BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (March 15, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC II (1-1-1-1, 5 points) opened the home portion of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro regular season with a 2-1 win against Chattanooga FC (1-1-0-0, 3 points) Sunday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill.
Last year’s MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot winner, forward Jason Shokalook, opened the scoring in his first appearance of the season. The 2024 award winner, midfielder David Poreba, tallied the game-winner in the second half. With the victory, Chicago moved up to seventh place in the Eastern Conference at the conclusion of the match.
After a couple near misses, the hosts opened the scoring through the 2025 Golden Boot winner. Defender Dylan Borso carried the ball up the right flank before sending a perfectly-weighted cross into the box, where Shokalook headed the ball past Chattanooga goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović.
The visitors pulled one back by way of Chattanooga captain Alex McGrath in the 50th minute but Chicago responded 10 minutes later. After moving it up field with a successful passing sequence, the ball fell to Borso on the right. The defender once again sent a cross into the box, where Poreba was waiting to head the ball toward the right post. Jakupović dove to his left and was able to get a touch on it, but it wasn’t enough to prevent it from going into the back of the net.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC II will play host to Carolina Core FC on Sunday, March 22. Kickoff at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview is set for 3 p.m. CT, with admission and parking free for all fans. The match can be streamed across the globe on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC II 2:1 Chattanooga FC
Goals:
CHI - Shokalook (1) (Borso 2) (WATCH) 10’
CFC - McGrath (2) (WATCH) 50’
CHI - Poreba (1) (Borso 3) (WATCH) 61’
Discipline:
CFC - Koehler (Caution) 16’
CFC - Sorenson (Caution) 27’
CHI - Damian (Caution) 73’
CFC - Jones (Caution) 78’
CHI - Turdean (Caution) 89’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Pratt, Borso (Berg, 81’), D Sandmeyer, D Cupps, D Radojević (Pfrommer, 70’), M Oregel Jr. (Nagle, 83’), M Fleming (capt.), M Poreba (Hlyut, 76’), F Damian, F Shokalook, F Dithejane (Turdean, 77’)
Substitutes not used: GK Molenda, M Clark, F Boltz, F Diawara
Head Coach: Mike Matkovich
Chattanooga FC: GK Jakupović, D Tcheuyap, D Sar-Sar, D Koehler (Ortiz, 74’), D Sorenson (Barker John, 86’), M Robertson, M McGrath (capt.) (Ancelin, 74’), M Jones, F Garcia, F Krehl (Sid Mohand, 80’), F Mangarov (Gordon, 46’)
Substitutes not used: GK Huff, Hanchard
Interim Head Coach: Richard Dixon
Stats Summary: CHI / CFC
Shots: 17/12
Shots on Goal: 2/4
Passing Accuracy: 86.2% / 82.2%
Saves: 2/0
Corners: 11/6
Fouls: 13/13
Offsides: 1/0
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Referee: Atahan Yaya
Assistant Referee 1: Fermin Sanchez
Assistant Referee 2: Audra Fullen
Fourth Official: Alex Beehler
