Chicago Fire FC II Defeats Huntsville City FC 4-0 in North Alabama

June 16, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Chicago Fire FC II News Release

Chicago Fire FC II’s Diego Konincks congratulates team
(Chicago Fire FC II)

Huntsville, Ala. – Chicago Fire FC II (6-2-4-3) defeated Huntsville City FC (2-8-3-0) 4-0 on the road Sunday night. Midfielder David Poreba scored his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign to take sole possession of MLS NEXT Pro’s Golden Boot. Christian Koffi tallied his first goal with Chicago Fire II, while Osorio added a penalty late for his seventh of 2024. Additionally, goalkeeper Patrick Los picked up his first Chicago Fire II shutout of the regular season.

On a hot evening in North Alabama, the match got off to a fiery start almost instantaneously. Just five minutes into the match, Huntsville earned a corner that found Forster Ajago, who hit a header to the far post that Poreba barely cleared off the line. Both sides continued to push, pausing for a hydration break before resuming play and combining for over 20 shots in the opening 45 minutes.

With a minute of regulation time left in the half, Koffi found a pocket of space in the box, holding the ball away from Huntsville defenders before being tripped. The referee pointed to the spot and Poreba stepped up to take the kick. The Fire captain had his effort saved, but cleaned up his own rebound to put the Fire up one goal before the whistle blew.

The action cooled down to start the second half, but the Fire sought to double their lead. In the 66th minute, Koffi found ample space down the center of the pitch to push the ball just outside the Huntsville City box. The French forward played the ball out wide to Peter Soudan, who hit it back to him for the one-time finish and a 2-0 Fire lead.

Chicago continued to command much of the pace of play, adding a third goal before long. Fresh off the bench, Osorio played a ball to Jason Shokalook in behind the defense, who dragged a defender with him into the box. That left Poreba wide open in the six-yard box, who simply tapped into an empty net for his brace, ninth goal of the year and a turn as the league’s leading scorer.

Huntsville pushed forward for a goal in front of a home crowd, but the Fire exploited the late push for one last goal. Poreba once again found plenty of space in the box to possibly score a third, but he was instead tackled for a second Fire penalty. Osorio stepped up this time, cleanly striking to the right of a diving Simon Jillson to add the team’s fourth goal and thus tie up the…