Chicago Fire II have a flair for the dramatic and it took over 120 minutes before penalty kicks for Chicago’s MLS Next Pro side to defeat Orlando City B 1-1 (5-4 PKs) in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup in Bridgeview.
The Chicago Fire’s reserve side went down a goal early after a nice finish from Jack Lynn on Orlando’s first shot of the match but Fire II captain and 2024 MLS Next Pro Golden Boot winner scored the equalizing goal just before halftime.
Fire II secured a spot in the postseason after the teams exchanged made penalty kicks for four rounds before Favian Loyola’s effort from 12 yards ripped off the post and away from net. Jean Alpha Diouf hammered the match-winning spot-kick, sealing his team’s spot in the conference semifinals.
Jack Lynn put Orlando up a goal in the 24th minute after his side got out on the counterattack and the striker did well to create space with a dribble before floating a shot over Jeff Gal, who was otherwise fantastic in goal for Fire II while making eight saves, to give the visitors the early lead at SeatGeek Stadium.
Fire II equalized just before the referee raised the board to announce the amount of first-half stoppage time.
Javier Casas won possession back for Fire II just inside his own half of the pitch and immediately played the ball to Sergio Oregel in front of him. Oregel changed fields with a high-arching pass that found Christian Koffi in stride on the left wing so the French forward could bring the ball into Orlando’s penalty area. Koffi found Poreba on his right and Fire II’s captain toed the ball past goalkeeper Carlos Mercadoto to tie the match at one before the break.
Both sides had chances in the second half and both extra time periods but neither team broke the deadlock, sending the playoff match to penalty kicks.
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Poreba, Harold Osorio, Peter Soudan, and Vitaliy Hlyut (who came on in the 117th minute) scored from the spot before Orlando’s Loyola missed, setting Diouf up perfectly to bury the match-winner from 12 yards.
The Fire II captain, who was wearing a face mask after recently breaking his nose, spoke to reporters moments after Fire owner and chairman Joe Mansueto had come into the locker room to congratulate the players following an emotional win.
“It's amazing, the vibes in the locker room were incredible,” said Poreba. “It was amazing to have the owner come in and say some words. So just amazing. And we're onto the next one. We have one goal in mind and that was just the first game to check off.”
Poreba played most of the match with a yellow card and was ecstatic to get the win over an Orlando side that rubbed many in his locker room the wrong way, especially when he had to keep his emotions in check to avoid a second yellow.
“It was very difficult, especially with some of the players on their team. They like to talk, so I had to keep my cool. It was hard. I won’t lie, it was hard and the game was super aggressive and physical. But, you know, thank God that I managed to not get a second and that's all that matters.”
Fire II head coach Ludovic Taillandier was proud of his side’s performance but emphasized that one playoff win won’t be enough to satisfy this group.
“I’m very proud of the guys,” Taillandier said after the match. “I think we played the match we wanted to. We could have scored a little more, yeah, to avoid having to stress all the way to the end. But in general, I’m very happy with the mortality of the guys and with the performance. Orlando was probably the best team in the conference in the last 15 games, the second part of the regular season.
“And that's a good performance. We're happy. But I told the guys, we are just halfway. Our objective is to get a trophy. Three more games to the trophy. That's the message.”
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