TAMPA, Fla. -- There will be experimentation, trialists and perhaps a sense of the unknown customary of any season debut, but the Chicago Fire are set and ready for their first matchday of the 2016 campaign.
After a full week spent training at the home of the University of South Florida, Veljko Paunovic's side will square off against their hosts, the South Florida Bulls, at 4 p.m. CT Saturday (Feb. 6). The preseason friendly will stream live on Chicago-Fire.com, with Orlando City SC television play-by-play man Jeff Radcliffe on the call.
The game is likely to feature a lively atmosphere for an inaugural preseason contest, with USF opening up Corbett Stadium for spectators and pre-match youth clinics. The match is the first of two the Men In Red will feature in during their time in Florida, with their next test coming Thursday, Feb. 11 against the Philadelphia Union in a matchup that also will be carried live online on Chicago-Fire.com.
Earlier this week, Paunovic noted to media members his team's strengths in the areas of pace, control and tempo of possessions, while still looking to develop the team's ability to penetrate and execute in the final third. Those duties are to be shared in the early going by the likes of returning attackers Gilberto, David Accam, Harry Shipp, Kennedy Igboananike, and Michael Stephens, but also on a new crop of talent including Collin Fernandez and Alex Morrell, among others.
Paunovic also is in the midst of evaluating his revamped back line and a trio of unsigned SuperDraft picks, including local Tampa-area product and North Florida alum Alex Morrell. There also remain two veteran trialists in midfielder Arturo Alvarez -- who has 182 career MLS appearances under his belt playing for San Jose, FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake -- and former Columbus Crew SC goalkeeper Matt Lampson looking to impress in preseason competition.
On the other side, South Florida is coming off a 2015 season in which it compiled an 11-6-3 record, advancing to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament where it fell in overtime to Boston College. The Bulls are under the direction of longtime head coach George Kiefer -- who has made USF a regular tournament qualifier and amassed a record of 152-80-47 during his 14 seasons at the helm -- and return 2015 leading goal-scorer Nazeem Bartman. The junior from Cape Town, South Africa recorded eight goals and six assists in 19 appearances last fall.
USF also features a direct tie to the Men In Red in the form of rising senior Marcus Epps, a former standout for the Chicago Fire Academy after developing as a youth player with the Mississippi Fire Juniors. Epps played in three MLS Reserve League games for the Chicago Fire during the 2012 season before becoming a full-time starter in the midfield at South Florida, scoring five goals through his first three seasons in Tampa.
With plenty of new faces in the fold for the Fire and minutes likely to be shared by many on Saturday, be sure to check out newly updated Chicago Fire player bios and the latest training camp roster in advance of tonight's game.
Stay tuned for photos, match highlights and postmatch reaction on Chicago-Fire.com following the outing.
