Shokalook, Cassano dominant in 9-2 Fire II win

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — At kickoff, there was no indication that the Sunday afternoon Chicago Fire II-New York Red Bulls II would be a record-breaking occasion. But 90 minutes of play later, the match was already written into MLS Next Pro’s history books.

Fire II emerged as 9-2 victors – certainly the most staggering result in club history. It was a brutal night for Red Bull’s Michael Bradley in the sixth match of his head coaching career, but a dream one for the whole Fire II group, who were dominant from start to finish.

No team has ever scored more than nine goals in a game in MLS Next Pro, and with the previous high being ten goals, the combined 11-goal tally set an MLS Next Pro league record.

Shokalook hits four

Coming into 2025 it seemed Jason Shokalook would just be a backup striker for Fire II, with Dean Boltz poised to get most of the minutes up front. Instead, last year’s second-round SuperDraft pick has made himself an integral figure and leads the team in goals.

Yesterday, he had his finest moment yet for the second team, scoring a hat trick in 20 minutes before adding an assist and a fourth goal early in the second half. It was a near-perfect performance for the 22-year-old, who’s playing by far the best soccer of his career right now.

“It’s super special,” Shokalook said postgame. “As I said to the guys, I think it’s not all about me because I got great service from them. We all worked very hard and this is how these things happen with collective effort.”

Shokalook added to five of the nine goals, but it’s not the first time this season he’s contributed to a thrashing of that sort. In June, he made his lone career MLS appearance to date, and notched an assist to Brian Gutiérrez in the dying moments to extend that lead to 7-1 over D.C. United. Despite coming on when the game was already far out of reach for D.C., he made the most of his opportunity and has continued to perform with the second team.

With ten games to play, Shokalook is actually in the MLS Next Pro Golden Boot race. He’s third in the standings right now, with FC Dallas’ Sam Sarver leading the way with 14 goals. Shokalook currently has 11.

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Dowd debut at last

Bryan Dowd had to wait 555 days after he was drafted to appear in Chicago Fire colors for the first time. He was injured early in preseason in 2024 for his rookie season, and missed out on the starting job to then-16-year-old Patrick Los in MLS Next Pro.

But now, Los is gone, as he kicked off preseason at the University of Michigan last week. Fire II Head Coach Mike Matkovich said that the goalkeeping position was now “Dowd’s to lose,” though he handed David Molenda a start in last week’s road game, where he registered 13 saves. As the team returned home, however, Dowd finally got his shot and went 90 minutes against Red Bull II for his long-awaited debut.

“I’m super grateful right now just to be able to wear this jersey,” Dowd said. “It means everything to me. I’ve honestly been thinking about this since I first joined the academy in fifth grade, so to be in this moment I’m very appreciative.”

The last 18 months have been an incredibly winding road for Dowd, even if it eventually culminated in a Fire II debut that he would have expected to have made in March 2024. After Los won the starting job that spring, Dowd was loaned to Huntsville SC, and then again this season to USL’s FC Tulsa. Though he dropped out of the starting XI for Tulsa this spring, he suddenly found himself on the bench for the Fire first team when suspension and international duty kept Chris Brady out for six games this summer, and Dowd was the only available option behind Jeff Gal.

Despite being back in Chicago since May and regularly training with the first team group, he was still yet to make a Fire II matchday squad prior to this week. Los played every minute up until his last game, at which point Patryk Stechnij got a nod for his farewell appearance. That duo kept Dowd off the gameday roster, but as Stechnij, like Los, is now away at college, the position opened up for Dowd this week.

“Both Los and Stitch texted me today, wishing me good luck,” Dowd said. “I think it’s just a testament to how close we are and how much we support each other.”

Luck was absolutely on his side as when nine goals rain into the opposing keeper’s net, it’s almost a certainty that you won’t have much work to do.

Cassano keeps rolling

The best player on the field by far was Claudio Cassano, who is clearly a step above MLS Next Pro and clearly far too dominant to be playing at this level for much longer. The Italian winger contributed two goals and two assists despite being the most targeted player in possession and did it all with a smile on his face.

It’s quite the turnaround. Four weeks ago, a loan move to Serie B was arranged and only final details had to be sorted, but disagreements over the option to buy and loan fee caused it to fall through. Two weeks ago, he didn’t play for Fire II, actively searching for a mov,e and with his departure seemingly imminent. Yet here he is, back on the field, and rolling with five goals and eight assists in his last seven matches.

“It’s been an interesting couple of weeks,” Cassano said postgame. “There were a couple of things I had to take care of off the field, but this team has been very supportive. I don’t know what my future holds for me, but I’m ready for it.”

While he’s clearly enjoying his soccer again, the position from Cassano’s camp remains the same; he wants first team minutes. While Berhalter has praised his talent in press conferences, he doesn’t appear ready to hand him a full first team promotion yet, so a loan overseas is seemingly the only way he can bridge the gap between MLS Next Pro and MLS to continue his development. Playing like he did against Red Bull will certainly help in drumming up interest, but a potential move would also have to make sense for both the player and the Fire.

With his two assists today, Cassano now leads MLS Next Pro in that category. He also excelled on the right wing, allowing Vitaliy Hlyut to move back to his preferred left side. Dylan Borso was the casualty, moving to the bench, but could win back minutes in the midfield if Matkovich opts to start him there over Chase Nagle.

Bradley reunion

There was a familiar face on the sidelines for MLS fans as former USMNT captain and Toronto FC star Michael Bradley was the head coach for Red Bulls II. The afternoon didn’t go well for him, yet his team remains atop the Eastern Conference.

It was also a reunion of sorts for Bradley and Matkovich, who have more than two decades of history together. Matkovich attributed Michael’s father Bob, who previously coached the Fire from 1998 to 2002, with kick-starting his coaching career at U.S. Soccer, and had Bradley in some youth national team camps during his tenure.

“Bob was great to me,” Matkovich said. “I’ll always be true to that, the guy who gave me my opportunity. I had Michael way back at 16 in Holland, he played for me. He was a good pro, he did a good job. It was a tough day for him today, but I think he brings a lot of value to their club. Great experience, great pedigree, I think I’m going to help that team grow and help the organization.”

“Michael’s a soccer guy. He’s going to be in the game somewhere coaching down the road. The chips fell our way today, but we play them away and I’m sure it’ll be a different story next time around.