Chicago Fire's Sergio Oregel Jr. Showing Growth After Eight Matches in 2025

There were 867 days between Sergio Oregel Jr.’s first and second MLS appearances but the Chicago Fire’s 19-year-old Homegrown midfielder has already proven to be a crucial piece in Gregg Berhalter’s lineup.

The Fire originally signed Oregel Jr. to a first-team Homegrown contract from the Fire Academy in 2021 that began in 2022 when he was only 16 and he made his MLS debut at the end of the season when he replaced Mauricio Pineda late against the New England Revolution.

After spending two years with an upstart Chicago Fire II side in MLS Next Pro, Oregel Jr. impressed during the preseason and has started all eight of the Fire’s matches in 2025. He leads team with in passing attempts (445), completed passes (395), and passes completed in the final third (39) while trailing only Jonathan Bamba for the team lead in progressive passes with 32, per fbref.

His confidence has grown in the Fire’s new system and the incremental improvement has been visible for anyone who’s watched the Homegrown midfielder on the pitch in 2025, despite a rocky first match of the season.

“I think I've been handling it pretty well,” Oregel Jr. told On Tap Sports Net. The first game was pretty tough, it was against a great team, but I think I learned from that. And now I’m just taking it game by game, trying to get better, trying to learn and I think I'm in a good spot right now.

Oregel Jr. started and played 85 minutes in the Fire’s scoreless draw against Inter Miami at Soldier Field alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Sergio Busquets. Playing well against the reigning Supporters Shield winners and leaving the match with a result should only benefit the club long-term, according to the midfielder.

“It was a confidence booster, being able to play against the best and perform. It comes with each game, getting better, growing and learning. It's something great to take home. They're the best in the league and they're people I looked up to, so being able to compete with them is something great.”

The Homegrown midfielder has been able to share the joy of these last few months with his family in the Chicagoland area. The same family members who were mainstays at SeatGeek Stadium for Fire II matches are in the stands at Soldier Field cheering on Oregel Jr., which brings a smile to his face any time he thinks about it.

“This is what they also always wanted for me and have always invested in me and sacrificed so much to get me here. It’s also great to have my little nephews, they're always at the game. They're at the age where they start to know a little bit more now so having them there cheering me on, it's amazing.”

There’s plenty that the Fire need to clean up before they face off against FC Cincinnati on Saturday as they look to snap a three-match winless streak. The Fire have had plenty of chances in their last 270 minutes of play but have only generated two goals in that time. The volume of chances so far has left the locker room confident in their ability to get on the scoresheet despite recent struggles.

“There have been chances. We have great players around us. Obviously we want to score, but I think we've been playing good football and creating chances where we can score. For us it's just about building off of what we had in the last game and, I mean the expected goals were way higher for us, so I think to build off of that into the next game, I think the goals will come.”

What’s On Tap Next?

The Fire will host FC Cincinnati at Soldier Field on April 19. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.