CHICAGO (Aug. 5, 2015) – The Chicago Fire U-15 Academy side has been invited to take part in the Liga BBVA Bancomer Under-15 International Tournament in Mexico City from Aug. 11-23. The Fire U-15s reached the finals last year before falling in penalty kicks to Pachuca in the famed Azteca Stadium.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to go to Mexico and play against the top under-15 teams in Mexico as well as two of the top teams in the Bundesliga,” said Chicago Fire Academy Director Larry Sunderland. “It is the early going for us in regards to bringing the team together. We’ve only trained together for a week so the results might reflect that, but we’re eager to get to Mexico and see how we compare.”
The tournament field includes eight teams, including four Mexican sides, two German sides and two MLS sides, with each team playing a total of seven games.
The Fire face Chivas de Guadalajara on Aug. 13, Eintracht Frankfurt on Aug. 14, Borussia Monchengladbach on Aug. 15, FC Dallas on Aug. 17, Atlas on Aug. 18, Pachuca on Aug. 19 and Club America on Aug. 21.
The teams have been divided into two groups with the four Mexican sides on Group 1 and the MLS and Bundesliga sides in Group 2. The two best clubs, one from each group, will compete in the final on Aug. 22.
Chicago Fire U-15 Roster by Position:
Forwards: Andrew Akindele, Luke Baumgartner , Christian Marquez
Midfielders: Braden Adamson-Tate, Gilberto Angeles, Victor Bezerra, Jude Burst, Oscar Carreno, Aaron Nguyen, Lawson Sunderland
Defenders: Eduardo Huerta, Adrian Lara, Cesar Montes, Andre Reynolds, Danny Rodriguez, Eduardo Ruiz, Michael Silvar, Pierce Ugarte
Goalkeepers: Thomas John Wallis, Jackson Weyman
