The Chicago Fire FC U-19 Academy team were crowned inaugural MLS NEXT Cup Champions on Saturday night, culminating a 10-month long regular season and week-long MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase event in the Dallas area.
Chicago Fire FC defeated Solar SC 1-0 on Saturday, July 3, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The lone-goal came from Missael Rodríguez in the 80th minute. Rodríguez also earned the Golden Boot for the U-19 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs, scoring a tournament-high six goals in five matches. Fire midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr. earned the Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player.
Led by head coach Ludovic Taillandier and assistant coach Patrick Nyarko, the Fire U-19 squad finished the tournament with a 4-0-0 record. The Fire scored 17 goals, conceding only four.
The Chicago Fire Academy last claimed a national title in 2015, when the U-17/18 team won the U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship with a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake-Arizona. The U-15/16 team previously captured the 2010 championship, the first in program history.
U-19 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
- Golden Boot: Missael Rodriguez (Chicago Fire SC)
- Best Goalkeeper: Martin Dominguez (Solar SC)
- Golden Ball: Sergio Oregel Jr. (Chicago Fire SC)
Across all age groups, the inaugural MLS NEXT Cup Champions are U-15 Real Salt Lake Academy, U-16 Weston FC, U-17 Orlando City SC Academy and U-19 Chicago Fire FC Academy. All four championship matches were played on the Toyota Stadium game field, home to MLS club FC Dallas.
Also announced this weekend, the Golden Boot (top scorer), Best Goalkeeper and Golden Ball (best player) awards for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs in all four age groups.
U-17 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: Orlando City SC Academy
Orlando City SC Academy and PDA saw many chances throughout the 90-minute match though regulation ended in a 0-0 draw. One of the best chances came for Orlando City winger, Alex Freeman who found a pocket of space to get a shot off, but his shot smashed straight into the post and back into play. While the post was unforgiving in regulation for Freeman, Orlando City were the benefactors during penalty kicks as Mustapha Sowe’s opening PK was kept out of the back of the net by the crossbar. Orlando City SC Academy went on to score three consecutive penalty kicks (Alejandro Nasato, Owen VanMarter, Ian Silva) and Goalkeeper Isaac Delgado notched two saves during the shootout with his game-winning penalty kick stop against PDA’s Yuxuan Yang.
U-17 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
- Golden Boot: Tarik Scott (FC Dallas)
- Best Goalkeeper: Rafael Ponce de Leon (PDA)
- Golden Ball: Christopher Olney Jr. (PDA)
U-16 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: Weston FC
Weston FC hoisted the MLS NEXT Cup in the U16 age group by defeating Tampa Bay United in a five-goal thriller on Friday. Weston FC opened the scoring with three first half goals including a goal and an assist from playmaker Benjamin Cremaschi. Tampa Bay United and midfielder Isaiah Wilson came out of the halftime intermission with conviction and the sixteen-year-old struck a 35-yard golazo to get his team back in contention. Tampa Bay United added a second goal in the 72nd minute but ultimately fell 3-2 in the U16 MLS NEXT Cup despite a man up advantage for the final 40-minutes of the match.
U-16 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
- Golden Boot: Chase Vazquez (Weston FC) and Luke Van Heukelum (Sockers FC)
- Best Goalkeeper: Philip Falcon (Tampa Bay United)
- Golden Ball: Benjamin Cremaschi (Weston FC)
U-15 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: Real Salt Lake Academy
The Real Salt Lake Academy secured the Championship for the U15 division by defeating the Philadelphia Union Academy 2-0 on Friday night. RSL Captain Jude Wellings opened the scoring in the 15th minute collecting a backpass from Izahi Amparo before calmly slotting the ball into the unmarked goal to take the early 1-0 lead. Evan Pickering doubled the lead when he headed home an Angel Morales corner kick in the 65th minute for the Claret and Cobalt and Goalkeeper Fernando Delgado made multiple key saves in the match to solidify the Championship. Download full match highlights HERE.
U-15 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
- Golden Boot: Axel Kei (Real Salt Lake)
- Best Goalkeeper: Andrew Rick (Philadelphia Union)
- Golden Ball: Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes)