BRADENTON, Fla. (February 14, 2005) - The U.S. Under-17 '88 Men's National Team fell 3-1 this afternoon to the Chicago Fire at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

The Fire, which is holding part of its preseason in Bradenton,  took the lead in the 39th minute with a goal from Damani Ralph off a pass from Thiago.

The U.S. Under-17s were able to bounce back and found the equalizer in the 55th minute as Omar Gonzalez found Eddie Ababio free and the forward buried his shot into the back of the net.

Four minutes later, the Fire took the lead and never looked back when Justin Cook put his shot past Evan Newton. The Fire put the game out of reach in the 83rd minute when Chris Rolfe received a pass from U.S. U-20 MNT forward Chad Barrett and scored.

U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team Game Report

Participants:     U.S. Under-17 ‘88s Men’s National Team vs. Chicago Fire
Competition:     Friendly
Location:    Bradenton, Fla.
Date:    Feb. 14, 2005
Weather:    Warm, 70 degrees

Scoring Summary:   
              1st    2nd    Final
USA        1       0         1
CHI          1       2         3

CHI – Damani Ralph (Thiago)                       39th minute
USA – Eddie Ababio (Omar Gonzalez)       55th
CHI – Justin Cook                                           59th
CHI – Chris Rolfe (Chad Barrett)                  83rd

Lineups
USA: 40-Brian Perk (40-Evan Newton, 46); 13-Blake Wagner, 7-Carlos Borja, 2-Michael Balogun (38-Perica Marosevic, 81), 26-Richard Edgar; 17-Jeremy Hall, 15-Gabe Farfan (30-Ryan Peterman, 53), 21-Neven Subotic, 19-Michael Farfan (25-Anthony Wallace, 47); 34-Omar Gonzalez, 12-Eddie Ababio (20-Eric Avila, 53).

CHI: n/a

Statistical Summary:
                              USA     CHI
Shots                       4         12
Saves                      6          2
Fouls                       4          4
Corner Kicks         12        9
Offside                    3          1   

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Neven Subotic (caution)             32nd

Officials:
n/a