CHICAGO (Nov. 19, 2024) – Chicago Fire Academy registered a 4-3-1 record over the weekend in MLS NEXT play, facing off against FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew on Saturday and Cincinnati United Premier on Sunday. All five age groups played on Saturday, while the U-13’s, U14’s and U-15’s also played on Sunday.
MLS NEXT Recap
Griffin Brill scored a hat trick for the second consecutive week and Gavin Hersh added a goal of his own to lead the Chicago Fire U-13 Academy to a 4-1 win against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. On Sunday, the Fire U-13s faced off against Cincinnati United Premier, with Oleksandr Smetana scoring the squad’s lone goal in the 1-1 tie.
The Academy U-14 side followed the younger group with a 3-2 win against FC Cincinnati, with Graham Dixon scoring all three Fire goals on Saturday. Dixon scored another two on Sunday in the team’s 7-4 win against Cincinnati United Premier. Brill made his U-14 debut in the encounter and added a brace of his own, with Markas Steponavicius and Donovan Tomasello each adding a goal. The final goal of the match was an own goal.
At the U-15 level, the Fire Academy suffered consecutive defeats for the first time this season, falling 4-0 against FC Cincinnati on Saturday and 1-0 to Cincinnati United Premier on Sunday.
Chicago’s Academy U-16 squad registered 4-2 win against Columbus with goals from James Field, Darris Hyte, Jesus Garcia, and Aaron Jimenez on Sunday. Garcia also assisted on Hyte’s goal against the Crew. The Fire U-18’s fell 1-0 against the Crew. Both matches were played at the Endeavor Health Performance Center in Chicago.
Chicago’s U-16 and U-18 teams will host Chicago FC United at the Endeavor Health Performance Center on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 10:00 a.m. CT and 12:00 p.m. CT, respectively. All five age groups will host Lou Fusz Athletic on Sunday, Nov. 24. The Fire U-15 and U-18 squads will kick off at 10 a.m. CT on Sunday, the U-14s and U-16s will start at 12:00 p.m. CT and the U-13 team will close out the weekend against Lou Fusz at 2:00 p.m. CT.
