Bridgeview, IL - The Chicago Fire Super-20 team advanced to the final game of the Super-20 League North American Finals tournament in Epping, NH before falling 3-1 to The Players Developmental Academy of Zarephath, NJ on Aug. 5. The Super-20s passed through the group stage while amassing six points to enter the semifinal round where they beat Red Bull New York to earn a spot in the championship game.
The Fire Super-20s received a national at-large bid to the North American Finals tournament after finishing their regular season undefeated with a mark of 5-0-3.
"We didn't have a lot of chemistry going into it because of new players coming in and other players coming off of injuries," said Fire Super-20 defender Chris Schuler. "But we made a run to the championship and did pretty well. It would have been nice to have won the championship, obviously, but at the same time we did get there and a beat couple of MLS [Super-20s] teams."
Led by a hat trick effort from forward Braden Fleak, the Fire Super-20s began the tournament with a 3-2 win over Diablo Valley Soccer Club on Aug. 2, but lost their second game against Beachside SC on the following day, 2-1. With only three points in group play, the Super-20s entered a win-or-go-home situation in their final group match against fellow Major League Soccer developmental club, D.C. United.
The Fire Super-20s defeated United, who only needed a tie to advance, with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, Aug. 4. Fire Super-20 forward Keith Simpson netted the first goal of the match to give the Fire the lead, but United tied the score in the 65th minute. Fleak struck home the game-winning goal in the 74th minute for the Fire victory.
"There is an extra emphasis on those (MLS) games," said Super-20 midfielder Kyle Knotek. "You can tell that their team on the other side is getting the same advantages we are and, with D.C. United, they had a few more years playing together than us. It is really nice to show that we appreciate everything the administration has given to us and that we can play teams that have the same advantages we have and beat them."
The club played its second game of the day against another MLS developmental club, Red Bull New York, in the semifinal match. The Fire Super-20s shutout Red Bull, 1-0, with a goal courtesy of midfielder Alex Jones in the 67th minute.
The Fire Super-20s faced off against The Players Developmental Academy in the final on Sunday, Aug. 5. A score by Schuler in the second half was not enough for the Fire Super-20s to recover from two PDA goals scored at the beginning of each half as the Fire Super-20s lost 3-1 to take home second place.
"We'll probably look back in five years and talk about Saturday, Aug. 4 as being the day that the Chicago Fire player development program arose," said Chicago Fire Premier President John Dorn. "In the first year the Chicago Fire Premier put together a Super-20 team, they make the national championship. That's a pretty good accomplishment and sets the bar for the future."
