The Chicago Fire Academy Under-12 team claimed first place in the inaugural Patterson Cup tournament, held this past weekend at Wyandotte Sporting Fields in Kansas City, Kansas.
The event was contested among six of Major League Soccer's top youth academies -- hosts Sporting Kansas City, Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC -- across Saturday and Sunday, with the young Men In Red edging past Toronto FC 4-2 in the final match to take home the trophy.
Among the Fire's standout performers were Nick Mitrega, Makhi Francis, and Patrick Los, who were named to the All-Tournament Team, as well as Aleks Duncevic who claimed the Golden Ball as the tournament's top scorer. They were led by Chicago Fire Juniors City coach Johnny Demerguis.
The Patterson Cup is named after Sporting KC co-owner Neal Patterson and his wife Jeanne, both of whom lost their lives to cancer in 2017 and were instrumental in the growth of soccer in Kansas City. Beginning in the spring of 2020, the Patterson Cup will expand to include some of the top U-12, U-13 and U-14 academy teams from MLS and abroad.
