Quest Continues: Chicago Fire II 2-0 Forward Madison
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — For the first time in the Fire II’s short history, they prevailed over a professional team in a knockout game, defeating Forward Madison in a chilly, rainy match at SeatGeek Stadium, winning 2-0 in a game where weather played a role the longer the match wore on. The match also marked the first-ever competitive match between MLS Next Pro and USL League 1, respectively the youngest and most established leagues at level three of the American soccer pyramid. As a result, Fire II advance to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup, while Forward Madison’s quest for the cup is over.
Fire II Head Coach Ludovic Taillandier fielded a strong lineup that included Omari Glasgow in his first match back from international duty with the Guyanese national team and skilled players throughout the lineup including Harold Osorio, David Poreba, and Diego Konincks, bolstered by Wyatt Omsberg from the first team alongside nominal first-team players Javier Casas Jr. and Sergio Oregel. Christian Koffi made his second start for the Fire II and his U.S. Open Cup debut.
Forward Madison fielded a squad that mixed normal starters with players that normally start the matches on the bench, retaining just three of the eleven players that started in the team’s previous match against Central Valley Fuego last Friday.
The net result was a battle of youthful talent versus experience, with the average age of Forward Madison’s starting eleven a full five years greater than that of the youthful Fire II lineup.
Youthful energy held early. The Fire II didn’t take long to open their account, as David Poreba finished a cross from Omari Glasgow in the 11th minute. The Fire would continue to have the lion’s share of chances throughout the first half of the match, including a Harold Osorio shot in the 26th minute that shook the woodwork when it ricocheted off the crossbar. Forward Madison did end up with six shots the other way, one more than the Fire II, but none were on target for the visitors.
The early goal would be the only marker of the first half, as both teams eagerly returned to the warmth of the locker rooms as the rain had shifted to snow part way through the half.
The Fire II made their first change at the start of the second half, ending Wyatt Omsberg’s Fire II cameo in favor of Fire II mainstay Billy Hency.
As the half wore on, with snow cascading down and players on both sides having issues keeping their footing on the increasingly slick pitch, Glaeser went to his bench with a trio of substitutions in the 61’, bringing on normal starters in search of the equalizer. Taillandier responded in kind five minutes later, ending Casas’s night in favor of Romain Blake and bringing in Jason Shokalook for Christian Koffi, who had a particularly active game in the midfield for the Fire II.
Slowly, Madison’s subs had their effect, and Forward Madison began to control possession and terms of play. The visitors tested Los multiple times with shots in the last half hour of the game, forcing him to parry the ball out in a dangerous area in the 82’, in Madison’s most dangerous plays up to that moment.
The Fire II would continue to have chances, but largely off counters. In the 84th minute, Billy Hency found himself with space to advance on Forward’s net, electing to hold off and play the ball to David Tchétchao Karo, who had crossed it to a wide-open Jason Shokalook, giving the former Akron Zip a glorious chance on the net that he’d send just wide.
It was not a mistake he would make again, taking a ball advanced in by Lamonth Rochester and sending it into the back of the net from short distance in the 90th minute.
Fire II, two, Forward Madison nil, ending the Wisconsin team's 2024 Cup run.
The Fire II will face a USL Championship side in the third round, scheduled for April 16, and will find their opponent in a draw scheduled for noon Thursday.
