CHICAGO(Nov. 20, 2019) – Chicago Fire Academy U-16 products Brian Gutierrez and Alex Monis each had an assist as the U.S. U-16 Boys’ National Team captured the 2019 Nike International Friendlies title with a 3-2 comeback win against Turkey.
Turkey opened the scoring in the 28th minute, but the U.S. responded in the 40th when Gutierrez found an onrushing Moses Nyeman. Nyeman demonstrated a deft touch to tap the ball in from 10 yards past goalkeeper Ahmet Cagri Guney. The U.S. scored again via Dante Sealy in the 54th and 73rd minutes, with the final tally coming after Eric Kinzer found Monis in the midfield. Monis sent a through ball to Sealy, who scored into an empty goal when goalkeeper Ahmet Cagri Guney came 30 yards out of his goal. Turkey tallied in the 94th minute for the final 3-2 score.
The Chicago Fire was also represented on the U.S. U-16 BNT by Javier Casas, who put in 135 minutes of work across all three matches for the championship team, and goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, who recently signed with the Club as a Homegrown Player. Slonina played full games against the Netherlands in the tournament opener and against Turkey in the team’s final match.
