probably our biggest result during my time at the club.
“Only because of where Cincinnati is in the table, how consistent they have been. They have been at the top of the table in the last three seasons and they have so much quality.
“We respect this side and to get to their place and to get a result like this, I think, speaks a lot about the group, and it shows what the group is capable of.”
Pushing it to the limit. @Inovahealth pic.twitter.com/a9d4juxx3z
– DC United (@dcunited) 5 June 2025
DC now faces a new challenge on Saturday when they welcome Chicago Fire in Audi Field.
Chicago, who are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and four points for DC, comes in the game after a 3-1 victory against Orlando City.
Hugo Cuypers yielded twice within two minutes to help them with a dominant victory, while Philip Zinckernagel added a goal and two assists.
Zinckernagel punished Orlando early and broke the impasse in the fifth minute before he delivers Cuypers for his first just past half an hour.
Chicago expanded their lead with another quick -fired goal, while Zintkernagel Teed Cuypers again less than a minute later, with Martin Ojeda, a comfort goal for Orlando six minutes before half -time, a consolation goal for Orlando.
Chicago Gregg Berhalter's head coach was satisfied with the performance of his team and emphasized their ability to implement their game plan.
“There were a few things that we concentrated on that I thought we did very well and had a lot to do with our midfield and our wing players,” Berhalter said.
“A part of the game plan was to open the space and get their back line out of position, and I think we did that well.”
Players to watch
DC United – Gabriel Pirani
Pirani (one goal, one assist) was involved in both DC United goals in their 2-1 win over Cincinnati on Saturday.
Pirani has been involved with each of the last three goals of DC, with their last goal without his involvement that goes back until 3 May.
Chicago Fire – Philip Zinckernagel
Zinckernagel, who has taken up a goal and two assists against Orlando, is the first player in the fire history who contributes to a goal in six consecutive regular season matches.
He has also been involved in 10 goals (five goals, five assists) on the road this season, three more than any other MLS player.
Match -Forecast: Draw
DC United has only lost two of their last 13 home games against Chicago, dating from 2014 (W8 D3). The eight regular home wins of the hosts on the fire are bound against every opponent at the time (also eight against the Revolution of New England).
But DC is in a bad series of home form, after they have won only three of their last 21 regular seasonal matches (D9 L9), including three in a row without a win on Audi Field (D2 L1).
In the meantime, Chicago has won five of their last six games in all competitions (L1), including their 3-1 victory in Orlando last weekend.
Prior to this run, the fire had only achieved four wins in 23 games in all competitions that go back to last July (D6 L13).
Breaking ankles and scoring goals #cf97
pic.twitter.com/smr2loawmw
– Chicago Fire FC (@Chicagofire) 4 June 2025