Chicago City Wire

The Chicago Fire Academy recorded a 6-2-0 record in their third week of regular season action in MLS NEXT play. The three youngest Academy teams went undefeated, while the U-18 and U-16 squads each had one victory and one loss.

In the U-13 category, the team secured a 2-0 win against Minnesota United FC on Saturday, Sept. 21 at King Louie’s Sports Complex in Louisville, Ky. Griffin Brill scored first with an assist from Matthew Preddie, followed by an insurance goal from Leandre Beckford assisted by Gavin Hersh.

The U-14 team also played Javanon FC in Kentucky and achieved a 2-0 victory. Owen Fried and Graham Dixon scored the goals for this match.

The U-15 Academy had two road matches over the weekend. They started with a 3-1 win against Minnesota United FC Academy on Saturday. Henry Garcia scored twice, and Nathan Panduro added another goal. Caleb Aleman and Lukas Garasic provided assists. On Sunday, they defeated Shattuck-St. Mary’s with a 4-0 clean sheet. Finn McCraney scored twice, while George Valenti and Miguel Campos added to the tally.

At the U-16 level, Chicago Fire Academy lost 3-0 to Minnesota United FC on Saturday but rebounded with a 4-1 win over Shattuck-St. Mary’s on Sunday. Akiva Lieberman, Leon Smars, Nolan Weiss, and Robert Turdean each scored in this match, with assists from Joao Piretti, Emiliano Chavez, and Tomas Cortes.

The U-18 team split their weekend games with a 3-2 win over Minnesota United FC on Saturday and a 2-1 loss to Shattuck-St. Mary’s on Sunday. Daven Arias, Kruz Held, and Owen Sloan scored in the victory against Minnesota United FC; Sloan also scored in the loss to Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

Next weekend all Academy teams will play at home at Endeavor Health Performance Center. The U-13, U-14, and U-15 teams will face Midwest United FC; meanwhile, the U-16 and U-18 teams will compete against FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew.

Upcoming matches include:

Saturday, Sept. 28

U-18 vs Columbus Crew at 10 a.m.

U-16 vs Columbus Crew at 12 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 29

U-18 vs FC Cincinnati at 10 a.m.

U-16 vs FC Cincinnati at 12 p.m.

U-15 vs Midwest United FC at 10 a.m.

U-14 vs Midwest United FC at 12 p.m.

U-13 vs Midwest United FC at 2 p.m.

Chicago Fire Communications - @ChicagoFire