Chicago Fire to build first-of-its-kind soccer center in the heart of Chicago The Chicago Fire announced Monday the development of a year-round soccer center that will be built in downtown Chicago. Set to be built at the site of a vacant manufacturing building in the area of Addison Street and Talman Avenue, the 140,000 square-foot soccer center will sit on 4.7 acres of land and include two regulation size soccer fields and an air-supported dome -- the first of its kind within Chicago's city limits, according to Fire officials. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ld-first-its-kind-soccer-center-heart-chicago
Fire to name Mathis as assistant coach Fire coach Frank Yallop is expected to complete his staff this week with the addition of retired midfielder Clint Mathis, a club source confirmed late Monday. The appointment is expected to be announced later this week as the team prepares to gather at Toyota Park for physicals and the official start of the 2014 preseason. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...20_1_frank-yallop-real-salt-lake-clint-mathis
Chicago Fire Defeats Orlando City SC 3-0 in Preseason The Chicago Fire Soccer Club defeated defending USL-PRO champions Orlando City SC 3-0 Tuesday evening at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Harry Shipp, Daniel Jackson and Freddie Braun tallied goals as the Men in Red remain undefeated in three preseason matches. The Fire opened scoring in the 13th minute when Giuseppe Gentile was fouled just outside the Orlando City 18-yard box. Fire Homegrown midfielder Harry Shipp stepped up for the ensuing free kick and bent his right-footed shot around the Orlando City wall and into goal. In the 30th minute, the Men in Red would double their lead when Victor Pineda found guest player Daniel Jackson streaking into the box. As Orlando 'keeper Miguel Gallardo rushed off his line, Jackson took a touch and with a deft chip, lifted the ball over Gallardo and into the open goal. The Fire found the final goal of the match in the 78th minute when Brendan King's right-footed shot banged off the cross bar and fell to Open Tryout winner Freddie Braun, who headed it home for the 3-0 lead. In their Bradenton finale, the Fire face D.C. United on Feb. 12 at 9:00 a.m. CT. The Fire will host 2013 MLS Supporters' Shield winners New York Red Bulls for Opening Day, presented by Giordano's Chicago Pizza, at Toyota Park on Sunday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m. CT. The Men in Red begin their 17th season two weeks prior on the road when they visit Chivas USA at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., on Sunday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. CT. Single game tickets to the Fire's 17 MLS Regular Season home matches and to the July 26 international friendly against Barclay's Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur FC are now available via Ticketmaster and www.Chicago-Fire.com. Press release from the Chicago Fire
Re: Chicago Fire Defeats Orlando City SC 3-0 in Preseason 2014 Chicago Fire Preview: Hoping that Mike Magee has an MVP redux All on his own: Looking very likely that Frank Yallop is going to run this team in a 4-1-4-1 with Jeff Larentowicz as the lone d-mid. Larentowicz is a borderline All-Star every year, but his best days have always come alongside another guy who can do at least 50 percent of the dirty work. And these weren't random destroyers – it was a pair of of Hall-of-Famers in Shalrie Joseph and Pablo Mastroeni. Even last season his brightesst moments came next to Arévalo Ríos, who's now in Mexico and will be playing for Uruguay in this summer's World Cup. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ing-mike-magee-has-mvp-redux-armchair-analyst
Chicago Fire Earns Hard-Fought 1-1 Road Draw The Chicago Fire (0-1-1, 1 point) battled the Portland Timbers (0-0-2, 2 points) to a 1-1 draw at Providence Park in Portland, Ore., on Sunday afternoon. Quincy Amarikwa earned a penalty kick for the Fire that Jeff Larentowicz converted in the 19th minute before Gaston Fernandez equalized for the Timbers in the 79th minute as the two sides split the points. The Fire head now head home to host 2013 MLS Supporters' Shield winners New York Red Bulls for Opening Day at Toyota Park, presented by Giordano's Chicago Pizza, on Sunday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m. CT. Single game tickets to the Fire's 17 MLS Regular Season home matches and to the July 26 international friendly against Barclay's Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur FC are now available via Ticketmaster and www.Chicago-Fire.com. Quotes: Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop Overall thoughts on the match "Well, good to get a point, our first point this season. I thought we played very well in the first half; could have maybe been two-up, but that's soccer. You've