Chicago Fire off to solid start with 19-year-old Naperville native in goal
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Chicago Fire are playing some good soccer of late behind yet another young goalkeeper with a lot of skills.
He's also homegrown talent.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn had more on how Chris Brady is handling the pressure of being the Fire's keeper.
"We told him it'd be a situation where he'd have to come in and win the position," said head coach Ezra Hendrickson. "And he did that, so we're very proud of him."
At just 19 years old, Brady is starting in goal not just for a Major League Soccer team, but for the Naperville native, it's his home team as well.
"It's an honor," Brady said. "I think throughout my entire childhood, I was working for this. To now say that I am is a crazy feeling. It still doesn't really feel real."
Brady isn't really exaggerating when he says he spent much of his childhood working towards this moment. He joined the Fire Academy back in 2017 and then signed his first professional contract with the team in 2020, when he was still only 16 years old.
What was it like to sign that contract for Brady?
"Crazy, crazy," he said. "A rush of emotions for me and my family and all my friends. Like I said before, it's just purely an honor."
Having a young talented keeper is nothing new for the Fire. Brady is filling the shoes of another homegrown star, Gaga Slonina.
Slonina, at just 18 years old, left the Fire after two seasons to join Chelsea in the Premiere League in England.
"Gaga was another that was just a special kid, very mature, willing to do the work, willing to show up everyday, and knew how to put things behind him," Hendrickson said. "We see Chris has a similar type of maturity, that ability to forget about the last play."
Brady said Slonina "set the tone for what's expected of young keepers in Chicago and he helped me see that there are a lot of sacrifices that need to be made to attain this job and excel in this position and maybe one day make it to where he is."
And Brady does already have experience on the international level as well, being named the best keeper at the U-20 CONCACAF Championship last summer and he hopes of one day playing for the U.S. Men's National Team. For now, all the focus is on one goal with the Fire.
"The playoffs," Brady said. "That's the goal. This year, all eyes are on the playoffs and making it in there."
That would be just the Fire's second playoff appearance since 2012.
The Fire have only lost once in seven games this season and sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference which would have the team in playoff position.