HIGH POINT, N.C. (July 25, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC II (7-6-6-3, 33 points) delivered a dominant performance on the road against Carolina Core FC (4-10-7-2, 21 points) Saturday night at Truist Point.
Chicago Fire II wasted no time finding their rhythm, opening up scoring in the 18th minute through Oscar Pineda. After a quick attacking sequence, Pineda collected a pass from Dean Boltz before firing into the bottom right corner to give Fire II an early advantage and log his first goal of the season.
Chicago continued to apply pressure and doubled its lead in the 29th minute when Damian Nigg fired a right-footed strike from outside the box into the bottom left corner, finishing off a setup from Vitaliy Hlyut. Just five minutes later, Fire II found the back of the net again, with Turdean and Damian combining to create the opportunity before Hlyut finished from the center of the box.
Holding a 3-0 advantage heading into halftime, CFII continued its attacking momentum after the break. In the 55th minute, midfielder Trip Flemming added to the lead, finishing from the center of the box with assists from Damyan Villanueva and Dean Boltz.
Carolina Core FC then responded with a goal in the 80th minute, but CFII quickly regained control and was able to cap off the night with a late insurance goal by Tidiane Diawara.
NEXT MATCH: With the victory, Chicago Fire FC II kicks off a three-game homestand with a Sunday afternoon match against FC Cincinnati 2 on August 2. First kick at SeatGeek Stadium is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT. The match can be streamed across the globe on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
Carolina Core FC 1:5 Chicago Fire FC II
Goals:
CHI - Pineda (1) (Boltz 4) 18’ (WATCH)
CHI - Damian (3) (Hlyut 3) 29’ (WATCH)
CHI - Hlyut (3) (Turdean 3) 34’ (WATCH)
CHI - Fleming (2) (Villanueva 7) 55’ (WATCH)
CCFC - Tattevin (10) (Pineda 3) 80’ (WATCH)
CHI - Diawara (4) (Damian 4) 90+1’ (WATCH)
Discipline:
CHI - Damian Nigg (Caution) 4’
CCFC - Ryan Baer (Caution) 55’
CHI - Oscar Pineda (Caution) 78’
CHI - Oscar González (Caution) 79’
CCFC - Charles Orbaugh (Caution) 82’
CCFC - Nelson Martínez (Caution) 90’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Nemo JR, Borso (Napoe 66’), Sandmeyer (Field HT), Gonzalez, Damian, Turdean (Montiel 76’), Fleming (C), Pineda, Hlyut (Bernhardt 76’), Villanueva, Boltz (Diawara 66’)
Substitutes not used: GK Molenda, F Williams, Chavez, Morales
Head Coach: Mike Matkovich
Carolina Core FC: GK Holliday, Tetteh (Evers HT), Orbaugh, Weber, Swinehart (Martinez HT), Montenegro (Lundean 60’), Baer, Hammond (Pineda 69’), Raimbault (Diaz HT), Kaloukian, Tattevin
Substitutes not used: GK Jackson, Balogun, Rockhill, Colon
Head Coach: Jake Davis (Interim)
Stats Summary: CCFC / CHI
Shots: 12 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 7
Passing Accuracy: 82.4% / 83.5%
Saves: 2 / 3
Corners: 3 / 3
Fouls: 16 / 10
Offsides: 3 / 3
Venue: Truist Point (High Point, N.C.)
Referee: Daniel Emeri
Assistant Referee 1: Nicholas Seymour
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Charron
Fourth Official: Yannick Rothfuss
