BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Christian Koffi scored a pair of goals and “assisted” on a Chicago own goal to lead Huntsville City FC to a 4-1 season opening win Sunday.
For Koffi, the game had special meaning – he played for the Fire II last season and wasn’t picked up for this season.
“It was special,” he said. “But the most important thing today was the win.”
The Boys in Blue dominated the first half with a 3-1 lead and wrapped up the scoring with about 5 minutes left in the match on Gunnar Studenhofft’s first MLS NEXT Pro goal.
“It was a complete effort,” said Head Coach Chris O’Neal. “We had opportunities in the first half to score and we were able to capitalize on those moments. We were sound defensively for the most part.
“I felt that we were in control in most situations.”
Koffi’s first score came around the 15-minute mark when, after intercepting a Fire II pass in their defensive end, took the ball inside the box and fired it into the net. Watch Koffi’s first goal here.
Chicago tied it in the 22nd minute but Huntsville recaptured the lead 15 minutes later on a Koffi penalty kick when Ethan O’Brien was fouled in the box. Watch Koffi’s second goal here.
The Boys in Blue extended their lead just before halftime when a cross from Koffi to O’Brien was pushed into the net by Chicago’s Justin Reynolds.
“This is the type of player we thought he was when we wanted to bring him in,” O’Neal said of Koffi. “We’re excited that he’s proving us right and he does that every day in training.
“I’m extremely happy for the kid and I hope we continue to see that.”
After Chicago was sent down to 10 men following Harold Osorio’s ejection, HCFC added a fourth goal in the 86th minute when Isaiah Jones found Gunnar Studenhofft, who outran the defense and beat the Fire II keeper to score on his MLS NEXT Pro debut.
Despite the club’s dominance in the opener, O’Neal said there are still some things to work on.
“There are, absolutely, things we can get better at,” he said. “In the second half we lost a little bit of control of how we wanted to play. We still had it without the ball but we’d like to have more control with the ball.
“Going forward we’ll make sure we recognize those moments and continue to get better and put a complete game together.”
That next opportunity is Saturday when the Boys in Blue visit Chattanooga FC at 7 p.m. Eastern at Finley Stadium. For ticket information, click here. The match can be seen on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
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