Mike Magee scored on a penalty kick in the 64th minute and Chicago held on for its third straight win, a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday night that moved the Fire into a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago (14-12-7) and Montreal each have 49 points with one match remaining. New England and Houston, tied for fifth, each have 48 points, New England with one match left, Houston with two. The top five teams in each conference make the playoffs.
Magee's penalty kick was a lobbed shot to the left of goalkeeper Stefan Frei. The kick was awarded when a Chicago free kick hit Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio in the hand as he stood in the blocking wall.
The score was Magee's 20th of the season, tying him for the MLS lead with Montreal's Marco Di Vaio, who scored in the Impact's 2-1 victory over Philadelphia earlier on Saturday.
Toronto (5-17-11) has lost two straight and four of its last five.
Chicago had the better of the play, but Toronto threatened in the final minute of stoppage time when substitute forward Andrew Wiedeman headed a corner kick a yard wide of the net.
Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson needed to make only two saves in picking up his sixth shutout of the season. Frei was in the Toronto goal for the first time this year, subbing for suspended starter Joseph Bendik.
The Fire will miss key midfielder Jeff Larentowicz for their Oct. 27 finale at New York. Larentowicz's yellow card in the 57th minute put him over the penalty point limit and triggered a one-game suspension.
