The Fire held a spirited practice today at the Toyota Park training field and here are a few quick notes from the training session...
Chicago Fire vs. Wilmington Hammerheads Archives
Fire Eliminated from the Open Cup in 1-0 Loss
The Fire were eliminated from contention in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight as they fell to the USL-2's Wilmington Hammerheads. Click here for the Fire website's recap of the match.
Tonight's result is probably a little embarrassing for the Fire as losing to a 3rd division side (no matter who played for the Fire) is definitely not what you would call an ego-booster.
The loss, which is the Fire's second in a row, really represents a missed opportunity for some of the Fire's reserves/younger players and frankly, it's a little disappointing. On the bright side, the Open Cup elimination will allow the Fire to focus more on MLS play (which will finally resume on Saturday night at Colorado) and SuperLiga, which (although it may be less prestigious than Open Cup) is the more lucrative tournament.
Tonight's result is probably a little embarrassing for the Fire as losing to a 3rd division side (no matter who played for the Fire) is definitely not what you would call an ego-booster.
The loss, which is the Fire's second in a row, really represents a missed opportunity for some of the Fire's reserves/younger players and frankly, it's a little disappointing. On the bright side, the Open Cup elimination will allow the Fire to focus more on MLS play (which will finally resume on Saturday night at Colorado) and SuperLiga, which (although it may be less prestigious than Open Cup) is the more lucrative tournament.
Fire vs Wilmington Hammerheads: Match Preview (Follow the game on Twitter)
Here is a little piece I wrote for the Tribune previewing tonight's Fire U.S. Open Cup match against the Wilmington (N.C) Hammerheads of USL-2.
But I wanted to take a more in depth look at the match (especially the lineup) so here are a few more thoughts that I had...
Linked Up
Here are a couple interesting Fire related links to get your day started. Look for an informational piece on the Fire's first SuperLiga opponent, San Luis, later on in the day.
As reported on the Fire's official website, the Fire's first U.S. Open Cup fixture has been announced. The Fire will be taking on the Wilmington (N.C.) Hammerheads in the 3rd round of Open Cup play. The teams will meet June 30th (3 days after the Fire's last SuperLiga group game) at Legion Field in North Carolina.
The Hammerheads currently play in the USL's second division, where they are in 7th place out of 10 teams. Click here for the full USL-2 standings.
Here is a nice article written by MLSnet.com reporter Kent McDill on defender Daniel Woolard's recent return from injury. Woolard is likely to see some playing time in upcoming matches, so if you are unfamiliar with him (or even if you aren't) it's a nice read.
