Fire falls to De Anza Force in final Group 1 match

Focus on Friday's championship with Cal Odyssey

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By Curt Herron

Wednesday's match in the U-15/16 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals in Carson, California meant different things to the Chicago Fire and De Anza Force.

With a trip to Friday's championship match already assured following a 2-0 start in Group 1 play, the Fire looked to stay sharp while avoiding any injuries.

Meanwhile, De Anza Force came into the matchup knowing that it could finish second in the group with a victory and thus qualify for the third-place match.

Although the Fire did their best to avoid suffering their first defeat in nearly two months, the stakes were clearly much greater for De Anza Force.

And the squad from Northern California capitalized on a pair of scores late in the opening half to help them claim a 2-0 victory at the Home Depot Center.

The Fire (16-6-10) meet Cal Odyssey (20-8-5) in Friday's 7 p.m. championship match. The Fresno, California team lost last year's final to the Derby County.

Cal Odyssey, which had assured itself of a trip to the finals following a 2-0 start in Group 2, lost a 2-0 match to Baltimore Bays Chelsea on Wednesday.

As a result, De Anza Force (20-8-5) and Baltimore Bays Chelsea (28-3-5) advanced to Friday's 5 p.m. third-place match after going 1-0-2 in group play.

Stefano Bonomo scored on a penalty kick in the 37th minute and Alfred Edmonds connected about four minutes later to lead the way for De Anza Force.

The Fire had some good chances in both halves, but a couple of close calls didn't go their way as the wound up suffering their first loss since May 15.

Chicago had gone 9-0-5 since that defeat to Kansas City and had only allowed two goals during their last 10 matches, which featured eight shutouts.

Click to hear Anthony Torres interview

About nine minutes into Wednesday's match, Giovanni Sanchez sent a pass to Elliot Borge, who headed a shot that was hauled in by keeper Sean Lyons.

Shortly after Bonomo lined a corner kick to Fire keeper Zak Allen, the Fire nearly grabbed the early lead over the squad from Cupertino, California.

At about 25 minutes, Patryk Ruta sent a pass forward to Henrik Egly, who got off an attempt from close range which deflected off of the crossbar.

Click to hear Patryk Ruta interview

As the opening half was winding down, Matthew Escobar was fouled in the box in the 37th minute and Bonomo converted on the subsequent penalty kick.

And then in stoppage time just before the break, Edmonds got free in front of the net following a corner kick and connected to close out the scoring.

Click to hear Chuy Medina interview

The Fire had another good opportunity at the start of the second half when Borge sent a pass to Egly, who again was denied when his shot hit the post.

Chicago, which played most of its roster, had few opportunities after that as De Anza Force settled in on defense during the remainder of the match.

Click to hear Matt Payne interview

Also in Group 1, Sockers FC advanced to Friday's fifth-place match after beating D.C. United 1-0, thanks to Damien Sampson's goal in the 52nd minute.

Sockers FC face the Internationals in the 3 p.m. match while D.C. United and CASL Chelsea FC open Friday's action at 1 p.m. playing for seventh place.