CHICAGO (Sept. 9, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC II will finish the road portion of their regular season schedule with a trip to FC Cincinnati 2 on Sunday, September 11. The Fire will look for a season sweep against Cincinnati, following a 3-1 victory in Bridgeview in May and a 3-0 shutout on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in July. First kick at Scudamore Field in Highland Heights, Ky. is set for 4 p.m. CT.
The Fire are coming off a 3-1 road loss to Columbus Crew 2 that ended a brief two-game winning streak. Omari Glasgow shined with one of the best goals of the week in MLS NEXT Pro, slicing through the talented Columbus defense to cut the deficit shortly before the final whistle. His run was enabled by Erik Kocs-Washburn's first assist of the season. The loss eliminated Chicago from playoff contention in its inaugural season.
FC Cincinnati 2 are well-rested coming off a bye week. They last played on August 29, when they ended Orlando City B’s hopes for a playoff berth with a 2-2 draw on the road. Cincinnati scored two second half goals to earn the point, then followed the draw with an exhilarating shootout in which the first 12 players were perfect with their kicks. After an Orlando miss in sudden death, Zico Bailey placed his shot top shelf to hand the Orange and Blue an additional point. Cincinnati is mathematically set to finish last in the East, but the match proved it can play spoiler against any team.
KEYS TO THE MATCH
#GlasGoal is Back. Omari Glasgow made headlines in the middle of the season with a fiery performance off the heels of a hot streak in national team duty with Guyana. Although he had plenty of good performances since, goals eluded him until he got to downtown Columbus on Saturday, when he added his fourth tally of the year. He’ll look to cap off the campaign in a hot manner with more highlight reel #GlasGoals.
Iron Monis. Along with Ryan Quintos, Alex Monis has now appeared in all but two of the Fire’s second team matches this season. Whether off the bench or as a starter, Monis has contributed with four goals and plenty of strong attacking play for Chicago. The Homegrown forward has also pulled double duty with the first team this year, having been named to the first team’s 18-man roster three times already, sometimes in consecutive days.
Brady vs. The Field. Columbus’ three-goal outburst marked only the second time in 11 matches that Chris Brady has allowed more than one goal in a match. Remarkably, the Homegrown goalkeeper allows less than one goal a game, still the best mark among goalies with at least 10 games under their belt. The only other time Brady allowed multiple goals? Against St. Louis CITY2 on the road, boasting the league’s third-best attack, behind Columbus and attacking juggernaut Tacoma.
HOW TO WATCH
Chicago Fire FC II will travel to Highland Heights, Ky. and face off against FC Cincinnati 2 next Saturday, Sept. 11, 2022. First kick on the campus of Northern Kentucky University is set for 4:00 p.m. CT and the match stream will begin five minutes prior on MLSNEXTPro.com.
