Los, Stechnij Bid Farewell to Chicago Fire Journey

For the last six years, Patrick Los and Patryk Stechnij have been inseparable at the Chicago Fire. Throughout their entire journey in the Fire Academy, the two Chicago-area, Polish-American goalkeepers born in 2007 have followed the same intertwined path, which will come to an end as they bid farewell to the organization this week.

The Fire Academy has produced no shortage of goalkeepers over the years, and the Los-Stechnij double act is among the latest in a growing line. But unlike other duos such as Chris Brady and Gaga Slonina a few years prior, their relationship is much more than a positional scrap.

“We were always best friends,” Los told MIR97 Media last week in an exclusive interview. “We always trained together, so we grew a connection there and there since then we’ve been best buds.”

“We always had a healthy relationship,” Stechnij added. “We always push each other, make sure if I’m not playing that he’s ready for the game, or the opposite. Sometimes we joke around with each other and it’s all love.”

Intertwined Paths

Before Los and Stechnij became teammates at the Fire, they faced off several times in pre-academy matches. The first time they crossed paths came in a State Cup match between Los’ Fire team and Stechnij’s Chicago Magic team when they were about 10 years old.

Stechnij’s team won the first meeting 4-0, but it was the first of many encounters. While at different Fire pre-academy teams, they faced on numerous times, though by 2019 they were on the same team.

They also both trained with My Keeper Academy and goalkeeping coach Igor Dimov, who’s now on the staff at Fire II. By 2023, both were regularly in the fold for the second team, and Los became the starter in 2024, beating out sixth overall SuperDraft selection Bryan Dowd.

“It was supposed to be Dowd playing, but he got hurt in preseason and I know I had to prove myself,” Los said. “I had to show what I can do and when the first game came around, I played, I did well, Ludo (Taillandier) liked me and he kept running with me. I just put my head down, kept working, and it helped me.”

Los has played every minute of MLS Next Pro up to this point and has been a revelation in that league, despite his unorthodox 5’10 frame for a goalkeeper. While Stechnij has only appeared twice professionally (and his lone start coming in a playoff game last fall), he has quietly established himself as a top keeper at the academy level, including an impressive GA Cup this year.

“For me, a game’s a game whether it’s with the 18s or with the second team,” Stechnij said. “I was really happy to go to GA Cup this year, get good minutes, and prove myself. I was really happy we got that result against (two-time reigning champion) Philly, so I’m proud of what our team did in that tournament.”

National Lens

MLS Next Pro is far from the biggest stage, and attendances in the triple digits are considered pretty good for Fire II. So, when the team’s two young goalkeepers were getting a moment in the national U.S. Soccer spotlight this month, it was a pleasant but unexpected surprise.

At the beginning of June, the U.S. Men’s National Team opened their summer program with a brief five-day training camp in Chicago. Naturally, they trained at the Fire’s new state-of-the-art facility, and despite four top goalkeepers being on the roster at that time, both Los and Stechnij were invited to train alongside them for the duration of the camp. The goalkeeping group included U.S. World Cup #1 Matt Turner, Champions League finalist Zack Steffen, Gold Cup starter Matt Freese, and Fire keeper Chris Brady.

“I honestly thought it was a joke,” Los said of the moment he found out he would train with the USMNT. “I thought they were messing with me, but then I realized it was serious… I’m actually training with the national team. It was unreal, I was so excited to go train and show ourselves.”

“Mauricio Pochettino and his staff reated us really well,” Stechnij added. “The brought us in with all the other guys: Turner, Steffen, Freese, Brady, and they also brought us in. They’re really positive and very good to us, so we’d like to thank them.”

The two left so much of an impact on Pochettino, in fact, that the Argentine reportedly told them that if the U.S. reached the Gold Cup final in July, he would fly both of them out to Houston to watch. Though it took a winding road, they eventually did make it to the final, facing Mexico in front of a full house.

Sure enough, Pochettino stuck to his promise, and both Chicago keepers made their ways down to Texas last weekend.

“Igor (Dimov) called me and told me because I was supposed to train here,” Stechnij said. “But then he called and I was really excited to go there. It was an unforgettable experience for sure.”

“(Fire II Coach Mike Matkovich) told me after the Chattanooga game in the locker room,” Los said. “I was like, ‘he actually kept his promise!’ and I was so happy to go. It was very nice of them.”

The U.S. ultimately lost out to Mexico 2-1 in a tight game that they certainly should have won, but despite the gut-wrenching outcome, it doesn’t take away from the special chance the two keepers got to be around such a high-level team. They also had a unique opportunity to perform in front of Pochettino, who said he’ll continue to follow their development.

“He said he’ll keep an eye on us,” Stechnij said. “If we keep working hard, you never know… hopefully one day we’ll be playing for him on the national team. Thar’s the final goal for us.”

College Bound

Sunday’s game against New England Revolution II will be the final hurrah for both keepers in Chicago colors, at least for now. They’re both 18 this year and are set to report for college preseasons next week.

However, neither is going too far from home. Los is joining Michigan, where he’ll play alongside a handful of former Fire Academy players, including Mitar Mitrović, Nick Nobles, and Michael Ramírez; Stechnij is heading to Wisconsin, a school that has produced four current Fire players in Tom Barlow, Chris Mueller, Dean Boltz, and Trip Fleming. Both schools have ambitious Big Ten soccer teams, and both are looking to build on underperforming seasons in 2024.

“Last year they started very well, they were top five in the country, but then they started to lose at the end of the season,” Stechnij said of Wisconsin. “Now there’s a lot of new guys and I’m hoping to bring as much as I can to the team and win the starting job. I’m going there with a positive mentality and hopefully play as many games as I can and do well.”

It’s a similar story with Michigan, who are gunning for a national title after bringing in an excellent recruiting class this summer.

“Winning a title is expectation,” Los said. “You come in to compete for the spot and try to build the best team so we can win a championship.”

As fellow Big Ten school, Wisconsin and Michigan are due to face off this fall. It will come on Halloween, October 31st, and will be the first official meeting between the two longtime teammates since they were very young. Now much more mature 18-year-olds, they will lead their teams in what is set to be an exciting conference match.

“It’s going to be great,” Los said. “It’s going to feel kind of weird because for the first time since we were like eight years old we’ll be on different teams. Obviously, I’m going to try to keep a clean sheet, but it’s going to be a good game.”

“Hopefully, both of us play and the better team wins,” Stechnij said.

“Or we draw, and we both get a clean sheet,” Los added. “What else can we ask for?”