October 11, 2012
DRAWING THE WEEKEND
Fire Academy teams post 1-1 ties

The Chicago Fire U-18 and U-16 Academy squads posted 1-1 draws against regional rivals Sockers FC Saturday afternoon on the Nike Park Turf Field in Naperville, Ill.

The Fire U-18s kicked off first Saturday, Oct. 6 against the Sockers. Jeffrey Farina found the first goal of the match and put the Fire up 1-0 in the 30th minute. The Fire were able to hold the Sockers off until the 94th minute when Simon Megally found the late equalizer for the home side, ending the match 1-1.

Farina’s goal in the 30th minute of Saturday’s match marked his eighth goal of the season. Farina has scored in all of the U-18s matches this year, tallying more than half of the team’s 14 total goals.

In the second match of the day, Luca Giovine put the Fire U-16s up 1-0 in the 33rd minute but the Sockers were again able to equalize behind John Freitag’s goal in the 66th minute as the match ended 1-1.

Both teams remain undefeated. The U-18s (3-0-1) sit in first place of the Mid-America Division of the Central Conference. The U-16s (1-0-3) currently sit in sixth place in the Mid-America Division of the Central Conference.

The Chicago Fire Developmental Academy teams return to action when the U-18 and U-16 teams travel to Faribault, Minn. to take on Shattuck-Saint Mary’s Soccer Academy at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School on Saturday, Oct. 13. The following day the U-18 and U-16 teams take on Minnesota Thunder Academy at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn.

The Chicago Fire U-10, U-11 and U-12 Academy teams took part in the Crew Fall Classic over the weekend. All three teams, playing in older age brackets, reached the finals on Sunday, Oct. 7.

The U-10s reached the final match of the U-11 Flight A bracket and posted a decisive 7-2 win over the Crew Juniors Gold East.

The U-11s reached the final match of the U-12 Flight A bracket but fell 2-1 to Carmel United SC Indiana Fire.

The U-12s reached the final match of the U-13 bracket, defeating Crew Juniors Gold II by a score of 2-1.