got to take your chances, but, in the end, with what happened in the match, getting the red card and being under a lot of pressure at the end, I think we did well to hold onto the point. Had a couple chances real late to maybe win it, so all-in-all happy with the performance of the team and, obviously, not overly pleased we didn't get three points, but it's a start for us. We're building for the future." On the four line-ups changes from last week's match against Chivas USA: "Just wanted to freshen it up. I thought it wasn't good enough last week when we played at Chivas USA. I thought we performed very well today. Harry Shipp had his first game, was great. Benji Joya had a start as well. Matt Watson, who I picked up from Vancouver, had a tremendous game today. I had Quincy Amarikwa up top and I thought Quincy was a real handful all game. He's doing well, he works hard at his game, and those guys did really well today and I was happy." On the team's performance: "The response today was excellent. I thought our character was strong, we didn't buckle, we kept going. That's the sign of a good team, so hopefully that's the sign for us moving forward. We don't really have any natural wingers and I think Portland's strength is down the middle. Once they get themselves dipped inside they're very good in those underneath positions, underneath the back four and [Darlington] Nagbe coming off the line and stuff like that. So tactically we plugged the middle and I think we did a great job of that. Nicking balls and then broke on them a few times. Maybe could have punished them a bit better in the first half, but still our game plan worked. I thought we nullified a lot of the play, especially the first 60 minutes. Again, it was a good performance by us and I'm proud of the guys and proud of the way they handled themselves today." Thoughts on the red card for Nyarko: "To be honest, I'd have to look at it again. But you have to make sure that's worthy of a second yellow. I thought the first one, Nagbe had already played it, why didn't he just play on or give a foul and not a yellow? The second one, it was right in front us. Patrick [Nyarko] was on the other side, so I couldn't really see, but again it's got to be worthy of the foul. I can't really comment until I see it." Fire midfielder Matt Watson On his first start in his first game with the Fire: "It's obviously good to get into the team. Obviously, I've got a lot to learn about how [Chicago] play and things like that. All the guys have been really welcoming since I've been here. We've come to Portland and to get a hard-fought point is good, but it's disappointing we couldn't get three." On Chicago's performance "I think we just need to clean up on small things. You can see the fight is there, things like that. All the basic fundamental things are there, but we need to just maybe relax a little bit on the ball; just play. If we can just take a step back, relax, play, we'll be great this year. We've got some great guys. [Quincy] Amarikwa was fighting for every ball. When you see that, it just inspires you to play and get behind him and push up, things like that. If we clean up on the small things we'll be great." Fire midfielder Harry Shipp On making his debut "It was obviously exciting, especially playing here for 90 minutes in front of a great crowd. It's definitely something I've been working towards my entire life and to finally make the debut is special. I wish, obviously, we would have gotten the three points. Thought we had it at the end in stoppage time, but overall not too bad of a way to start." On Chicago's tactical approach to Portland "We had a lot of changes from the lineup last week, so I think our first and foremost responsibility was getting those good spots defensively. I think Lovel [Palmer] on the right, Gonzalo [Segares] on the left really did a good job talking to the outside mids in terms of cutting off those interior passes because obviously that's what Portland likes to do first is find those guys in the seams. So I think, kind of forcing them wide, we were able to do that and kept them from being extremely dangerous." On Chicago's performance: "Quincy did a great job drawing the penalty kick first. I think we came out confident. We didn't want to be shy. We felt like we didn't come out with as much energy as we would have liked to last week, so we really wanted to change that this week. Then giving up the goal wasn't what we wanted, but I think we responded pretty well. We had a couple good chances after we gave up that goal to actually steal the game and win 2-1. So overall I think we responded pretty well to giving up the goal." Notes: - With the draw, the Fire move to 0-3-2 all-time in matches played against the Timbers. This is the first time the Fire have earned a point in Portland, after previously going 0-2-0 in away matches. - Patrick