Super-20 Finals Game Report
Saturday, July 21, 2012
BRADENTON, Fla. – Jacob Brindle had a hat trick as the Chicago Fire cruised into the semifinals of the Super-20 League North American Finals with a 6-0 victory against the VSI Tampa Flames at IMG Academy on Saturday morning. Brindle had the opening goal of the game, and capped his hat trick just past the hour-mark as the Fire won Group B in the Men’s division.
“I think that was a lot closer to the type of football we can play,” Fire coach Steve Morris said. “I think we were a lot crisper and a lot sharper today, and obviously with the scoreline we were able to take more of our chances, which I think is reflected in the play. I thought we had control of the game, we had to fight hard to get control of it, but once we did I thought we stood on top.”
Both teams settled into the match, and it wasn’t until the eighth minute that there was a clear chance on goal as the Fire’s Peter Beasley had his shot deflected wide for a corner. Three minutes later, Tyler Wheeler came close to an opener as his curling shot from the top of the penalty area hit the crossbar, and Luis Barajas had a big opportunity after beating the offside trap, only for VSI goalkeeper Austin Spagnola to make a good save.
Tampa’s first chance came in the 19th minute when Tevin Gage was played into the right side of the penalty area, but his effort went wide of the post. A minute later, the Fire had the lead as Cal Roselieb’s effort from 25 yards was only parried by Spagnola, and Brindle was on hand to tuck away the rebound.
Eight minutes later, Chris Prince doubled the advantage. With his first touches after coming on as a substitute, Prince was able to latch onto a throw-in down the left by Wheeler, beating his defender and firing into the left side of the net. The Flames had a pair of chances to cut into the deficit before the halftime break, but Ashony Asmet’s shot from the top of the penalty area was well saved by Sam Eular, and Luis Marques’ free kick from 25 yards out went just wide of the left post, leaving the Fire up 2-0 at the break.
The Fire reasserted control at the beginning of the second half, with Flames goalkeeper Steven Bush making a good save to dent Jourdan Gooden five minutes after the break. Brindle’s second goal came in the 54th minute as a pass across the top of the penalty area by Roselieb was dummied by Felipe Cortez, giving Brindle space to shoot into the left corner from the right side of the penalty area.
Brindle then completed his hat trick just past the hour-mark as he and Cortez played a clever give-and-go in the right side of the penalty area, setting up a low finish.
“He’s a good finisher,” Morris said of Brindle. “He hits the ball well around the box, he gets himself in good positions, and when he gets chances he usually hits the target, which is important for a striker. He scored three good goals.”
With the Fire certain of their place in the semifinals, the pace slowed, although the Fire added to their advantage in the final 10 minutes through a pair of penalty kicks. Prince converted the first in the 83rd minute, shooting low into the left corner, while Gooden scored on the rebound after Bush had denied his initial shot from the penalty spot.
The Fire will face FASA in the semifinals after the Virginia side took a 1-0 win against the Laredo Heat to advance from Group A on goal difference. FASA edged out IMG Academy for the berth, finishing with a +5 goal difference to IMG’s +4 after the hosts took a 2-0 win against Ironbound SC.
On the other side of the bracket, the Crew Juniors will face Texas FC in the other semifinals. The Crew completed a perfect group stage with three first-half goal that led to a 3-0 win against Alamo SC San Antonio.
Texas’ earned its berth as a late goal earned a 3-1 victory against Tampa Bay United, sending it through on goal difference. Tampa Bay needed just a draw to advance after winning its first two matches, and would still have advanced on goal difference had it not conceded Texas’ third goal. Waza FC was the other side in the three-way tie for the group lead eliminated after their 3-1 win against the Westchester Flames left them with only a +1 goal differential, with Texas finishing at +2.
The semifinals will take place this evening at 4 p.m., with the championship game between the two winners being held on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. That, and the Women’s Championship, will be available live online via uslnation.com, United Soccer Leagues’ free streaming video service in partnership with UNATION.