PREFACE: There were comings and goings at Chicago Fire FC while the Red Stars made four draft picks in Thursday’s NWSL Draft.
FIRE APPOINT NEW ACADEMY DIRECTOR: On Friday, the Fire announced the hire of Gary Lewis as the club’s new Academy Technical Director. Lewis replaces Cedric Cattenoy who became a first team scout.
Lewis will oversee the technical direction of the five teams within the Academy, including the U-19 team which will return this season. He will also work closely with the first team and Chicago Fire FC II technical staffs to ensure continuity from the Academy to the professional level.
“It’s exciting to be joining a Club that has consistently demonstrated that there is a pathway for players to go from the Academy to the professional level,” said Lewis. “It’s an exciting project and I’m looking forward to watching players grow during their time in the Academy and develop both as people and as players. We want to build future stars for the Club, but also create alumni that will go on to be future ambassadors for the Chicago Fire.”
Lewis most recently served as New York Red Bulls II head coach after leading the Seattle Sounders Academy from 2020-2022. Lewis began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Everton F.C. U-13 side before becoming Head of Youth Development for Liverpool F.C., a position he held for six years before moving to the United States. Following his tenure with Liverpool, Lewis became Director of Coaching at The Football Club USA, where he oversaw a network of more than 1,000 coaches and players across six states. In 2015, Lewis joined the Philadelphia Union, serving as Philadelphia Union U-17 head coach before crossing the country to join the Sounders.
FIRE SIGN DEAN, PART WAYS WITH IVANOV: The day before, the Fire signed defender Jonathan Dean from USL Championship side Birmingham Legion. Dean, 25, is signed for the 2023 season with club options for 2024 and 2025.
On Friday, the club mutually agreed to part ways with midfielder Stanislav Ivanov. Ivanov made 22 appearances (18 starts) in two seasons with the Fire.
RED STARS DRAFT PICKS: On Thursday, the Chicago Red Stars selected four players in the 2023 NWSL Draft:
Penelope Hocking (7th overall) is a forward from Penn State. Hocking played in 23 matches for the Nittany Lions in 2022, starting in 22, scoring seven goals and recording 11 assists. Prior to joining Penn State, Hocking played for USC where she became USC’s all-time leading scorer by surpassing the program record of 48 career goals, breaking a mark which had stood for 21 years. On the international level, Hocking played for the U-20 U.S. Women’s Youth Team and competed in the U-20 World Cup in France.
From there with the 14th overall pick, the Red Stars selected midfielder Grace Yochum from Oklahoma State University. Yochum played in 86 matches, starting in 83, scoring 41 goals and making nine assists over a five-year career. Yochum is the 400th draft pick in NWSL history
Next up, the Red Stars swapped second round picks with OL Reign (23rd pick, plus an international roster spot and a third round pick in 2024, for the 19th overall pick). With that, the Red Stars selected forward Ally Schlegel from Penn State. Schlegel played in 85 matches, started in 83, scored 47 goals and assisted on 20 others. The forward was part of the U.S. U-23 Youth National Team that played against Chicago in a 2022 preseason tournament in Portland.
Finally, with the 43rd overall pick, the Red Stars picked midfielder Sophie Jones from Duke. Over four years at Duke, Jones played and started in 75 matches, scoring five goals and registering eight assists. Jones was also part of the U.S. U-23 national team that played the Red Stars in the 2022 preseason tournament in Portland.
