Foxborough, Mass. (May 4, 2024) – Chicago Fire II (3-1-3-2) fell 3-2 against New England Revolution II (3-3-1-1) Saturday afternoon. Diego Konincks and Peter Soudan scored in a comeback effort for the Fire, while Marcos Dias scored the winner for New England to complement a brace by former Fire Homegrown winger Alex Monis.
After an intense high press by Chicago in the opening minutes, the Revolution settled into the match and gradually pushed upfield. In the 39th minute, Dias took advantage of a bobble in the backline to dribble and send a backheel to an open Gevork Diarbian on the left wing. The forward played the ball across goal to Monis, who tapped home the opener for his second goal of the season. Despite a pair of early injuries, the Fire held on and went to the locker room down one goal.
The Revolution winger continued his inspired play upon the whistle. Nine minutes into the half, Monis got on the end of a turnover near the Fire box before cutting to his left and finishing near post past a diving Patrick Los.
Chicago answered back quickly. Entering the match in the 64th minute, Harold Osorio executed a corner kick a minute later that found David Tchetchao Karo, drawing the defense out of the box. The Beninese forward spotted a wide open Konincks, who had floated into an empty pocket of space and sent an uncontested shot into the back of the net.
The visitors were rewarded for their increased pressure late in regulation time. After a scramble in the middle of the pitch, Osorio came away with the ball and charged toward the Revolution half. The Salvadoran midfielder then slipped a ball to an open Soudan in the box, who took a touch before beating goalkeeper J.D. Gunn for the equalizer. The goal marked Soudan’s first goal in MLS NEXT Pro play.
The Fire continued to push for a third goal, opening up a space for a counter attack that the home side took advantage of. A scramble in the Fire box four minutes into stoppage time resulted in a penalty kick awarded to the Revolution. Dias stepped up to take the kick and rifled a shot past Los that would mark the difference in the match and hand Chicago its first loss of 2024.
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Box Score:
New England Revolution II 3:2 Chicago Fire II
Goals:
NE - Monis (2) (Diarbian 2) (WATCH) 39’
NE - Monis (3) (WATCH) 54’
CHI - Konincks (2) (Tchetchao 2) (WATCH) 66’
CHI - Soudan (1) (Osorio 1) (WATCH) 87’
NE - Dias (3) (Penalty) (WATCH) 90+5’
Discipline:
NE - Maciel (Yellow Card) 46’
CHI - Blake (Yellow Card) 90+4’
NE - Dias (Yellow Card) 90+7’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Los; D Rochester, D Konincks, D Cupps, D Diouf (Blake, 45’); M Calle (Osorio, 64’), M Oregel, Jr., M Poreba (capt.); F Koffi, F Shokalook (Soudan, 11’), F Tchetchao Karo (Nesci, 84’)
Subs not used: GK Dowd, D Norkett, M Ramirez
New England Revolution II: GK Gunn, D Barry (Al-Hasnawi, 65’), D Suárez, D Klein, D McIntosh, M Borovic (Oliveira, 65’), M Maciel, M Leal (Quiñones, 69’), M Diarbian (Bolma, 69’; Parvu, 90+1’), M Dias, M Monis (Escobar, 76’)
Subs not used: GK Weinstein, M Fry, F Bjelajac
Stats Summary: NE / CHI
Shots: 15 / 16
Shots on Goal: 6 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 74.9% / 76.6%
Saves: 3 / 3
Corners: 4 / 8
Fouls: 13 / 17
Offsides: 1 / 1
Possession: 48.3% / 51.7%
Referee: Stephen Foster
Assistant Ref 1: Jennifer Dumaine
Assistant Ref 2: Eric Schreiber
4th Official: Justen Lopez
