Chicago Fire FC II (5-5-6-3, 24 points) played to a 2-2 draw against Huntsville City FC (5-7-4-2, 21 points) Sunday night at Wicks Family Field.
Damyan Villanueva and Damian Nigg each tallied once for the Fire, with goalkeeper Giorgi Gongadze replacing Jason Nemo Jr. in stoppage time to make his MLS NEXT Pro debut. Also making his MLSNP debut was Tomas Cortes, who stepped in for Robert Turdean in the 90+3rd minute.
The hosts scored first, with Misei Yoshizawa finding the back of the net in the 24th minute. Chicago leveled the score with a tying goal from Villanueva in the 31st minute. Emiliano Chavez received the ball on the right flank and sent a cross into the box, where Villanueva jumped up over his defender and powered a header just under the crossbar to score his third goal in two games.
Chicago took the lead early in the second half when Damian carried the ball up the left flank and then cut back, shifting his body and sending a shot from distance that placed the ball inside the far post in the 48th minute. The strike was Damian’s second goal of the season.
Angel Iniguez leveled the score in the 61st minute with a well-placed shot from outside the box. The draw stood through the final whistle, with Huntsville keeping the extra point at home following the ensuing penalty shootout.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC II returns home to SeatGeek Stadium for a rematch with 2025 MLS NEXT Pro champions Red Bull New York II on Sunday, July 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT, with match entry and parking free for all fans. The match can be streamed across the globe on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
Huntsville City FC 2(3):(2)2 Chicago Fire FC II
Goals:
HNT - Yoshizawa (2) (Iniguez 2) (WATCH) 24’
CHI - Villanueva (3) (Chavez 1) (WATCH) 31’
CHI - Damian (2) (Villanueva 5) (WATCH) 48’
HNT - Iniguez (2) (Veliz 1, Yoshizawa 2) (WATCH) 60’
Shootout:
Huntsville City FC: Sullivan (scored), Ekk (saved), Véliz (scored), Mackay (scored)
Chicago Fire FC II: Fleming (scored), Damian (saved), Villanueva (scored), Pineda (saved), Napoe (saved)
Discipline:
CHI - Turdean (Caution) 90+1’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Nemo Jr. (Gongadze, 90+3’), D Damian, D Cupps, D Pfrommer (González, 40’), D Chavez (M Bernhardt, 64’), M Fleming (Capt.), M Pineda, M Turdean (Cortes, 90+3’), M Villanueva, M Napoe, F Boltz (Diawara, 64’)
Substitutes not used: M Morales, M Field, F Williams
Head Coach: Mike Matkovich
Huntsville City FC: GK Mackay, D Velíz, D Prince, D Coulibaly, D Alonso (Devan, 61’), M Krikorian, M Iniguez (Reynolds, 77’), M Yoshizawa, M Pariano (capt.), M Stribling, F Swanzy (Ekk, 61’)
Substitutes not used: GK Schorzman, D Hilger, F Sullivan, F Rodrigues, F Salukumbo
Head Coach: Chris O’Neal
Stats Summary: HNT / CHI
Shots: 12 / 12
Shots on Goal: 8 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 90.3% / 90.1%
Saves: 2 / 5
Corners: 3 / 5
Fouls: 5 / 14
Offsides: 2 / 0
Venue: Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium (Huntsville, Ala.)
Referee: Anthony Sobolevsky
Assistant Referee 1: Alexandru Focea
Assistant Referee 2: Jackson Krauser
Fourth Official: Dan Benson