Fire U-16s capture Frontier Division championship

Blank FC Milwaukee to edge Real Colorado for title

CLICK TO SEE MATCH PHOTOS

By Curt Herron

With the pressure on and the eyes of the club on them, the Chicago Fire U-16 team performed like champions on Sunday.

And that's why they walked off of Toyota Park's practice field following a 2-0 win over FC Milwaukee as conference champs.

Needing a win to not only capture the Frontier Division title but also a trip to the playoffs, the Fire got the job done.

Chicago started 5-1-1 in divisional play before a 1-3-1 stretch during the middle of league play near derailed them.

But as the stakes rose with the season dwindling down, the Fire closed out their league schedule with a 4-0-1 run.

The Fire finished 10-4-3 in Frontier Division play, which gave them 33 points, good for a tie with 9-3-6 Real Colorado.

But because Chicago only played in 17 matches, it got the title due to its 1.94-1.83 edge in points per match average.

However, both advance to the Development Academy playoffs, which will be held June 25-29 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Click to hear Drew Conner interview

With the win, the Fire knocked the Kansas City Wizards (8-2-8, 32) out of one of the top two divisional qualifying spots.

However, both the Wizards and FC Sockers also earned playoff appearances thanks to their overall points per game average.

The Fire take an 12-5-9 overall mark to Greensboro, which has been boosted by a 5-0-4 record in their last nine matches.

They've only allowed three goals during that stretch and have recorded seven shutouts in their current unbeaten streak.

Chicago closed out the regular season with five straight shutouts with the last four being recorded by keeper Sam Euler.

Click to hear Sam Euler interview

The Fire were boosted by having several top organization officials and coaches with them on the bench during the match.

With the injury-plagued U-18s seeing their title hopes dashed on Saturday, the U-16s wanted to avoid a similar fate.

Following a slow start in Sunday's match, the Fire got a pair of scores and then controlled the remainder of the play.

Victor Pineda collected his team-high seventh goal on a rebound following a blocked shot attempt from Luis Medina.

A short time later, Manny Rios connected to give the Fire a two-goal advantage and the team made those scores stand.

Click to hear Anthony Torres interview

Peter Beasley, one of the staples of the Fire's defense, was the lone Academy player to start in each of the 26 matches.

Joining Beasley, Euler, Luis Medina, and Pineda in Sunday's starting 11 were Luis Barajas, Elliot Borge and David Caban.

Also earning starts in the match against FC Milwaukee were Drew Conner, Lalo Cuautle, Patryk Ruta and Anthony Torres.

Rios and Henrik Egly were early substitutes while Johnny Contreras and Chuy Medina also got on the field for the Fire.

Click to hear Chuy Medina interview

Following a postgame soaking of coach Tony Kees, they received their own drenching from heavy rains during their cookout.

But none of that seemed to matter to a squad that needed to perform well down the stretch in order to reach the playoffs.

It is a fitting reward for a talented group of players that have developed into a very fine team throughout the season.

After taking a couple of days off, the Fire gets back to practice later in the week in anticipation of its playoff trip.

The Fire hopes that their recent run of success continues so that they can set their sights on the finals in California.

Click to hear Keaton Albert interview