Fire Juniors roll past Rockford to capture U-18 title

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By Curt Herron

It took a bit longer to get things going than the U-18 Chicago Fire Juniors hoped in Sunday's finals of the Illinois Youth Soccer Association State Cup.

But that's probably okay, considering how the Development Academy team closed things out against the Rockford Raptors at Sportscore Two in Loves Park.

The Fire broke open a 1-0 halftime lead by scoring four times in the second half as they went on to capture a 5-1 victory in the championship match.

A year ago, many members of the squad were on the Fire Juniors' U-17 team, which dropped the State Cup finals to the Eclipse Select.

Coach Trey Bradberry's squad can now set its sights on the Region II championships, which will be held in Beavercreek, Ohio later this month.

Click to hear coach Trey Bradberry interview

The win kicked off a day where the Fire Juniors captured two other championships and just missed winning two more on the boys side.

Scott Davis paced the winners with two goals while Mark Finan, Ricky Marton and Mike Olezskiewicz also collected scores for the Fire.

Josh Clark, Sean Totsch, Josh Kremers and Oleszkiewicz also contributed assists for the Fire Juniors' U-18 championship squad.

Click to hear Scott Davis interview

Davis gave the Fire the early advantage when he connected midway through the opening half following an assist from Oleszkiewicz.

In the second half, Finan increased the Fire Juniors' advantage to 2-0 after he found the net, thanks to an assist from Clark.

After the Raptors scored their lone goal, Sean Totsch sent a pass to Marton, who connected to give their team the 3-1 lead.

Click to hear Sean Totsch interview

The Fire Juniors followed up on that score with another a short time later when Davis found the net off an assist from Kremers.

After a Fire Juniors players was taken down in the box, Oleszkiewicz wrapped up the scoring when he converted a penalty kick.

A year ago, the squad fell in the Finals of the State Cup and the Regionals, a fate that they've already avoided this season.

But for players like Drew Bellmer, the team must now take the next step by going out and capturing the regional championship.

Click to hear Drew Bellmer interview