CHICAGO (March 26, 2024) - The Chicago Fire Academy had a successful weekend on the road against the Lou Fusz Academy. With all five teams in action on Sunday afternoon, the Fire registered a 4-1-0 record against the Missouri-based Academy at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in St Louis, Mo.
U-13 Academy
The youngest members of the Chicago Fire Academy had an afternoon to remember. Led by a hat-trick from Owen Fried, the Fire picked up a 6-0 clean sheet victory over Lou Fusz. Rounding out the scoring for the U-13's was a brace from Markas Steponavicius and a tally from Graham Dixon. The U-13 Academy saw four different players record assists, with helpers coming from Dixon, Griffin Brill, Harrison Storey, and Liam Schmitz.
The U-13 Academy will resume next week when they head to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the 2024 Mina Cup. The U-13's will start Group Stage play on Thursday, April 4 against Desert Falcon FC at 7 a.m. CT. Later that evening, the Fire will face Empire FC at 10:45 p.m. CT. The following day, they’ll conclude Group Stage play when they take on Premier League academy side Newcastle United F.C. at 9:15 a.m. CT.
U-14 Academy
It would be yet another offensive performance for the Chicago Fire Academy. The U-14 Academy picked up a massive 7-0 victory over Lou Fusz on Sunday afternoon. Highlighting the victory was a strong performance from Finn McCraney, who registered a hat-trick and an assist in the victory. Picking up a goal and an assist in the win was Henry Garcia. Rounding out the offense from Chicago were Colin Munguia, Xavi Cervantes, and Nathan Panduro.
U-15 Academy
Later in the afternoon, the U-15 Academy made it three clean sheets in-a-row for the Chicago Fire Academy. In what was a tightly contested contest between the two academies, the Fire persevered, defeating Lou Fusz 2-0 on the road. Marko Colakovic and Harry Bernhardt would score the pair of goals for the Fire Academy, with Darris Hyte registering assists on both of the tallies. The Fire would shut down Lou Fusz with a strong defensive performance and pick up yet another victory on the road.
The U-15 Academy head to the 2024 Generation adidas Cup this weekend. The U-15's will kickstart Group Stage play against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, March 30 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. at 9 a.m. CT. The next morning, the Fire take on New York City FC at 9 a.m. CT. Chicago will finish Group Stage action against Danish academy Brøndby IF on Monday, April 1 at 9 a.m. CT.
U-17 Academy
The U-17 Chicago Fire Academy would have a strong performance of their own. In their road contest against Lou Fusz, the Fire picked up an impressive 3-1 victory. Led by a brace from Matt Maciulis, it would be Rafi Pineda who picked up the insurance goal for Chicago en route to another victory for the Academy.
Pineda and the U-17 Academy head into this upcoming weekend’s Generation adidas Cup in strong form. The U-17's will open their tournament on Saturday, March 30 against the San Jose Earthquakes at 2:30 p.m. CT at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. They’ll continue the competition the following day against CF Montréal at 9 a.m. CT, before rounding out Group Stage play on Monday, April 1 against Dutch academy AZ Alkmaar at 2 p.m. CT.
U-19 Academy
The oldest members of the Chicago Fire Academy fell to Lou Fusz, 2-1, last Sunday afternoon. Scoring the lone goal for the U-19 Academy was Michael Ramirez.
Next up, the U-19 Academy team heads to Milwaukee, Wisc., to resume MLS NEXT action against Bavarian United FC on Saturday, April 6 at the Bavarian Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 a.m. CT.
