U-18 Fire falls to Mexican National U-17 at Toyota Park

By Curt Herron

The Chicago Fire Academy got the opportunity to perform under the lights at Toyota Park when it took part in its initial home match of 2011.

But it was Mexico's U-17 National team that dominated the spotlight against the Fire before a crowd of 1743 on a cold evening in Bridgeview.

Mexico scored a goal late in each half to claim a 2-0 victory over a Fire squad that used primarily its U-17/18 team with a few U-15/16 adds.

With many in the enthusistic crowd rooting on their native country, the Mexicans didn't disappoint by dominating the action from the outset.

While the Fire had few scoring good chances, the neighbors to the south were putting pressure on the net throughout the entire 90 minutes.

Despite several great saves from Fire keeper Sam Euler, the Mexicans scored the only goal that they would eventually need in the 41st minute.

Even after taking out most of its starting 11, the victors continued to keep the pressure on and added another score during the 85th minute.

"It was very difficult coming from playing Academy games to playing competition like Mexico, which is one of the better U-17 international groups," Euler said. "They moved the ball better, their spacing was better and they were just better overall and it showed. It was definitely great to have the opportunity to play the Mexican National team since it will help us.

"I like how this is thick-skinned. The coaches will chew us out every now and then, like they deservedly did tonight at halftime. Afterward, we just went back out and did exactly as they said and that proved their point. So it's always good to have a team that's thick-skinned."

The Fire started the match with seven players who were members of last year's US Soccer Development Academy U-15/16 national champions squad.

They were Keaton Albert, Peter Beasley, David Caban, Luis Medina, Victor Pineda, Anthony Torres and Euler, and they're all on this year's U-17/18 team.

Only two holdovers from last season's U-17/18 squad that just missed going to nationals were in Tuesday's first 11, Patrick Doody and Manny Guzman.

The other two starters against Mexico were individuals who didn't play on either the U-15/16 or U-17/18 teams last year, Jacob Brindle and Brady Wahl.

After Doody was lost to a cut to the forehead in the 26th minute, Lalo Cuautle replaced him and a short time later Elliot Borge entered the lineup.

Second-half substitutes were Jesus Medina, Manny Rios, Filip Cortez and Daniel Lojek. All of the subs but the last two were on last year's U-15/16 squad.

As for the match, Mexico threatened right away, beginning with a liner that Euler halted from Carlos Eduardo Fierro Guerrero in the sixth minute.

The visitors just missed connecting in the 11th minute when Daniel Hernandez Trejo lined a shot from the side that deflected off the opposite post.

Mexico looked like it might have taken the lead in the 31st minute following a Julio Enrique Gomez Gonzalez shot, but the goal was disallowed by a foul.

Things finally clicked for the Mexicans in the 41st minute when Fierro Guerrero found Marcelo Gracia Dominguez open in front for the match's first goal.

One of the Fire's few first-half scoring chances came in the 44th minute when Beasley sent a long free kick to Borge, whose try on a header was denied.

About a minute later, Mexico threatened again when Hernandez Trejo sent a short liner that Euler first deflected before grabbing it in front of the net.

"They're a very good team," Beasley said. "Even though they're younger than us, they moved the ball very, they're very physical and they battled. It was a very good game for us and just to have the experience of playing an international team will help us a lot as we prepare for our season..

"We play the same style as we did last year, which is moving the ball fast, keeping it on the ground and just out-pass the opponents. We're still trying to come together as a team since we're still figuring things out on the field, like where everyone is going to go and what they're going to do."

It was more of the same during the final half, beginning with a pair of deflections by Euler on short attempts from Fierro Guerrero in the 52nd minute.

Chicago tried to make something happen in the 55th minute when Pineda sent in a pair of corner kicks, but one was deflected and the other led to no shot.

Enrique Isidoro Flores Bustos was denied by Euler on a liner in the 56th minute and Jose Pablo Tostado Gastelum suffered the same fate in the 66th minute.

Things looked like they might remain at 1-0 after the Fire keeper was able to stop an attempt in the 79th minute from Giovanny Daniel Casillas Chavez.

But in the 85th minute, Jorge Jonathan Espericueta Escamilla curved a corner kick that eluded Euler and wound up finding the opposite side of the net.

"We faced a really good team tonight that was expected to win, but we're the Fire and we also expect to win," Guzman said. "It just turned out that they played better than we did today. But we'll keep our heads up since we know that we can play better than we did.

"We've bonded pretty well and we all get along both on and off of the field. So I think that will help to make us be successful throughout the season."

The Fire competes in a tournament in Columbus, Ohio next weekend before beginning Great Lakes Division play on April 2-3 at Toyota Park's Practice Field.