CHICAGO - The Chicago Fire Reserves (4-2-2 14 pts.) once again mirrored their first-team counterparts, defeating the New England Revolution (3-2-1 10 pts.) in MLS Reserve Division action at the grounds of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Play was controlled and exact in Chicago's mid-morning heat, each team playing a strong, ground-passing game that stressed possession to avoid running.
It was Chicago showing the majority of possession throughout the game, but New England looked strong throughout and proved to be dangerous immediately, as they drew first blood with a quick counter-attack in the 2nd minute that produced a goal from midfielder Luke Vercollone. Fire midfielder Will John brought home the equalizer in the 32nd minute, counting for his third of the 2005 Reserve campaign. In the 51st minute the Fire would get a beauty of an insurance goal from Canadian U-20 forward Will Johnson, and Fire midfielder Andy Rosenband put the game away in the 57th minute with a stunner of a goal as the hour mark closed in.
The game proved to be a good one from the start, as the Revolution put the first tally on the board in the 2nd minute. The well-played counter-attack started when former Fire midfielder Ian Pilarski sent in a long cross to Revolution midfielder Easton Wilson. Vercollone took Wilson's nodded pass and ripped a shot past a diving David Mahoney in the Fire net to take the lead. Two minutes later Chicago would have an opportunity of its own, as Fire midfielder Kenneth Robinson sent a lofted through ball into the box for forward Andy Herron, whose opposite-angle shot from 15 yards rolled just wide of the left post.
Fire forward Chad Barrett would make his presence known in the 10th minute, as he scorched a shot from 23 yards out, his attempt going into the side netting. Will Johnson would follow up four minutes later for Chicago with a try of his own, shaking off three defenders to send a ball high over the crossbar.
In the 32nd minute the Fire Reserves climbed back into the game, equalizing to 1-1 thanks in part to a marvelous pass from Will Johnson in traffic that found a sprinting Herron. Herron made a quick and clever dish to his right for an oncoming Will John, who struck the ball over the head of New England goalkeeper Doug Warren for the Fire's first goal. Four minutes later Barrett would have a go from 10 yards out that surprised Warren into parrying it away to safety.
New England has their final chance on goal of the half on a corner kick attempt in the 40th minute. The solid service met with a strong header by New England midfielder Conally Edozian, but his try fell right into Mahoney's hands. Things would get worse for the Revolution five minutes later when Warren took out Herron as he came out of his box to get rid of an errant clearance just outside the 18-yard box, a play that earned the goalkeeper a yellow card caution. The Fire Reserves would have their last chance on goal in the 45+ minute, as a long-range Barrett effort from 23 yards out forced Warren into a fingertip save over the crossbar.
Both teams decided to keep the same lineups for the second half, but it became clear soon enough that Chicago was winning a majority of possession, just as in the first 45 minutes, which it oftentimes enjoyed in New England's own half. Rosenband started off the Chicago attack in the 49th minute with a looping, bouncing cross near the six-yard box. Barrett was able to strike the ball first-time, but the ball skipped wide of the left post. A minute later it was a Herron through-ball that freed Barrett yet again, whose miss-timed strike awkwardly deflected off the feet of the New England 'keeper. Next time the Fire would cash in, with the ever-active Barrett providing for Johnson, who received a pass and curled in a deft shot just inside the right post to bring the score to 2-1 Fire Reserves.
This brought change in the ranks, with New England using all three substitutions available at once. The line change saw the entrance of TJ Tomasso to go between the pipes, with Steve Reuter and Tim Garry coming in to provide an offensive spark. The move did prove to bring a change of style to the play, with New England and Chicago opting to air out the ball more on the attack and pick up the pace. Persistence would pay off for the Fire Reserves in the 57th minute, as Herron slotted a diagonal pass to Rosenband in the penalty area. The former Ohio State midfielder had to catch up to the pass, but when he did he struck a shot from a tough angle that squeezed into the goal and doubled Chicago's advantage.
The match would see its second and final yellow card caution given out to Fire defender Fred DeGand in the 82nd minute for his reckless challenge on New England's most recent acquisition, midfielder Gilberto Flores. Flores' ensuing freekick gave the Revolution their last quality chance on goal, as his blistering, curling ball forced a spectacular save out of Mahoney.
The Fire Reserves have not lost since they coincidentally last met the New England Reserves on May 8 in Foxboro, today's result pushing the team's unbeaten streak to three games. The "Men in Red" now stand tied for second place with the San Jose Earthquakes in the 12-team, single-table Reserve Division standings, and the Fire Reserves will gun for the top spot in their next contest, a tilt against Division leaders D.C. United (5-2-0, 15 pts.) on Aug. 7 in Chicago.
Scoring Summary:
NE - Luke Vercollone 2 (Ian Pilarski 1, Easton Wilson 3) 2
CHI - Will John 3 (Andy Herron 1, Will Johnson 3) 32
CHI - Will Johnson 3 (Chad Barrett 2) 52
CHI - Andy Rosenband 1 (Andy Herron 2) 57
Chicago Fire Reserves (3-4-3) - David Mahoney, Jack Stewart, Fred DeGand, Ryan Futagaki, Will John (Adam Jones 86), Jared Montz, Kenneth Robinson, Andy Rosenband, Chad Barrett (Hemir Niebles 65), Andy Herron (Shawn Reti 65), Will Johnson.
Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Richey
New England Revolution Reserves (4-4-2) - Doug Warren (TJ Tomasso 57), Steve Jedlinski, Greg Lalas, Jeff Larentowicz, Marcus Romaniero, Easton Wilson, Gilberto Flores, Conally Edozian (Steve Reuter 57), Luke Vercollone (Tim Garry 57), Jamie Holmes, Ian Pilarski.
Substitutes Not Used: None.
Misconduct Summary:
NE - Doug Warren (Caution, Reckless Foul) 45
NE - Fred DeGand (Caution, Reckless Foul) 82
Referee: Jose Gesundheit
Referee's Assistants: Khalaf Al-Latayfeh, Mike Jacobs
4th Official: Tim Deters
Attendance: 100
Weather: Sunny, 83 degrees
