Bridgeview, Ill. (July 6, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC II (6-3-6-5) drew 2-2 against Inter Miami CF II (6-6-4-0) Saturday night at SeatGeek Stadium. Fire captain David Poreba extended his lead at the top of MLS NEXT Pro’s scoring leaderboard with his 11th tally of the year, while midfielder Harold Osorio scored his ninth of the year to trail his teammate in second place. Jeff Gal recorded two saves in the shootout and Billy Hency scored the final shot to give Chicago an additional point.
Defensive play highlighted the opening minutes on a comfortable summer afternoon when Miami found their first chance of the night in the fourth minute of play. A save by Gal deflected back into the path of forward Ryan Carmichael, who struck for a chance at the opening score. However, Jean Diouf thrust himself at the goal line to clear it away and keep the visitors off the board.
The Fire quickly shifted into an attack, allowing Peter Soudan an opportunity after a rebounded shot fell his way, but the ball struck off the left post and back into the field of play. Shortly after, a long ball from Luka Prpa found Harold Osorio on the left side of the box, who put it away with a left-footed strike toward his far post to put Chicago in front in the eleventh minute.
Back in the Fire’s own end, Miami was awarded a penalty on a handball violation in the 20th minute, an opportunity Santiago Morales capitalized on to even the score at one apiece. The teams traded further chances but could not find a goal as the whistle blew on the first half.
Coming out of halftime, the Fire wasted no time looking for an answer. A corner kick in the 50th minute off the foot of Prpa found Poreba in the box, who hit a header toward the far post to put the home squad back in front. The tally put Poreba two goals ahead of Osorio for most of any other player in MLS NEXT Pro in 2024.
The equalizing score from Miami came in the 78th minute, when Nykolas Sessock found Yuval Cohen sprinting toward the goal. Cohen slid and found the back of the net on a one-touch shot to bring the match to a 2-2 score. Both sides had chances down the stretch, but after four minutes of added time, the score remained deadlocked and the sides would settle for a point before jockeying for an additional one.
The teams got off to a hot start, scoring their first shot, before Miami goalkeeper Owen Finnerty stopped Charlie Heuer’s effort in the second round. But Gal saved a shot in the third round to eventually send the shootout to sudden death. Two rounds in, Gal got a save once more, setting up Hency's shootout-winning effort to give the Fire an additional point.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC II 2(6) : 2(5) Inter Miami CF II
Goals:
CHI - Osorio (9) (Prpa 1) (WATCH) 13’
MIA - Morales (3) (Penalty) (WATCH) 21’
CHI - Poreba (11) (Prpa 2) (WATCH) 50’
MIA - Cohen (2) (Sessock 5) (WATCH) 78’
Shootout:
Chicago Fire FC II: Poreba (scored), Heuer (saved), Koffi (scored), Hlyut (scored), Shokalook (scored), Calle (scored), Hency (scored)
Inter Miami CF II: Reyes (scored), Cohen (scored), Zeltzer-Zubida (saved), Sessock (scored), Casas (scored), Barton (scored), Ferraina (saved)
Discipline:
MIA - Barton (Yellow Card) 10’
CHI - Diouf (Yellow Card) 15’
CHI - Glasgow (Yellow Card) 37’
MIA - Ristano (Yellow Card) 42’
MIA - Sessock (Yellow Card) 59’
CHI - Hency (Yellow Card) 90+2’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Gal, D Glasgow, D Diouf, D Shannon, D Cupps (Hlyut, 90’), M Soudan (Koffi, 46’), M Oregel (Calle, 73’), M Heuer, M Osorio (Shokalook, 63’), M Prpa (Hency, 63’), F Poreba (capt.)
Subs not used: GK Los, D Norkett, D Granda, M Ramirez
Inter Miami CF II: GK Finnerty, D Sessock (capt.), D Ferraina, D Barton, D Ristano (Basabe, 57’), M Montenegro, M Casas, M Morales (Zeltzer-Zubida, 71’), F Reyes, F Carmichael (Cohen, 57’), F Flores (Abadia-Reda, 71’)
Subs not used: GK Kaminski, D Garcia, M Convers
Stats Summary: CHI / MIA
Shots: 22 / 12
Shots on Goal: 11 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 81.1% / 84.6%
Saves: 3 / 9
Corners: 5 / 2
Fouls: 15 / 22
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 48.3% / 51.7%
Referee: Salvador Flores
Assistant Ref 1: Eric del Rosario
Assistant Ref 2: Jared Michael Kuehl
4th Official: Braeden Frey