Ianni, Harry Shipp and Matt Watson made their Fire debuts this afternoon. Shipp and Watson started and played the full 90 minutes while Ianni entered the match in the 67th minute. - With the start, Shipp becomes the first Homegrown Player in Fire history to appear in a MLS match for the club. - Quincy Amarikwa, who drew the penalty kick, earned his first start for the Fire. Amarikwa previously appeared in 15 appearances as a substitute, and has scored four goals in 232 minutes. - Midfielder Patrick Nyarko will miss the Fire's home opener against the New York Red Bulls on March 23 due to the requisite one-game suspension for the red card that he was shown in the 86th minute of today's match. This is Nyarko's first career red card in seven MLS seasons. Press release from the Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire Rally to Earn 2-2 Draw against Philadelphia Union The Chicago Fire (0-1-4, four points) drew the Philadelphia Union (1-1-3, six points) 2-2 Saturday afternoon at Toyota Park. Goals from Mike Magee and Juan Luis Anangono helped the Fire secure points in their fourth consecutive match. T he Fire Reserves will host Marquette University on the Toyota Park Practice Field on Sunday, April 6 at 10:00 a.m. CT. The match is free and open to the public. Next up in League action, the Fire take on the Montreal Impact at Olympic Stadium on Saturday, April 12 at 3:00 p.m. CT (My50/TWCSC Wisconsin/La Ley). The Fire then return home to host the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m. CT on the NBC Sports Network. Tickets for the match are available via www.Chicago-Fire.com and Ticketmaster . Quotes: Frank Yallop, Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer On the response by the team to a tough draw "Obviously very disappointed to not come away with 3 points today, especially going 2-1 down in the game, fighting back to 2-2, and having a penalty kick with no time left; I think it was almost storybook, but it would've been great for us to win the game in that manner. Having said that, for a neutral, great game to watch; you guys are watching it, it's a difficult pitch, we need to sort that out. Other than that, I had a talk with the guys at halftime. I questioned them a little bit about "Did we really want to win? Did we really fancy our chances to come back into this game?' I thought we responded well, I thought we showed heart, and that's all I'm asking for, and we had a chance to win the game. So, disappointed we didn't win it, but all in all, maybe our luck could turn in the next game." On Philadelphia's second goal and set pieces "Well, I think the set-up, to be honest, a very good service, it's set up to do that: you're aiming for the back post, you're getting runners across the goal and goalkeeper. It either bounces and goes in the far post, or someone gets a touch, so it was a great service. We've been really, really poor; and I wouldn't say it's just individual stuff, but really poor on set plays generally, conceding goals. We have to clean that up, and it's something that we've been working on, we've looked a little bit better at it, but it's still something that's hurting us, so we need to address it and keep going. Again, I go back to the last 10 minutes of the game, and we're pushing to try and get something out of it, and I'd like to say I'm proud of the guys, the way they kept going in a difficult match, and didn't lie down and die, didn't accept the tie. We tried to win the match, and you'll be talking to Mike [Magee] later on, he'd love to have that back. Listen, penalty kicks are difficult, it's a precious situation, and sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. I just saw it, and the kid [Philadelphia goalkeeper Zac MacMath] made a great save on it, so, tough." On the issues behind set pieces "Second balls. We talked about it, we've shown them, we've worked on it in training. You can't force us to be like that, but you can make habits out of it, so we'll just keep working on it. We'll address it again on Monday, we'll go over video, we'll go over it in training, we'll talk about being alert when the ball is bouncing about, getting to errors. It's dangerous, it's not always about staying with your guy, it's about heading the ball out, and I think we kind of get a little bit caught with "I've got my fellow, but in the end, you could've helped out and cleared the ball.' So, good service, I thought it was a good service by the fellow [Philadelphia midfielder Leonardo Fernandes], and I think that in the end, we couldn't deal with it; but it was a pretty good goal on their behalf." On the performance by the Fire midfield "I really think, and I'm not blaming the pitch, but we couldn't really get into rhythm, especially in the first half, to play any stuff we wanted to. I went with Matt [Watson] and Jeff [Larentowicz] because I felt the center of that park is