CHICAGO (Nov. 13, 2024) – Chicago Fire Academy registered a 4-0-3 record in MLS NEXT on Saturday and Sunday. The U-18, U-16 and U-15 squads hosted Minnesota United FC on Saturday, while the U-13 and U-15 teams hosted Michigan Jaguars and the U-16 and U-18 teams hosted Vardar SC on Sunday. All matches were played at the Endeavor Health Performance Center.
MLS NEXT Recap
Griffin Brill led the Fire U-13 squad with a hat trick in the 5-1 against Michigan Jaguars on Sunday. Adrian Sotelo and Deen Custic rounded out the scoring for the youngest Fire Academy squad.
The weekend kicked off with encounters between two MLS Academies as the Chicago Academy U-15s tied 1-1 with Minnesota United FC on Saturday. Brady Hauser scored the Fire’s lone goal, capitalizing on an assist from Miguel Campos. The U-15 squad followed that up with a 6-1 win against Michigan Jaguars on Sunday with on goal each from Colin Munguia (Caleb Aleman), Ben Miller and Aleman (Phillip Lang), and a hat trick from Ivan Garcia. Hauser assisted on two of Garcia’s goals and Munguia on the third.
At the U-16 level, Saturday’s match saw Leon Smars (Darris Hyte) and James Field score in the 2-0 win against Minnesota United. The U-16s then defeated Vardar SC 4-1 on Sunday with a goal each from Akiva Lieberman (Joao Piretti) and Smars, and a brace from Milan Napoe.
Fire Academy U-18 players Christopher Cupps and Damyan Villanueva scored in the 2-2 draw against Minnesota United FC on Saturday. The team followed up with a 1-1 tie against Vardar SC on Sunday with a goal from Oscar Pineda.
The Fire Academy U-13, U-14 and U-15 squads head to Cincinnati this coming weekend to face FC Cincinnati Academy and Cincinnati United Premier. The U-13s will face FC Cincinnati at 4:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 16, and Cincinnati United Premier at 9:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 17. Chicago’s U-14 side will face FC Cincinnati at 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 16, and Cincinnati United Premier at 11:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Fire U-15s round out the games in Ohio, facing FC Cincinnati at 12:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 16 and Cincinnati United Premier at 1:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 17. All of the matches against FC Cincinnati will take place at the Mercy Health Training Center, and the matches against Cincinnati United Premier will be played at the Blue Ash Sports Complex.
At the U-16 and U-18 age levels, Chicago will host the Columbus Crew at 12 p.m. CT and 10 a.m. CT, respectively, on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Endeavor Health Performance Center.
