Bridgeview, Ill. (April 10, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC II (1-0-2-2) earned its first regulation victory of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season in a 2-0 clean sheet against Crown Legacy FC (0-1-2-1).
Chicago earned the first home win of the season after tying the previous two regular season encounters and securing the extra point in both shootouts. Defender Diego Konincks and captain David Poreba opened their Chicago Fire II regular-season scoring accounts, each tallying a goal on either side of halftime. Additionally, Colombian midfielder Juan Miguel Calle made his MLS NEXT Pro debut when he entered the field in the 79th minute for Salvadoran midfielder Harold Osorio.
It was the center backs who pushed forward to create the team’s first goal of the night in the 29th minute. Poreba collected the ball on the left off a corner kick and sent a cross for defender Jaylen Shannon streaking into the box on the right. Shannon shot Poreba’s perfectly-weighted pass on goal, but Crown Legacy goalkeeper Chituru Odunze reacted well to make the save. Following up on the run was Konincks, who pounced on the rebound and slammed the ball home from close distance.
Crown Legacy went down to 10 men in the 39th minute when midfielder Philip Mayaka was shown a second yellow card three minutes after earning his first.
Lamonth Rochester’s forays down the left flank throughout the match paid dividends in the 62nd minute when he sent a ball from near the left corner across into the 18-yard box. Poreba positioned himself for the pass, bringing the ball down with one touch before sending it past Odunze for his first Fire goal of the regular season.
Next up for Chicago is a road match in the Big Apple as they travel east to face New York Red Bulls II at 4:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 14, at MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, N.J. The match will be broadcast live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score: Chicago Fire FC II 2:0 Crown Legacy FC
Discipline:
CHI - Blake (Yellow Card) 15’
CLFC - Mayaka (Yellow Card) 36’
CLFC - Mayaka (Second Yellow, Ejection) 39’
CLFC - Peña (Yellow Card) 73’
CHI - Tchetchao (Yellow Card) 76’
CHI - Calle (Yellow Card) 89’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Gal; D Hency, D Shannon, D Konincks, D Rochester; M Blake (Shokalook, 46’), M Glasgow, M Poreba (capt.), M Osorio (Calle, 79’), F Koffi (Tchetchao, 68’), F Oregel
Subs not used: GK Dowd, D Soudan, D Cupps, M Nesci
Crown Legacy FC: GK Odunze; D Parrish (Rodrigues, 74’), D Sangoquiza Paredes, D Diop (Bravo, 67’), D Forbes, M Mirkovic, M Mayaka (capt.), M Duke (Sing, 74’), F Smalls (Young, 67’), F Nyandjo, F Berchimas (Peña, 46’)
Subs not used: GK Holliday, D Neeley, F Carmona, F Lucas
Stats Summary: CHI / CLFC
Shots: 22 / 13
Shots on Goal: 5 / 1
Passing Accuracy: 83.6% / 73.2%
Saves: 1 / 3
Corners: 7 / 4
Fouls: 18 / 8
Offsides: 3 / 1
Possession: 57.1% / 42.9%
Referee: Peter Bernardy
Assistant Ref 1: Ethan Buege
Assistant Ref 2: Christian Little
4th Official: Dylan Seitz
