On a weekend the Fire celebrated their first 25 seasons, they got a look at their future.
Making his first start Sunday, goalkeeper Chris Brady stopped four shots in the Fire’s 1-1 tie with the New England Revolution in front of 14,357 at SeatGeek Stadium. Homegrown player Alex Monis tied the game in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, stealing a point for the Fire.
“It’s good to see the young kids, when called upon, get out there and play well,” coach Ezra Hendrickson said. “We have a lot of young players, so we have to get them out there. We have to get them experience.
“Once they show well in training, once they show that they’re ready… we say that there are good players and there are bad players, not old players and young players.”
With the Fire and New England both out of contention on the final day of the year and Gabriel Slonina still recovering from a concussion, coach Ezra Hendrickson gave Brady his debut.
The young goalie had little time to settle in.
In the first minute, Brady was unable to stop a cross for Giacomi Vrioni, but the close-range shot went wide. Three minutes later, Brady came out of his net to cut down the angle and stymie Vrioni to record his first save. Then in the 11th, Brady’s pass put Mauricio Pineda into trouble, but the Fire escaped without damage.
Brady was tested again in the 50th when he denied Vrioni, and made perhaps his best save in the 52nd when he dove to his right to stop Gustavo Bou’s try from the center of the box. Brady was again up to the task in the 60th facing Bou, but couldn’t do anything on Dylan Borrero’s curling score in the 88th.
Brady thought Sunday was a good building block, and he took plenty from the experience.
“I think I learned a lot,” Brady said. “Reading the game, first and foremost, was probably the biggest takeaway from today.”
Brady improved on that as the game wore on, and Monis made sure the Fire’s efforts were worth a point. After a long throw-in from Carlos Teran, a loose ball in the box found Monis, who had no issues filling the net.
“It means a lot,” Monis said. “It’s been a long and difficult season for this team, but I think to finish on a positive individually and collectively is really important. To do it alongside a lot of the teammates I grew up playing with is a very special thing.”
Brady and Slonina grew up competing with each other, and whether Brady succeeds him in the Fire net next year is one of the questions the team has to address this winter.
Slonina was sold to Chelsea and loaned back, and it’s possible he stays in Chicago next year to continue his development and keep his hold of the Fire net. Also 18 like Slonina, Brady is considered a top prospect but maybe not on Slonina’s level, and might need more time before becoming the Fire starter. If that’s the case and Slonina doesn’t return, the Fire would need to find a veteran stopgap who’d understand it would be Brady’s job when he’s ready.
But Brady has had a strong 2022 and earned his start Sunday.
A Naperville native, Brady played 12 games for Chicago Fire II in MLS NEXT PRO and registered five shutouts. Earlier this year, Brady backstopped the United States to the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship title and qualification for the Under-20 World Cup in 2023 and the Summer Olympics in 2024, winning the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in the tournament.
Outside of the goalkeeping situation, the Fire have a lot of work to do this offseason.
They finished 10-15-9 (39 points), good for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Before anything else is done, owner Joe Mansueto has to make a final call on sporting director Georg Heitz, whose contract is up.
Once that’s decided, Heitz or his replacement can figure out how to get the Fire back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. By restructuring Gaston Gimenez’s contract, the Fire have an open designated player spot to use alongside Xherdan Shaqiri and Jairo Torres. They also have to sort out the future of Jhon Duran amid the reported interest from Liverpool and Chelsea and other European clubs, and also add playable depth to a thin roster.
None of that was determined on an afternoon when Brady got his long-anticipated chance and looked like he belonged.
“I thought he did really, really well today,” Hendrickson said.
