The Chicago Fire Player Development teams had busy and successful weeks with a lot of travel. The Fire PDL team just finished a tiring schedule of four matches in six days and posts a record of 5-1-4. The Super-20 team has not played any recent games but is ready to resume play this week. The Fire Academy U-16 team begins play in the National Playoffs this Friday, June 26th in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the U-18 team finished league play after three matches in Colorado last week. The Fire Juniors finished regional play in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the U-17 team making it in the finals to eventually fall to Javanon SC from Kentucky in penalty kicks.
CHICAGO FIRE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
** Sites/times subject to change. Please call 708.496.6725 or 6726 to confirm training schedule. All times Central.
Friday, June 26
• Fire Academy vs. Westchester SC @ 9:00 AM - Greensboro, NC
• Super-20 vs. Cincinnati @ 6:30 PM - Moraine Valley College
Saturday, June 27
• Fire Academy vs. IMG Soccer Academy @ 11:00 AM - Greensboro, NC
Monday, June 29
• Fire Academy vs. New York Red Bulls @ 11:00 AM - Greensboro, NC
Wednesday, July 1
• Fire PDL vs. Michigan Bucks @ 6:00 PM - Toyota Park Training Field
FIRE PDL PLAYER BARRY RICE NAMED TO PDL TEAM OF THE WEEK
The Fire PDL team finished their grueling fourth match in six days with a 2-2 draw against the Indiana Invaders on June 18th at Toyota Park. Ryan Gracia (George Mason University) and Freddie Braun (University of Louisville) both scored goals for the team, and Gracia also had the assist for Braun's goal. The PDL's record currently stands at 5-1-4. Barry Rice (University of Kentucky) was named to the PDL Team of the Week. The Fire PDL team has two games in the upcoming week, one in Indiana on June 26th and one at Toyota Park on July 1st.
FOUR FIRE PDL ALUMS ARE ON U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
It is interesting to note that four members of the U.S. Men's National Team, who have also been featured in the FIFA Confederations Cup, are Fire PDL alumni. The players include Fire defensive alumni Jay DeMerit (Fire PDL team from 2002-02), Jonathan Spector (2001), goalkeeper Brad Guzan (2004-05), and Ricardo Clark (2002). The Confederations Cup serves as a preliminary step before the World Cup next summer in South Africa.
SUPER-20 TEAM RESUMES PLAY THIS WEEK
The Super-20 team have not had recent games, but they look forward to resume play this Friday, June 26th versus Cincinnati at 6:30 PM at Moraine Valley College.
FIRE ACADEMY U-16 TEAM BEGINS NATIONAL PLAYOFFS
The Fire Academy U-16 team qualified for the National Playoffs with two ties and one win, bringing their overall record to 18-4-8. Wojciech Wojcik scored three goals in the three games and Manny Guzman helped out the team with two goals. Goalkeepers Charlie Lyon and Jack Turanchik split duties in the 3-0 shutout in their match against the Colorado Rapids. The U-16 team begins National Playoffs Friday, June 26th and will play three games total through Monday, June 29th in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Fire Academy U-18 team finished league play with one loss, one tie, and one win in their games in Colorado last week and finished their Academy season with an overall record of 15-5-10. Andy Huftalin and Ben Beaver paced the Fire attack with two goals and an assist each over the three games. The team dealt with its share of adversity as a flu bug passed trough the team, infecting no less that six players, including goalkeeper Jordan Maman, who had to fly home early.
Fifteen Fire Academy players from both the U-16 and U-18 teams were selected to train as Region 2 All-Stars in a camp conducted June 18-19 in Schaumburg, Illinois by U.S. Soccer Technical Staff. The U-16 players include: Manny Guzman, Patrick Doody, Victor Pineda, Chris Prince, Luis Medina, Charlie Lyon, Trevor Wheeler and Keegan Balle. The U-18 players include: Ian Christianson, Marco Gutierrez, Kyle McCrudden, Chris Ritter, Danny O'Leary, Bryan Ciesulka and Brett Petricek.
FIRE JUNIORS TEAMS COMPLETE REGIONAL PLAY
The four Fire Juniors regional qualifying teams just completed play yesterday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The U-15 team finished with a record of 1-1-1, including a 1-1 draw against the defending national champions, the Columbus Crew Juniors. The U-16 team went 1-2-0 and the U-19 team finished with a record of 2-1-0. The U-17 team went 2-0-1 in group play and defeated the Kansas City Wizards by a score of 1-0 in the semi-finals. They went on to lose in a heartbreaking final in penalty kicks to Javanon SC from Kentucky.
For more information about Chicago Fire Player Development, visit the team's official website at www.chicago-fire.com.
