CHICAGO (Sept. 24, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC defeated Club León in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday night. Alfonso Alvarado opened the scoring for León in the international friendly, but the Fire countered with a second half goal from Javier Casas, Jr. The match also featured appearances by multiple Chicago Fire FC II and Academy players.
Throughout the majority of the first half, both sides fought to establish possession in the midfield as neither team generated many chances in the final third. However, León seized the momentum in the 40th minute as Alvarado recovered the ball in the box and placed a shot from the left hand corner, sliding under the glove of Spencer Richey and into the back of the net. León held on to the lead comfortably through the half as the first 45 minutes came to an end.
The Fire took control of the match to open the half as Stanislav Ivanov broke into León’s final third and ripped a shot from inside a congested 18-yard-box. His attempt was blocked by a defender, deflecting onto the path of Casas, Jr., who tapped the ball in to level the score. The Homegrown midfielder’s 48th minute tally was his first in all competitions for the first team this season, and suddenly brought to life a dormant Fire attack.
As the Fire defense held La Fiera to only one shot through the remainder of the half, neither team could create further chances and the match ended in a 1-1 draw, resulting in a penalty shootout.
Jonathan Bornstein opened the shootout with a shot well beyond the reach of León goalkeeper Alfonso Blanco. William Tessillo was next to step up to the spot for León, but Spencer Richey made a diving save to keep the Fire in the lead. The goalkeeper added another save off Javier Ibarra’s attempt before conceding to Jorge Díaz. Ivanov and Boris Sekulić finished their shots to make the score 3-1. Needing a goal to stay alive, León substitute Jose Salazar blasted a shot off the crossbar, sealing the shootout win for the Fire.
Next Match: The Fire will return to regular season play as they travel to face FC Cincinnati this Saturday, Oct. 1 at TQL Stadium at 6:30 p.m. CT. The contest will be broadcast on WGN and CF97Live and transmitted locally on Univision Radio
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 1(3) - 1(1) Club León
Goals:
LEO - Alvarado (1) 40’
CHI - Casas, Jr. (1) 48’
Discipline:
CHI - Casas Jr. (Yellow Card) 16’
LEO - Montes (Yellow Card) 17’
CHI - Rodríguez (Yellow Card) 45’
LEO - Tesillo (Yellow Card) 71’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Richey, D Espinoza (46’ M J. Reynolds; Ritaccio, 64’), D Burks (Terán, 46’), D Czichos © (Bornstein, 46’), D Ostrem, M F. Navarro (Pineda, 46’), M Casas Jr. (Kidd, 73’), M Monis, M Mueller (Ivanov, 46’), M Rodríguez (Sekulić, 79’), F Bezerra
Subs not used: GK Slonina
Club León: GK Blanco, D Cervantes, D Tesillo, D Celestine, D O. Rodríguez (Villa, 73’), M Ibarra, M I. Rodríguez (Díaz, 62’), M E. Hernández (Santos, 81’), M Montes © (Di Yorio, 61’), F Martinez (Rangel, 80’), F Alvarado (Salazar, 73’)
Subs not used: GK García, D Bellón, D Juarez, D Barreiro, F Dávila
Stats Summary: CHI / LEO
Shots: 4 / 3
Shots on Goal: 1 / 2
Saves: 1 / 0
Corners: 2 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 14
Offsides: 5 / 2
Referee: Calin Radosav
Assistant Ref 1: Artyom Arustamya
Assistant Ref 2: Eric Del Rosario
4th Official: Nabil Bensalah
