Fire Super-20s avoid upset on opening day of USL Finals

11-match win streak halted in 1-1 draw with Beachside SC

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By Curt Herron

The Chicago Fire Super-20 team found itself in very unfamiliar position on Thursday evening in its biggest match of the season thus far.

Playing in the United Soccer Leagues' Super-20 Finals at Sportscore Two in Loves Park, the Fire trailed Beachside SC early in the second half.

That fact was rather significant since the Fire had rolled to 11 straight wins and had allowed only three previous goals all season.

Although Chicago got the equalizer a short time after the break, it had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Beachside in the 60-minute match.

Because its group features only three teams instead of the four in the other two groups, those teams had to play four shorter matches in the finals.

Things started off well enough for Chicago on the first day of competition in the event that it is hosting, which is located just east of Rockford.

In its earlier match on Thursday, Chicago grabbed a 3-0 halftime advantage and rolled to a 5-0 victory over Alpharetta United of Georgia.

Later in the day, Beachside of Connecticut captured a 4-2 win over Alpharetta to set the stage for the clash for the early lead in Group A play.

As a result of the Fire rallying to force a draw, the two teams will likely determine who wins the group when they meet on Friday at 1 p.m.

Chicago, which has four points, closes out group play at 5 p.m. on Friday evening when it meets up with Alpharetta United for the second time.

Whoever captures the pool moves on to Saturday's 6 p.m. semifinal round. The national championship match is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Although the Fire (11-0-1) had a decisive edge in good opportunities against Beachside (5-2-4), they were frustrated in their efforts to score.

And falling behind early in a match featuring two 30-minute halves didn't help their situation any with the Connecticut side focused on defense.

Shortly after the break, the Fire began to apply pressure on Beachside keeper Sergio Lara with a series of dangerous attempts.

Kirk Urso started things with a liner on a corner kick and Javier Torres followed up on that with a short shot that was also halted.

Right after that, Chris Ritter was denied on a line drive which the Beachside keeper also stopped as Chicago's frustrations continued.

But the pressure continued to mount for the Fire as they went nearly 10 minutes without applying any serious threats on the opposing goal.

However, just as the prospects of one of the biggest upsets of the day started to become more of reality, the Fire finally found the net.

In the 48th minute, Ethan Finlay sent a pass from the side to Torres, who managed to connect from close range to force a 1-1 tie.

Finlay, who assisted on two scores in the win over Alpharetta (6-5-1), continued to apply the pressure during the next few minutes of play.

He forced Beachside's keeper to make a diving save on a grounder and then was also denied on a close attempt a short time later.

During the final minutes of play, Torres nearly connected again but a close attempt was deflected and he sent a rebound wide of the net.

And shortly before the final whistle, Drew Russell served up a ball to Milan Tica, who directed a header that also just went a bit wide.

Just as it dominated in scoring chances during the second half, Chicago had plenty of opportunities to connect in the first 30 minutes.

One of its best early chances came about 10 minutes in when Krystian Witkowski's shot from the side was cleared by a Beachside defender.

Then in the 12th minute, the Connecticut squad moved in front when Scott Brown got free past defenders and put a shot into an open net.

Finlay tried to respond shortly after that but a line drive was cleared by a defender and a close attempt sailed just over the frame.

In the Fire's first match of the day, five different players found the net as the squad had its most-productive scoring effort to date.

Felipe Carrasco, Greg Jordan, Calum Mallace, Harrison Petts and Torres all scored as Chicago posted the most-decisive win of the day.

Finlay contributed a pair of assists while Petts also assisted on a score as the Fire opened the competition with a three-point effort.