NEW YORK (May 23, 2025) – Chicago Fire FC II (4-4-1-0, 13 points) earned a point with a 2-2 draw against New York City FC II (4-5-3-2, 17 points) Friday afternoon at Belson Stadium in Queens, New York. Forwards Dean Boltz and Claudio Cassano scored late goals for the Fire in their first draw of 2025.
New York set the tone for the first half early on as Jacob Arroyave won a ball in midfield in the fifth minute. The midfielder found fellow Homegrown Máximo Carrizo on the right wing, who cut inside and ripped a left-footed shot near-post for the opener. Justin Reynolds nearly equalized in the 18th minute, hitting the crossbar after a smooth pass from Claudio Cassano, but Chicago could not generate much more as the half drew to a close.
The Fire got out to a better start in the second half, retaining more of the ball but unable to break down the New York defense. With rain whipping Queens in the closing minutes, Chicago finally broke through as Boltz got on the end of a series of deflections inside the City box.
Chicago continued to push forward, as midfielder Harold Osorio sent a through ball to forward Jason Shokalook in the 90th minute. The forward then sent a pass across goal that Cassano got on the end of, completing a comeback with seconds to spare in regulation time.
With the roles reversed in stoppage time, the hosts sought a comeback of their own to avoid a home defeat. Midfielder Julien Lacher heaved a desperation cross into the box that was headed away by the Fire backline. But fellow midfielder Peter Molinari headed the ball back into the edge of the six-yard box, where Sebastiano Musu hit a bicycle kick to tie the game at the death for New York. The whistle blew shortly thereafter, and the Pigeons won the ensuing shootout to come away with an additional point at the end of a rain-soaked Friday afternoon.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC II kicks off a two-game homestand with a match against Columbus Crew 2 on Sunday, June 1. First kick at SeatGeek Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. The match will be free to attend and available to stream on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Social: X - @ChicagoFireFCII (Hashtags: #ChicagoFireII) | Instagram - @chicagofirefcii | Facebook
Box Score:
New York City FC II 2 (4):(2) 2 Chicago Fire FC II
Goals:
NYC - Carrizo (2) (Arroyave 1) (WATCH) 5’
CHI - Boltz (2) (Shokalook 1) (WATCH) 82’
CHI - Cassano (3) (Shokalook 2) (WATCH) 90’
NYC - Musu (1) (Molinari 1) (WATCH) 90+6’
Shootout:
New York City FC II: Baiera (scored), Elias (scored), Zeitz (scored), Tiao (saved), Musu (scored)
Chicago Fire FC II: Osorio (saved), Cassano (missed), Shokalook (scored), Calle (scored)
Discipline:
NYC - Carrizo (Yellow Card) 14’
NYC - Lim (Yellow Card) 23’
NYC - Molinari (Yellow Card) 68’
NYC - Murray (Yellow Card) 69’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Los, D Soudan (Osorio, 79’), D Diouf, D Konincks, D Reynolds (Kanyane, 79’), M Fleming (Calle, 65’), M Hlyut, M Williams, F Boltz (Oyegunle, 90+4’), F Shokalook, F Cassano
Substitutes not used: GK Molenda, D Richards
New York City FC II: GK Rando, D Baiera, D Mccamy, D Murray, D Tiao, M Lim (Guarino, 90+6’), M Molinari, M Arroyave (Zeitz, 63’), M Carrizo (Lacher, 46’), M Elias, F Reid (Musu, 63’)
Substitutes not used: GK Klein, D Loura, D Amponsah, D Infuso, M Sunjic
Stats Summary: NYC / CHI
Shots: 19 / 19
Shots on Goal: 7 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 85.0% / 87.2%
Saves: 3 / 4
Corners: 10 / 6
Fouls: 9 / 4
Offsides: 1 / 1
Referee: Thomas Snyder
Assistant Referee 1: Adam Cook
Assistant Referee 2: Joseph Knoff
4th Official: Johnathan Luk
