The Chicago Fire welcomed the New England Revolution Sunday evening for a massive clash and what could very well have been a first-round playoff preview.
But in reality, these are two clubs that could very well be heading in opposite directions. The Revolution is trying to keep pace with Inter Miami and Nashville atop the Eastern Conference, while Chicago is now in a treading-water situation, especially with Orlando City and Charlotte creating a three-way battle for the final top-four seed in the conference.
The same could very well be said for the USMNT goalkeeping battle, especially given that the match featured two national team goalkeepers. Chris Brady took to the pitch for the Chicago Fire, while Matt Turner was the goalkeeper of choice for the Revolution.
The winner of that battle was quite clear; not only did New England walk away with the 2-1 win, but Turner was quite easily the better and more effective keeper. He recorded three saves in 90 minutes of action, while Brady did not record a single save. At the same time, Chicago completely dominated the shot count, recording 20 total shots - five of those attempts were on target - while New England recorded just four shots and two on-target opportunities.
There lies the issue for Brady
The Chicago Fire are a club that is separated from bona fide MLS Cup contention by good goalkeeping. That's not necessarily a slight on Brady, but the offense isn't even close to the issue. Sure, one could say that the defence isn't exactly watertight, but they were able to keep a middling New England attack from inflicting too much damage. This is especially true when considering that New England is tied for 15th in MLS in on-target attempts.
Add the above to the fact that Brady has now given up 35 goals to 70 saves, an exact 1:2 ratio, this season, and you can see what is truly going on in Chicago.
While Brady should still end up on the USMNT roster when all is said and done, Sunday's game only reinforced the status quo in the national team's goalkeeper room. Turner will be competing with New York City FC goalkeeper Matt Freese - who just made his own statement ahead of the international window, putting together a four-save performance in a 2-0 win against Real Salt Lake - while Brady will sit behind the two and wait in the wings for his opportunity.
What's even more confounding is that there might not have been a better opportunity for Brady to move his way up the USMNT goalkeeping hierarchy. Freese's disasterclass against Belgium is still relatively recent, meaning that there could have been a way for somebody to enter the fight for the starting role.
Instead, Brady and his Chicago Fire side proceeded to give up 22 goals across 14 post-World Cup matches, giving up multiple goals six times. That run also saw Brady lose a head-to-head matchup with Freese's New York City FC and concede four goals in what was a barnburner of a contest against Toronto FC.
The only bit of good news for Brady?
He will get two chances to prove his worth after the upcoming international break. Chicago will play host to New York City FC on October 10 and travel to Boston to play the Revs on October 17.
Unless Chicago matches up with one (or both) sides, those contests should be seen as last-ditch opportunities for Brady to establish himself as someone who can not only fight for national team call-ups, but also start for the USMNT. It will also be a final opportunity for Brady to earn a significant opportunity ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League knockout rounds, which the USMNT automatically qualifies for as a top-four nation in the confederation.
If I were Brady? Use this window to continue learning from Turner and Freese, then push for a start ahead of the November window. That's perhaps the only way into full-time action ahead of the Nations League.
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