Cameron Harper scored his first goal of the season in the 86th minute, as Red Bull New York and Chicago Fire FC split the points at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
On the goal, Omar Valencia played a ball to the top of the box to Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who dribbled past three defender and crossed the ball into the six-yard box that was heading into the top left corner by Harper.
"Very, very happy for Cam. Very happy," Head Coach Michael Bradley said. "It’s been a long road from last June to now 15, 16 months. That’s been a long, long road for him. In this last stretch, he’s been back and he’s been on the field in a few moments, and he’s been close. For him to come on the field tonight and make such a difference, and score a really, really good goal, I’m really happy for him. He deserves that."
Harper scored his first goal of the 2026 MLS season and the 13th of his MLS career. The winger scored his second career goal against Chicago.
"Personally, coming back from this injury, I had a lot of doubts kind of when I was coming back, and my knee ... it wasn't a linear progression like some other people have," Harper said. "So this is just another checkpoint in my return, just to get a goal. And honestly, just to check that off is just a crazy good relief, and yeah, I mean, I'm kind of on the come down right now, but like it was just everything I could ask for."
Choupo-Moting and Valencia recorded their first assists of the season and the sixth of their MLS careers, respectively.
Ethan Horvath made four saves on the night. Â
With the draw, New York move to 16-14-16 against Chicago and are unbeaten in their last five matches at home against the Fire.
"It’s the little things now," Matthew Dos Santos said. "You know, we're doing well as a team. We're doing our ideas. We're creating chances. It's just finishing them off and then tidying some stuff at the back to be able to get those three points."
The Red Bulls will conclude a three-match homestand, when they face off against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, August 29 at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage on Apple TV in English and Spanish, and Red Bulls Radio in English via the Red Bull New York app and RedBullNewYork.com.
