CHICAGO(March 13, 2021) – Chicago Fire FC Academy returned to action on Saturday, March 13, with friendly matches against Edgewater Castle U-19 and Chicago Fire FC Juniors U-14, U-15, U-16 and U-18. Fire Academy came away with four wins and one tie over the course of the weekend. It was the first time the Academy teams have taken the field since March 2020, when all on-field Chicago Fire FC Academy activities were suspended due to the pandemic.
The morning started with a 5-0 Academy U-19 win against Edgewater Castle FC, with two goals from Josh Torres and one each from Richard Fleming III, Michael Flores and Sergio Oregel. The second game of the day featured the Chicago Fire FC Academy U-17 squad against the Chicago Fire Juniors City U-18s. The Academy earned goals from Antonio Costabile, Carlos Nevarez, Matija Mitrovic, Marco Valencia, Ángel Rodríguez and Michael Nesci, as well as benefitting from an own goal to put the final score at 7-0.
The U-15 Chicago Fire FC Academy and U-16 Juniors City team took the field next, with Michael Ramirez and Jonathan Almaguer scoring two first-half goals for what would be a final score of 2-0. The game between the U-14 Fire Academy and the U-15 Fire Juniors City team ended in a 3-3 tie, which gave the Fire Juniors City their first points of the day. Marius Aiyenero, Mario Stoka and Omar Ortíz each tallied for the Fire Academy.
Saturday’s fixtures wrapped up with the U-13 Fire Academy team squaring off against the U-14 Fire Juniors City team. Goals from Vitaliy Hlyut and Andrej Ilich secured the 2-0 win for the Fire Academy.
Academy action continues on Saturday, March 20, against FC United at the U-19, U-17, U-15, U-14 and U-13 levels.
