Chicago Fire Wraps Up Training in Ave Maria with Win over FGCU
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Published on Sunday, 02 February 2014 20:39
The Chicago Fire finished training in Ave Maria Sunday with a 1-0 win against Florida Gulf Coast University in an exhibition game at North Park in Ave Maria.
"A win is a win," said the Fire's new head coach, Frank Yallop said after the game, acknowledging that his team should have been expected to win a contest against an NCAA Division One team, even though no regular players saw action in either of the two 40-minutes halves.
The game was primarily an opportunity to evaluate reserves, camp invitees and other home-grown players in advance of the first cut-down this afternoon.
Forward Giuseppe Gentile, in his first game with the Fire, scored the game's only goal at the 41st minute of the first half. Below, right, Gentile's goal.
"The main thing in the first week is getting through the work and game without any injuries," Coach Yallop said.
Perhaps because the Fire players were fighting for a spot on the team, the game was chippier than previous exhibition contests during training in Ave Maria. Some scuffling on the field led to one player from each team being warned with a yellow card midway through the first half, and a few minutes later, the Fire's Hunter Jumper received a red-card ejection from the game after a particularly rough take-down of an FGCU player.
"Soccer is a rough sport," Coach Yallop said, "but Hunter was a bit reckless getting red-carded."
The Fire broke camp following the game and will return to Chicago briefly before continuing spring training, first in Bradenton, FL, then in Tucscon, AZ.
Left, the Fire mascot Sparky was popular with the Chicago Fire Juniors players who, along with their parents, were the main audience for the game.
The Chicago Fire finished training in Ave Maria Sunday with a 1-0 win against Florida Gulf Coast University in an exhibition game at North Park in Ave Maria.
Perhaps because the Fire players were fighting for a spot on the team, the game was chippier than previous exhibition contests during training in Ave Maria. Some scuffling on the field led to one player from each team being warned with a yellow card midway through the first half, and a few minutes later, the Fire's Hunter Jumper received a red-card ejection from the game after a particularly rough take-down of an FGCU player.
Left, the Fire mascot Sparky was popular with the Chicago Fire Juniors players who, along with their parents, were the main audience for the game.