strong with Maurice Edu and [Brian] Carroll, so I wanted to match up with them, and I thought Patrick [Nyarko] would be a good matchup for anybody wide...I thought he had a good first half, he's not played for a little bit, and I thought he did well. I thought the matchups were good. Young Harry [Shipp] plays a little bit inside, so I wanted to maybe have a little bit of balance. I thought we played great for 20 minutes, to be honest...we scored a goal early, we could've gotten the second one. All in all, formations are formations. What I will say, is that subs made a difference again, and that's why they're there; like I always say, it's about guys that don't play, or substitutes in the match, to be ready to go, because you are the difference in the match. I thought Dilly [Duka], Juan [Luis Anangono], and Alex made a difference, I think that in the end, it's not just the 11 starters, it's everybody that contributes." On learning more about the team and looking for the right team to field "I think so. We've played preseason games, but in the end, it doesn't really matter, there's nothing on those games. These are the games, four points, that matter. I'm still learning about a lot of players, I'm still learning about the squad. We're unbeaten in four, by the way, so that for me is always a good thing for a coach. We haven't won in five, which is not a good thing, so I try to look positive; we have to look for the next game. I thought we did enough to win this match today; I'm not saying that Philly weren't very good or anything, which they were, but I felt in the end we pushed, we had two really good chances to score late, Mike having both of them, the penalty kick and the left footed shot. I think it would've been a deserved win. We're not far off, we have to keep going and not worry about not winning, because if you start worrying about it, you won't play well; so, it's my job to make sure that they don't worry about it, take the pressure off them and just get them to play, and the wins will come once we get that." Mike Magee, Chicago Fire Forward On what he saw on the penalty kick: "I saw the goalie save it, which was unfortunate, and then I tried to tap it in and it was saved again. Obviously it was more his moment than mine." On his goal: "It's hard to talk about that to be honest. It's good to get the monkey off my back, but the only thing on my mind is not winning. I had a pretty sweet opportunity to be the hero, but it wasn't meant to be I guess." On another draw: "We want to win, and we need to win at home to be a successful team. I hate to lose more than I love to win, which is pretty cliché, but as long as we're not dropping games at home I feel like we're heading in the right direction. Sometimes when you squeak out games you don't deserve to win it's unjust, but tonight we deserved to win and we deserved three points. We're not getting it but I feel like it's going to translate." On the importance of getting the first win: "The first one is the hardest. I feel like the longer you go without winning, your confidence goes down, plays become harder and you over-think everything. Sometimes when you're winning, plays become easy because you don't care if you lose. The first win would have been perfect for us tonight. The stars were aligned for it and it didn't happen." Jeff Larentowicz, Chicago Fire Midfielder On midfield's performance: "It's another example of how we're not getting beat in open play. I think we had a very solid scouting report coming in and I think we did well to shut it down. We gave up some fouls in dangerous places and they scored on restarts." On playing his partnership with Watson: "It's good. Matt's an honest guy, he's going to run all day long and he's been fantastic since he's gotten here. He's playing right back where he's never played before. We put him in the midfield, where he's more natural, and he'll run and cover ground and do all those things. Whatever the coaches decide going forward, it's good, if it's Matt, then great." On what the team needs to do to get a win: "Once we get a lead, we need to hold onto it. I think every game we've tied, we've been ahead and we haven't held on. It's all about having a consistent performance the whole game. In the first half we played well, then we had a lull and gave up goals." On the emotions on how the game ended: "There's no catharsis. We continue to seem like we're there, but we're not. You try and pick a bright side and say we're not losing, we're coming back, we're fighting, the substitutes are making a difference, new guys are coming - there are a lot of positives but in the end there's a hole, there's not a win, there's not three points in the standings. Notes: - With the draw, the Fire move to 4-5-2 all-time against the Union - Fire right back Lovel Palmer returned to the lineup after serving a two-match suspension that was