JACKSON – Millsaps College is serving as host for the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer (MLS) for the next four days as the club continues its preseason tour in preparation for an exhibition match against FC Dallas on Sunday, March 7 at 3 p.m. at M&F Bank Stadium in Ridgeland.
The Fire finished the first of their training sessions on the Majors’ practice fields this morning with a spirited penalty shootout.
Justin Mapp, a native of nearby Brandon, Miss., was excited to be back in the United States and the opportunity to be in a familiar setting.
“It feels nice to be back in the Jackson area with family and friends close by as we continue our training. The field at Millsaps is great and is one of the best fields on which we train” Mapp said.
Mapp (shown left), entering his ninth year of professional soccer, played one year at nearby Northwest Rankin High School before leaving for the U.S. residency program in 2000 until he turned professional in 2002 joining MLS’s D.C. United at just 17 years of age.
Fellow teammate C.J. Brown, the only remaining member of the original Fire squad, has also been impressed by the fields at Millsaps.
“This is a big change to the fields we played on in Mexico last week. The fields are softer compared to the hard ones in Guadalajara. With two hard training sessions a day, the softer fields make it easier on the body” Brown said (shown on left of picture below).
Both players agreed that the trip to Jackson is a good time as the team is well taken care of, especially after playing here in the past.
“The preseason training camp trip is a good chance for the group to get to know each other while on the road as they are free from outside distractions” said Vice President of Communications Becky Carroll.
“It’s great to have the Chicago Fire here on campus at Millsaps and we look forward to this opportunity” head men’s soccer coach Lee Johnson said. “They show our players the attitudes and expectations of what it takes to be a professional player and the training mentality necessary to succeed.”
The Fire will be back on the field this afternoon from 4-6 p.m. and Saturday morning between 9-11 a.m. before their match with rival FC Dallas on Sunday.