Fire Youngsters Want to Write New Playoff History

The Chicago Fire have broken their eight-year playoff drought and will finally return to postseason action tonight against Orlando City. It comes in a season in which homegrown players have played a far bigger role than ever before in club history, and in which products of the Fire's academy are shining at all levels like never before.

Throughout 2025, the headlines have often gone to Chris Brady and Brian Gutiérrez, considered the Fire's top two young players for each of the last three seasons. Mauricio Pineda had a number of solid outings and Sergio Oregel came out of nowhere to play a major role, while Christopher Cupps exceeded expectations in his limited appearances at center back. The biggest moment, however, fell to 21-year-old Justin Reynolds, who scored the game-winning goal against Inter Miami to clinch a playoff spot for the Fire, all while appearing off the bench in his first MLS game since April.

"With some of the results, I'm a little bit more proud of the goal because it was the guarantee that we would get into the playoffs," Reynolds told MIR97 Media on the eve of Wild Card matchday. "I almost want to move past it, which is odd because it was such a big moment, but I don't want to dwell on it and have it be my trademark thing. I want to achieve more and hopefully help the team achieve more."

"Every year has felt like, this is the year we get back to the playoffs," Reynolds added, reflecting on his three seasons with the team. "To finally get back there is so nice. I feel like we can win the whole thing. There's no team that I don't think we can't beat."

Living Memory

It's been so long since the Fire have been relevant in the MLS postseason that Reynolds doesn't even remember the team's last playoff win. He was five years old when a late Cuauhtémoc Blanco goal sent the Fire through to the Eastern Conference final with a comeback win over the New England Revolution in 2009. He was 13 when they finished third in the entire league, only to be dumped out in the first round by the New York Red Bulls in 2017.

Reynolds was not the only academy player at that time to attend the match. Practically the entire academy, including many of his teammates from within his age group, went to Toyota Park to support the Fire against the Red Bulls, and watched on as they were thumped 4-0 against an underdog New York team coached by Jesse Marsch.

"I remember, when we were going in, everyone was so excited," Reynolds said. "All the fans were excited because it was a big game. We hadn't been (in the playoffs) in a minute. Schweinsteiger wasn't playing, and that was disappointing, but I remember the energy being so alive at Bridgeview. We were all hyped up. Obviously, it was a disappointing result, but it was like, we're a legit team at least. We made the playoffs."

Alongside Reynolds was Chris Brady, who at the time was also 13 and had just joined the club a few months earlier. The Fire's reliable #1 is the first goalkeeper since Sean Johnson to start consecutive seasons as the starter, and certainly the first since Johnson to start three in a row. Similarly to the others around him, the experience of a playoff games, despite how it went, served as a motivation as he embarked upon his professional career just a little over two years later.

"I think that game did not go how we had planned, and I think for guys who have been here since then and remember that result, I think it's an opportunity for us to flip the script a little bit," Brady said. "I feel the energy is a lot different around this team than it was back in 2017. And I feel like everything's a little more positive, and guys are flying right now. So, I think that'll impact the result of this game, the outcome of this game. And I think, yeah, I mean, for those of us who have been here long enough to remember that, I think we definitely want to make sure that something like that doesn't happen. But again, we're not looking back too much. We're looking forward."

Playoff Links

Another player who was there in 2017 and is still around the Fire organization today was Chase Nagle, the 17-year-old academy talent who has established himself as a second team regular this year. At nine years old, Nagle walked out onto the Toyota Park pitch alongside Matt Polster, who was the Fire's starting right back that season.

"It was my second time doing it, and it was playoffs, so it was fire," Nagle said. "There were a lot of expectations for them to do well. So it was really exciting, and I got to see some of my (Fire Juniors) teammates. There were a lot of fans and a good atmosphere I would say."

Nagle isn't going to be playing with the first team this season. He's an unsigned academy player, but still features heavily for Chicago Fire II. This year, he has fully converted to being a central midfielder (after spending most of his life as a center back) and has been arguably the most underrated player for the second team as they achieved playoff qualification for a third successive season. Now, they're on to the Eastern Conference semifinals, which will be played this Sunday.

The Fire's second team has undergone many changes since the start of 2025, so much so that the team is practically unrecognizable to the one that started the season. Nagle has been a constant presence despite that and went 90 solid minutes in the 1-0 first round win over New England Revolution II. This taste of MLS Next Pro playoff action, combined with the lasting memory of playing a minor role in an MLS postseason spectacle many years ago, further motivates him to push on and put himself in a position to be on the field in such games in the future.

"It's very inspiring," Nagle said. "I think the Gregg era has been amazing to see. Even in just the last year, the changes that have been made, the environment, you can just feel there's a change. The players they're going after, there's just such a good vibe, and now they've accomplished their goal of playoffs, and they could go all the way."

"He's also helped so much with the second team to replicate that. It's amazing and such a great atmosphere to be a part of, so I'm just really happy about that."

Read more:

https://meninred97.com/justin-reynolds-becomes-chicagos-unlikely-playoff-hero/