Chicago Fire FC II falls 5-1 to Crown Legacy FC in North Carolina

Matthews, North Carolina (June 30, 2024) – Chicago Fire FC II (6-3-5-4) lost 5-1 at Crown Legacy FC (6-5-3-2) Sunday evening in North Carolina. After a lengthy weather delay before the game, Fire midfielder David Poreba scored the league-leading 10th goal of the year. Crown Legacy followed with five unanswered goals interrupted by bad weather to claim the victory.

The Fire came out of the first setback looking for an early opener. Advancing from the left wing, Omari Glasgow found Poreba sprinting towards the far post. The Guyanese winger moved the ball to the right, where the Fire captain simply tapped in to open the scoring. The Fire captain's goal made him the first player to reach double digits in points scored during the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular season.

Three minutes later, the home team equalized. Nick Scardina drove down the right side to the goal line and played back a free Aaron John at the far post. Crown Legacy FC's top scorer finished off Scardina's deflected cross to level the score with his sixth goal of the year.

Chicago held more possession in the first half, but Crown Legacy took advantage to take the lead in transition. Legacy forward Dylan Sing forced a turnover and found an open Scardina, who found enough space on the right side to finish past goalkeeper Patrick Los. Another weather delay halted the game shortly after, halting the visitors' momentum to equalize before finally arriving at the halftime whistle.

The teams quickly resumed play after a shortened halftime break. Less than 10 minutes into the half, JahLane Forbes took advantage of a Fire turnover to make it 3-1. Chicago looked to get back into the game, but the home team instead saw Nifasha Berchimas come off the bench in place of Forbes to score a brace and close the door on a rainy Sunday evening.

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Crown Legacy FC 1:5 Chicago Fire FC II

Goals:
CHI – Poreba (10) (Glasgow 1) (WATCH) 5'
CLFC – John (6) (WATCH) 8'
CLFC – Scardina (4) (Sing 1) (WATCH) 27'
CLFC – Forbes (3) (WATCH) 54'
CLFC – Berchimas (2) (Sing 2) (WATCH) 75'
CLFC – Berchimas (3 (Jean 5) (WATCH) 89'

Discipline:
CLFC – Ouédraogo (Yellow Card) 25'
CHI – Prpa (Yellow Card) 33'
CLFC – Tuiloma (Yellow Card) 41'
CHI – Diouf (Yellow Card) 42'
CHI – Sudan (Yellow Card) 68'
CLFC – Duke (Yellow Card) 68'
CLFC – Mayaka (Yellow Card) 71'
CHI – Heuer (Yellow Card) 81'
CHI – Osorio (Yellow Card) 90+1'

Chicago Fire FC II: GK Los, D Diouf (Granda, 79'), D Konincks, D Shannon, M Glasgow, M Oregel (Heuer, 72'), M Osorio, M Prpa (Shokalook, 64'), M Soudan (Hlyut, 71'), F Poreba (captain), F Koffi

Unused Subs: GK Stechnij, D Cupps, M Blake, M Calle, F Borso

Crown Legacy FC: GK Marks, D João Pedro (Bravo, 45'), D Ouedraogo, D Tuiloma (Sangoquiza, 45'), D Lindsey (Romero, 45'), M John, M Mayaka (capt.) (Peña, 76'), M Duke, F Forbes (Berchimas, 74'), F Sing, F Scardina

Unused Subs: GK Holliday, M Tonidandel, F Josué, F Nyandjo

Summary of statistics: CLFC / CHI
Hits: 11/15
Shots on goal: 6/5
Pass accuracy: 80.9% / 85.1%
Saves: 4/1
Coins: 4 / 9
Fouls: 12/15
Offside: 2/2
Possession: 44.2% / 55.8%

Arbitrator: Melvin Rivas
Assistant Ref 1: Josh Lampkins
Assistant Ref 2: Aaron Riley
4th Official: John Rush