handed down by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for foul in the March 16 match against the Portland Timbers - Reigning MLS MVP Mike Magee opened his 2014 goal scoring account with his strike in the 16th minute Press release from the Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire Earn 1-1 Road Draw against Montreal Impact The Chicago Fire SoccerClub (0-1-5, five points) drew the Montreal Impact (0-3-3, three points) 1-1 Saturday afternoon at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec. The hosts opened scoring in the 43rd minute courtesy of a Jack McInerney strike but Quincy Amarikwa's left-footed volley in the 54th minute helped the Men in Red remain undefeated in five consecutive matches. Next up the Fire return home to host the New England Revolution at Toyota Park on Saturday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network). The match will feature a doubleheader with NWSL's Chicago Red Stars vs. the Western New York Flash at 5:45 p.m. CT. The first 5,000 fans attending the Fire match will be given a special commemorative Fire scarf. All tickets purchased for the Fire vs. Revolution match will also include a complimentary, General Admission ticket for the Red Stars game. Single game tickets for Fire matches are available via Ticketmaster and www.Chicago-Fire.com . The doubleheader will also feature family ties, as Fire forward and reigning MLS MVP Mike Magee will take the field prior to his cousin, Red Stars defender Jackie Santacaterina. Quotes: Frank Yallop, Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer On his side's performance "I thought we played very well the whole game. We really deserved the win, I think, today. Having said that, going a goal down right before halftime is never a good time. My team talk was to keep going. We were going to get chances, get that equalizer and hopefully go on to win the game. I'm very proud of the way we continued playing against a difficult side." On how to get their first win "If we keep playing like that, the wins will come. For me as a coach, I could only ask for effort, play and to create chances. We're getting punished for the odd chance the opposition is getting right now. In our last two games we've played well enough to win both games, but we haven't. So we got to keep going and not worry about it." On the Jack McInerney and Marco Di Vaio partnership "I had a feeling they may do that, with Jack coming into the team and them going for a home win. We were prepared for that. I think both of them run in behind very well. And to be honest, if you look at their goal, they did it well." Forward Mike Magee On the game's outcome "Today was a good result. We've improved as the season has gone on. Today I felt we had a couple of missed opportunities. We were the better team, and you know it's just unfortunate." On his side's confidence heading into the second half a goal down "Obviously you don't want to give up a goal at the end of the half. At halftime, we said to keep doing what we were doing, keep plugging away and don't break our shape. We felt like we were going to get the equalizer and we also felt like we were going to get the winner, but it didn't come." Forward Quincy Amarikwa On scoring the equalizer "We were confident to get everyone in the box as much as possible, just force the issue and pressure until something fell our way. I think Montreal was on their heels most of that sequence up until that goal and I felt it was just a matter of time until one of us put it away." On what is needed to get their first win of the season "A shutout. I mean if we can hold another team to zero goals, we'll win. We're scoring goals every game and that's what you want out of your offense. Collectively as a team, we just need to lock it down and not have any lapses in defense." Notes: - With the draw, the Fire move to 2-1-3 all-time against the Impact, including a 0-1-2 record in matches played on the road. - The Fire remain undefeated in initial meetings against former coaches with a 2-0-1 record, with all matches played on the road. - With three goals in just six matches this year, Fire forward Quincy Amarikwa has matched his previous career-high record for goals scored in a season, which was set after playing 14 games in 2013. Press release from the Chicago Fire
Re: Chicago Fire Earn 1-1 Road Draw against Montreal Impact Rochester Rhinos Claim First Win Of Season Vu, Banks score in 2-0 win against Fire Reserves Monday, April 21, 2014 BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Rochester Rhinos earned their first victory of the season as they took a 2-0 victory against the Chicago Fire Reserves at Toyota Park. Attacking midfielder Minh Vu and forward JC Banks scored a goal in each half to pace the visiting Rhinos. Rookie goalkeeper John McCarthy kept the clean sheet in his first professional appearance. http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/803357.html
