Hugo Cuypers is not only the Chicago Fire’s leading scorer, his work rate with and without the ball has helped the team develop its identity.

Without having to verbalize it, Cuypers’ work ethic filters down to the rest of the roster.

“It’s belief and it trickles down — you see one guy doing it, especially someone like Hugo,” defender Jonathan Dean said. “If he’s doing it, that’s the bare minimum. For us that’s where we set that bar.”

Cuypers, a forward, is in constant motion, which has helped lead to his team-best 19 goals heading into the Fire’s win-or-go-home first-round MLS Cup playoff game against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview (4:30 p.m., Apple TV). The Fire need a win to force a decisive game in the best-of-three series Nov. 8 in Philadelphi

See Full Page