Chicago Fire FC II (2-3-4-3, 13 points) dealt Crown Legacy FC (6-1-3-2, 23 points) its first loss of the season in a 3-2 victory Saturday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium. Winger Tidiane Diawara tallied his first goal with Chicago Fire FC II in game-winning fashion, adding to forward Dean Boltz’s second goal of the season.
Hugo Mbongue opened the scoring for Crown Legacy, giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead. Chicago responded and forced an own goal from Andrew Johnson within the 25th minute of the game, leveling and shifting momentum. Shortly before halftime, Boltz gave CFII the lead going into halftime with a well-timed header in the 44th minute.
Chicago controlled large stretches of the second half and continued to generate chances, finally breaking through in the 72nd minute. Diawara broke away from his defender on a pass from Villanueva, sprinting toward goal before finishing his first goal with his side for the 3-1 lead. The visitors’ response came too late into stoppage time as Chicago held on to secure the win.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC II will head south for a primetime matchup against Carolina Core FC on Saturday, May 16. Kickoff at Truist Point in High Point, N.C. is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT. The match can be streamed across the globe on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC II 3:2 Crown Legacy FC
Goals:
CLFC - Mbongue (7) 3’
CHI - Johnson (Own Goal) 25’
CHI - Boltz (2) (Hlyut 1) (WATCH) 44’
CHI - Diawara (1) (Villanueva 3) (WATCH) 72’
CLFC - Richmond (3) 90+5’
Discipline:
CHI - Hlyut (Caution) 19’
CLFC - Peña-Boardman (Caution) 20’
CLFC - Berchimas (Caution) 44’
CHI - Sandmeyer (Caution) 47’
CHI - Damian (Caution) 54’
CHI - Villanueva (Caution) 63’
CHI - Nagle (Caution) 71’
CHI - Clark (Caution) 90’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Nemo Jr., D Damian, D Cupps, D Sandmeyer (capt.), D Berg, M Nagle, M Pineda, M Hlyut (Napoe 46’), M Turdean (Villanueva 61’), M Hyte (Clark 87’), F Boltz (Diawara 61’)
Substitutes not used: GK Pratt, D González, D Chavez, M Herrera
Head Coach: Mike Matkovich
Crown Legacy FC: GK Kalicanin, D Curtis (Romero 46’), D Johnson, D Holt, D Kamdem (Ouedrago, 75’), M Peña-Boardman (Ayovi, 75’), M Longo (Smalls 80’), M Tonidandel, F Richmond, F Mbongue (Uchegbu 33’), F Berchimas
Substitutes not used: GK Urtecho, D Smith, M Blama, M Ventura
Head Coach: Kevin Sawchak
Stats Summary: CHI / CLFC
Shots: 15 / 14
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 73.2% / 82.2%
Saves: 1 / 5
Corners: 5 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 10
Offsides: 0 / 1
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Referee: Peter Bernardy
Assistant Referee 1: Eric del Rosario
Assistant Referee 2: Fermín Sánchez
Fourth Official: Shane Richards