Windy City Wrap Up: Cubs Season Ends in Milwaukee, Bears Steal Last Minute Victory  

This past week brought heartbreaking season ends, pride for a once-failing football team and hope to all Chicago sports fans. 

After a 2-1 series win over the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card series, the Chicago Cubs advanced to the National League Division Series to face off against the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-five series. 

Going into game two down 1-0 in the series after a 9-3 loss, the Cubs faced the Brewers and the American Family Field crowd Oct. 6, hoping to tie the series. 

A three-run homer from right fielder Seiya Suzuki in the top of the first inning gave Chicago a lead to begin the ballgame. However, a response from Brewer first baseman Andrew Vaughn tied the game at 3-3 after just the first inning. The Brewers took the lead and ran with it to win game two 7-3. 

After two losses in Milwaukee, the Cubs traveled back to Wrigley Field to play game three Oct. 8. The Brewers struck first with a sacrifice fly from Sal Frelick to bring Christian Yelich home. 

First baseman Michael Busch tied the score with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. Later in the inning, a single to right field by Pete Crow-Amstrong brought in another two runs. Before the Brewers captured the final out of the first inning, a wild pitch by Nick Mears gave Ian Happ enough time to score, creating a 4-1 Cubs lead.  

Even after a home run in the top of the seventh inning by Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers, making the score 4-3. The Cubs managed to hold their lead and secure their first win of the series. 

On Oct. 9, the Brewers and Cubs faced off for game four of the series, with the series now a 2-1 Brewers lead. 

The Cubs got started early with a three-run homer by left fielder Ian Happ, bringing in Nico Hoerner and Kyle Tucker to lead the game 3-0. 

Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd recorded six strikeouts in the first four innings to help the Cubs stay in front. 

A solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning from Tucker brought the score to 5-0. In the bottom of the eighth, Busch hit a solo shot to give the Cubs a 6-0 lead.

A combined five Cubs pitchers held the Brewers to one hit during the game and zero runs, for a final score of 6-0 and a tie in the series. 

The “winner takes all” game was held back at American Family Field Oct. 11. The Brewers led the ballgame off with a solo home run by catcher William Contreras, giving them a 1-0 lead after the first inning. 

In the bottom of the second, Suzuki homered to right field, tying the game at 1-1. The tie was short-lived as Vaughn hit a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning. The game ended with a final score of 3-1 after Brewers second baseman Brice Turang homered to center field. 

This marked the end of the Cubs’ postseason run devastatingly. Despite the outcome, Busch became the first Cubs player in franchise history with multiple lead-off home runs in a single postseason series. 

The Chicago Bears recorded their third win of the season Oct. 13 at Northwest Stadium against the Washington Commanders. 

Chicago was on the board first, recording two field goals in the first quarter. A Commander fumble opening the second quarter gave the Bears their first touchdown of the game and a 13-0 lead. 

A 13-7 halftime score came after a 22-yard pass from Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels to wide receiver Chris Moore. 

The Commanders gained the lead at the end of the third quarter, making the score 17-16 with one quarter remaining. 

A touchdown exchanged by each team made the score 24-22 Commanders. With 6:02 left in the game, a fumble recovery by Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright gave the Bears the ball and a chance to win the game. 

A 35-yard field goal by Jake Moody won the Bears the game, 25-24. The kick marked Moody’s first game-winning field goal and first day on the active roster for the Bears after being released by the San Francisco 49ers after Week 1.  

This win moved Chicago to 3-2. The Bears stay home this weekend as they face off against the New Orleans Saints Oct. 19. 

The Chicago Fire matched up with Toronto FC Oct. 4th. In the 27th minute, Fire defender Jack Elliott scored an own goal, giving Toronto the lead. 

In the second half, Jack Elliott scored for the Fire off a header in the center of the box from an Philip Zinckernagel assist, making the score 1-1. In the 89th minute, Elliott struck again, giving Chicago the 2-1 lead, with another header from another Zinckernagel assist. Toronto tied up the match with a goal from Toronto’s Djordje Mihailovic, ending in a 2-2 tie. 

The Chicago Fire head to Gillette Stadium to play the New England Revolution Oct. 18.  

The Chicago Stars also tied their match with a score of 1-1 against the Racing Louisville FC Oct. 10.

Both teams fought hard in the first half, but neither raised the score from 0-0. In the 85th minute of the match, Chicago Stars’ Jasmeese Joseph netted the first goal of the match with an assist from Ivonne Chacón. 

Joseph’s goal became her third this season, passing her career high of two her rookie year. Louisville responded in the third minute of extra time with a goal from forward Bethany Balcer on an assist from Janine Solis, ending the game in a tie 1-1. 

Stars’ goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher recorded a career high of eight saves and became the third goalkeeper with 50 regular-season saves with one club. 

Moving to a colder venue, the Chicago Blackhawks started their week with two losses and a tie against the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. 

The Blackhawks traveled to Florida to face the reigning champions Oct. 7. Blackhawks center Frank Nazar scored his first goal of the season and gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead in the first period. 

The Panthers put up two goals in the first period, giving Florida the lead going into the third period. Blackhawks left wing Teuvo Teravainen tied the score again with a wrist shot from an assist from Nazar and wing Tyler Bertuzzi. A goal from Florida ended the game 3-2.   

The Blackhawks landed in Boston to play the Bruins. They posted three goals during regular time. Goals by Connor Bedard, Louis Crevier and Andre Burakovsky helped land the game in a 3-3 tie. 

Going into overtime, an unassisted slap shot by Bruin center Fraser Minton secured the win for the Bruins. 

Back home, the Blackhawks welcomed the Montreal Canadiens. Even after posting two goals, the Blackhawks lost 3-2 after a goal in the third period by Canadien defenseman Kaiden Guhle. 

Staying at home, the Blackhawks played the Utah Mammoths Oct. 13. With no action in the first period, Blackhawk Ilya Mikheyev brought the score to 1-0. A response came from Mammoth right wing JJ Peterka, and two more goals from the Blackhawks gave them their first win in six games, 3-1. 

The Blackhawks face the Saint Louis Blues at home Oct. 15 in the United Center.