CHICAGO FIRE OPEN 2016 CAMPAIGN ON MARCH 6
The Chicago Fire open the 2016 MLS Regular Season against New York City FC at Toyota Park on Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m. CT (CSN Chicago/97.5 FM Poder).
The season kicks off with a three-and-a-half hour broadcast window on CSN Chicago beginning at noon CT with the rebroadcast of the debut episode of Chicago Fire All-Access, a behind-the-scenes program, followed by a 30-minute pregame show, the season opener against NYCFC and a 30-minute postgame wrap show.
Tickets to the match, which is presented by Comcast SportsNet, are available by calling 888-MLS-FIRE or by visiting Chicago-Fire.com/tickets and Ticketmaster. The first 10,000 fans at Toyota Park on Sunday will receive a magnet schedule.
CHICAGO FIRE ROSTER
As of Monday, Feb. 29, the Chicago Fire roster stands at 22 signed players:
GOALKEEPERS: Sean Johnson, Matt Lampson, Patrick McLain
DEFENDERS: Jonathan Campbell, Joey Calistri, Patrick Doody, Eric Gehrig, Michael Harrington, Johan Kappelhof, João Meira, Rodrigo Ramos, Brandon Vincent
MIDFIELDERS: David Accam, Razvan Cocis, Drew Conner, Collin Fernandez, John Goossens, Nick LaBrocca, Matt Polster, Michael Stephens
FORWARDS: Gilberto, Kennedy Igboananike
Seven nations of birth are represented on the current roster: Brazil (Gilberto, Ramos), Ghana (Accam), the Netherlands (Goossens, Kappelhof), Nigeria (Igboananike), Portugal (Meira) and Romania (Cocis). Fourteen players were born in the United States.
Fire players currently occupying International Roster spots: Gilberto, Goossens, Igboananike, Kappelhof and Meira.
Nine states are represented on the Fire roster. Illinois leads the way with five players (Calistri, Doody, Conner, Fernandez, Stephens), with Gehrig hailing from Northwest Indiana. Other states that Fire players call home: California (Vincent), Georgia (Johnson), Nevada (Polster), New Jersey (LaBrocca), North Carolina (Campbell, Harrington), Ohio (Lampson) and Wisconsin (McLain).
Thirteen players played collegiate soccer in the U.S. Two players won national championships with their respective schools: Doody (2012 – Indiana University) and Vincent (2015 – Stanford).
Kingsley Bryce and 2016 MLS SuperDraft pick Vincent Keller are expected to be waived today. Arturo Alvarez and Alex Morrell remain in camp.
