Chicago Fire FC II earns extra point in draw against Chattanooga FC

Bridgeview, IL. (June 7, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC II (5-2-4-2) earned two points in a 1-1 draw against Chattanooga FC (4-3-2-1) Friday night at SeatGeek Stadium, beating the visitors on penalties. With this shootout victory, Chicago remains tied with FC Cincinnati 2 for third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 22 points.

The Fire maintained a strong attack to open the night, shooting a total of six shots in the first 45 minutes. While the Fire failed to find the back of the net, Fire goalkeeper Jeff Gal ensured the score remained deadlocked at the halftime whistle, keeping the game tied 0- 0 with three saves to keep Chattanooga at bay. A Chattanooga chance in the 34th minute posed danger for the home team, but Gal parried the shot to kill the chance and keep the score at zero.

Firefighter defender Lamonth Rochester broke the tie in the 60th minute after finding an opening in the box on a back-and-forth pass from midfielder Vitaliy Hlyut, finishing with a left-footed strike into the top left corner to gain the advantage. With his goal, Rochester scored his first MLS NEXT Pro goal with Chicago.

Eight minutes after Rochester's goal, it was striker Mehdi Oumari who redirected a pass in front of the goal to tie the score at 1-1. The redirected pass found the bottom right corner of the goal and beat Gal's outstretched hands to tie the game.

Despite chances on both sides, neither team managed to find their second of the match. After 90 minutes of play and four minutes of injury time, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Chicago and Chattanooga played for the extra point in penalty kicks. With kicks tied at three apiece after the fourth round, Gal denied midfielder Alex McGrath's attempt with a diving save to his left, leaving room for Rochester to capitalize with the winner. With the extra point, the Fire enters a three-game road stretch with momentum as they climb the Eastern Conference standings.

The score of the box:Chattanooga FC 1(3): 1(4) Chicago Fire FC II

Goals:
CHI – Rochester (1) (Hlyut 1) (WATCH) 60'
CFC – Oumari (5) (WATCH) 68'

Discipline:
CFC – Gray (Yellow Card) 70'
CHI – Granda (Yellow Card) 84'

Chicago Fire FC II: GK Gal; D Rochester, D Konincks, D Shannon, D Diouf; M Hlyut (Ramírez, 89'), M Prpa (Sudan, 61'), M Heuer (Zapata Calle, 82'), M Poreba (captain), M Borso (Granda, 61'); F Shokalook (Nesci, 81')

Unused subs: GK Los, D Cupps

Chattanooga FC: GK Antoine, D Williams, D Sar-Sar, D Viafara, D Perez; M McGrath (captain), M Arthur, M Jimenez (Garcia Sosa 81'); F Grav, F Oumari (Kwak, 81'); F Ibarra,

Unused subs: GK Burke, D Prepelita, D Screen, M Koren, F James

Summary of statistics: CHI / CFC
Shots: 10/13
Shots on goal: 3/5
Pass accuracy: 85.9% / 79.9%
Backups: 2/4
Corners: 3/4
Fouls: 11/15
Offside: 1/1
Ownership: 56.8% / 43.2%

Arbitrator: Greg Dopka
Assistant Ref 1: Tom Felice
Assistant Ref 2: Fernando Pina
4th Official: Igor Bych