AVE MARIA, Fla. -- The Chicago Fire never looked too out of sorts as the team got off to a decent start in their 2013 preseason campaign with a 2-0 victory over Florida Gulf Coast University Sunday afternoon.
Though the result was a good start, head coach Frank Klopas mainly utilized the game’s three 30-minute periods to evaluate trialists and draft picks as the team begins to finalize its roster.
WATCH: Postgame Recap
“Some guys are obviously a little bit ahead of other guys,” Klopas told Chicago-Fire.com “We played three different groups, some guys we were happier with than others and some guys you need to get after them and start pushing a little bit more.”
ARCHIVE: Re-watch the Game
Two players Klopas likely came away pleased with were Dominic Oduro and Daniel Paladini.
After a scramble in the box, Oduro opened the scoring tapping home a rebound from close range in the 39th minute.
In a two-on-one with FGCU ‘keeper Matheus Schuler eight minutes later, Oduro slid the ball over to a wide-open Daniel Paladini for an easy finish.
“It’s still the early part of preseason and we’re just trying to get the team together,” said Oduro. “The soccer wasn’t great but at the end of the day we were able to put some goals in the net and get our confidence up.”
RELEASE: Fire Down FGCU 2-0
Both part of the team’s second and third groups, Paladini put to task what he saw when the lineup that most closely resembled the team’s current starting eleven came close but failed to find the mark through the first 30 minutes.
“It’s always difficult to play against college teams that are always up for it,” said Paladini. “They came out flying the first 30 minutes and so I told the guys in the second and third periods that we needed to just pressure them and make them give us the ball.
“My goal started when we won the ball in the middle and Dom gave me a good ball to tap in.”
Coming off the 2-0 win, the Fire will continue training camp in Ave Maria, Fla. Monday and Tuesday before traveling to Bradenton for a Wednesday friendly vs. Eastern Conference rivals Columbus Crew.
“I think we need to work on certain things in training and push each other,” Klopas said.
“It’s early on but from the mental aspects of the game we have to continue to push through. Some guys did better than others tonight and Wednesday’s game will be a bigger test.”