Re: Chicago Fire Earn 1-1 Road Draw against Montreal Impact Charlotte Eagles Set To Host Fire Reserves Charlotte took pair of victories in interleague games last season Charlotte Eagles News Release -- www.charlotteeagles.com Thursday, April 24, 2014 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Eagles will face the Chicago Fire Reserves for the third time in league play in two years this Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. The Eagles will get a small change of scenery when they make the short trip to UNC-Charlotte and play at Transamerica Field. The Eagles and Fire last met in the 2013 USL PRO regular season and the match resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Eagles. The Eagles scored two second-half goals with Ben Newnam tallying the game-winner in the 75th minute. The goal for the Fire Reserves came from Quincy Amarikwa and was assisted by Wells Thompson. Thompson was acquired by the Eagles in the offseason and may be returning to the squad after the birth of his son on April 11th. http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/804136.html
Re: Chicago Fire Earn 1-1 Road Draw against Montreal Impact Fire Reserves Rally Past Eagles Anangono scores twice as Chicago takes 3-2 victory Friday, April 25, 2014 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Chicago Fire Reserves rallied from an early two-goal deficit as they defeated the Charlotte Eagles 3-2 on Friday night at Trans America Field at UNC-Charlotte. Juan Luis Anangono had a pair of goals for the Fire Reserves, including the game-winner, after the Eagles took the lead on goals by Zak Boggs and Jorge Herrera. http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/804615.html
Re: Chicago Fire Earn 1-1 Road Draw against Montreal Impact Richmond Kickers Earn Draw Against Fire Reserves Willis' 90th-minute penalty save leaves game scoreless Sunday, May 18, 2014 CHICAGO – A 90th-minute penalty kick save by Richmond Kickers goalkeeper, Joe Willis, preserved a shutout and a scoreless draw against the Chicago Fire Reserves on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park. The draw continued the Kickers six-game undefeated streak in USL PRO as they moved within two points of the LA Galaxy II for second place in the league standings. http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::72013 L3/Display E NDX NDX 810148
Chicago Fire 3, New England Revolution 1 Bastian Schweinsteiger and Nemanja Nikolic combined for all three goals as the Chicago Fire defeated a short-handed New England Revolution side 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Toyota Park. Read more https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...new-england-revolution-0-2017-mls-match-recap
Chicago Fire 4, Seattle Sounders 1 After a contentious first half, the Chicago Fire pulled away in the second half to defeat the Seattle Sounders 4-1 at a sold-out Toyota Park on Saturday night. Read more https://www.mlssoccer.com/schedule
DC United 0, Chicago Fire 1 The Chicago Fire have taken the monkey off their back, as they finally have their first road win of the season. A second-half goal from David Accam gave the Fire a 1-0 triumph over D.C. United at RFK Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Accam scored the decisive tally in the 52nd minute, getting in behind D.C.'s back line and placing a shot past Bill Hamid. Read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-05-20-dc-united-vs-chicago-fire/recap
Orlando City SC 0, Chicago Fire 0 The Chicago Fire were presented with a golden opportunity to win their fifth straight match on Sunday night, as referee Ted Unkel produced straight red cards to two Orlando City SC players. But the visiting Fire were strangely complacent and had to walk away from Orlando City Stadium with just a point, as Will Johnson led a defiant resistance effort that earned the Lions a hard-won draw. Read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-06-04-orlando-city-sc-vs-chicago-fire/recap
Chicago Fire 2, Atlanta United 0 There is no stopping the Chicago Fire right now. Just ask Atlanta United. The Fire used goals from Luis Solignac and Nemanja Nikolic on each side of halftime to post a 2-0 victory over Atlanta United on Saturday. Solignac scored in the 29th minute at Toyota Park following some good work from David Accam, and Nikolic scored his league-best 12th goal on a penalty kick in the 70th. read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-06-10-chicago-fire-vs-atlanta-united-fc/recap
New England Revolution 1, Chicago Fire 2 The Chicago Fire handed the New England Revolution their first loss at Gillette Stadium in 2017 on Saturday to the tune of a 2-1 tightly contested victory. read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...ew-england-revolution-vs-chicago-fire/preview
