BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (June 9, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC II (5-4-2-0, 17 points) earned a 2-2 draw against New England Revolution II (4-3-4-4, 20 points) Monday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. Defender Jean Alpha Diouf and winger Claudio Cassano each tallied to share the team’s lead in goals scored, while Chicago Fire Academy midfielder Emir Herrera recorded an assist in his MLS NEXT Pro debut.
New England took the initiative from the opening whistle on Sunday afternoon, outshooting the Fire 4-1 within the opening 15 minutes of play. At exactly the quarter-hour mark, midfielder Cristiano Oliveira played a through ball to Gevork Diarbian, who pinched in from the left wing to play a ball across goal that Judah Siqueira finished for the opener. The visitors had little time to enjoy the momentum, however, as a weather delay sent both teams to the locker room in the 21st minute.
Chicago took advantage of the delay, pushing from the restart on Monday morning. After winning a corner kick, Cassano sent a low cross into the box that Trip Fleming deflected into the path of Diouf, who finished cleanly to tie the match three minutes before the first half came to an end.
The visitors retook the lead in the 59th minute. Midfielder Marcos Dias dribbled between the lines and ripped a shot that Fire goalkeeper Patrick Los saved. But the rebound fell to right back Joshua Macedo, who finished for the 2-1 lead. New England would nearly double the lead in the 59th minute after winning a penalty kick. But Los made a diving stop to deny Dias’ effort and keep the deficit to one.
Los’ save would prove massive for Chicago as time wound down. Just 18 minutes into his debut, Herrera recovered a ball before passing to Cassano on the wing, who dribbled through traffic before unleashing a shot that found the upper corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season. The goal would round out the scoring in the match, as the defenses settled in and held their ground through the final whistle.
The Fire won the coin flip and elected to shoot first in the ensuing shootout, which went all the way into the fifth round before New England goalkeeper Max Weinstein made a save. Nearly 22 hours after the match officially kicked off, defender Gabe Dahlin finished it off with a clinching shot that gave the visitors an extra point.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC II will travel to the Piedmont Triad to face Carolina Core FC next Saturday night at Truist Point in High Point, North Carolina. First kick is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The match can be streamed across the globe on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC II 2 (4):2 (5) New England Revolution II
Goals:
NE - Siqueira (1) (Diarbian 2) (WATCH) 15’
CHI - Diouf (4) (Fleming 2) (WATCH) 42’
NE - Macedo (1) (WATCH) 59’
CHI - Cassano (4) (Herrera 1) (WATCH) 78’
Shootout:
Chicago Fire FC: Borso (scored), Boltz (scored), Calle (scored), Cassano (scored), Soudan (saved),
New England Revolution II: Dias (scored), Diarbian (scored), Mussenden (scored), Souza (scored), Dahlin (scored)
Discipline:
CHI - Nagle (Yellow Card) 16’
CHI - Soudan (Yellow Card) 64’
NE - Diarbian (Yellow Card) 90+5’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Los, D Soudan, D Diouf (Pfrommer, 63’), D Konincks (capt.), D Gasper (Kanyane, 63’), M Fleming, M Nagle (Calle, 90’), M Hlyut (Herrera, 60’), F Borso, F Shokalook (Boltz, 60’), F Cassano
Substitutes not used: GK Stechnij, D Oyegunle, D Richards, F Tchetchao
New England Revolution II: GK Weinstein, D Macedo, D Dahlin, D Souza (capt.), D Barry, M Dias, M Mussenden, M Oliveira (Kinner, 89’), F Siqueira (Carlos, 76’), F Tsicoulias (Nichols III, 86’), F Diarbian
Substitutes not used: GK Chapman, D McNish, M Buck, F Prajapati
Stats Summary: CHI / NE
Shots: 11 / 13
Shots on Goal: 5 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 84.3% / 77.4%
Saves: 4 / 3
Corners: 3 / 3
Fouls: 14 / 14
Offsides: 2 / 2
Referee: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
Assistant Referee 1: Fermin Sanchez
Assistant Referee 2: Jared Kuehl
4th Official: Salvador Flores
