Fire Wire - 5/19

In today’s Fire Wire, Jeff Crandall looks at the young talent that had a weekend of firsts, Orrin Schwartz takes a closer look at midfielder Corben Bone, and Travis Clark breaks down the Chicago Fire Academy program’s expansion.
The Fire travel to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Union, coached by the Fire’s first-ever captain Peter Nowak. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. CT on Galavision.
It was a weekend of firsts for some of the Chicago Fire youngin’s. Nineteen-year-old Orr Barouch drew a free kick on which Marco Pappa netted the Fire’s first goal, and tallied his first goal in a Fire uniform later in the match. Corben Bone also had a breakout performance in Toronto, earning his first assist for the Fire. And nearly 4,000 miles away in California, rookie Davis Paul tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Somerlyn.  Chicago-Fire.com’s Jeff Crandall has the full story.
The praise keeps rolling in for Corben Bone who, as Orrin Schwarz of the Daily Herald puts it, may have quickly become “the most important player on the Fire roster.” Schwarz notes how the Fire were in desperate need of Bone’s ability to “keep possession when necessary, start the attack, make the incisive pass that puts a teammate through for a good scoring chance, and maybe even score a few goals himself.” Read the entirety of Schwarz story at DailyHerald.com.
As a result of MLS’s rapid growth, club-run youth initiatives are expanding, and the Chicago Fire Academy program is following suit. At the moment, the Fire have several affiliates spread across the country, in addition to its two youth teams competing in the USSF Development Academy League at the U-16 and U-18 level. And they are still looking to expand. This expansion will increase not only the quality of Chicago’s youth program but also the presence of the Fire Academy at the Toyota Park facilities by adding six new teams to the mix.  Travis Clark has the full breakdown at MLSsoccer.com.