ATHENS, Ga. (June 6, 2026) - Atlanta United 2 earned a 3-0 win against Chicago Fire FC II on Saturday at Turner Soccer Complex in Athens. Arif Kovac scored his league-leading ninth goal of the season while Santiago Pita and Toto Majub returned from injury, with Pita also tallying his first goal and assist of the season.
The first real chance of the match came in the 27th minute. Chicago midfielder Milan Napoe, who was streaking toward the Atlanta goal, received a lofted through ball from Mateo Clark deep in the Chicago half. Napoe, who used his pace to beat Mohamed Cisset, found himself one-on-one with James Donaldson, who had come to the top of his box. Napoe aimed a shot toward the bottom-left corner of the goal, but Donaldson reacted quickly to parry the shot away.
In the 42nd minute, Kovac generated Atlanta’s best chance of the half. Receiving a pass while surrounded by four defenders just outside of the Chicago box, Kovac used his quick feet to turn sharply and skip free into the left side of the penalty area. Kovac then released a powerful left-footed effort toward goal, but the ball narrowly rose over the crossbar and out of play.
The second half, like the first, began with a save from Donaldson. Chicago center back Hugo Berg, tracking a lofted cross from a corner, took two steps back before jumping and connecting his head with the ball, sending it toward the bottom left corner of the net. However, the ball bounced, which gave Donaldson time to quickly react to his right, stretching out his arm and making a fingertip save to keep the match level.
In the 54th minute, Atlanta capitalized on the important save and established a lead. Pita, from the right corner flag, whipped in a left-footed cross to the back post of the goal. Mohamed Cisset, winning a jostle for position against two Chicago defenders, deflected the cross back across the face of goal with his chest, where Kovac was strategically positioned to smash a shot into the roof of the net from close range.
Despite Chicago efforts to find an equalizer as time in the second half began to expire, it was Atlanta who grabbed two stoppage time goals to seal the three points.
In the 92nd minute, Pita won a ground duel that saw the ball pop into the air and land at the feet of Enzo Dovlo at midfield. Dovlo, seeing that Chicago was playing a high line, beat one defender by shielding the ball and turning past him, then went through on goal by using his pace to avoid a sliding tackle from another. With only the keeper to beat, Dovlo fired a powerful shot to the left of Chicago goalkeeper Jason Nemo, who got a touch on the ball, but was not able to prevent Atlanta from extending its lead.
Just 10 seconds after the ensuing kickoff, Pita found himself through on goal from the midfield stripe. Liam Butts pounced on a loose touch from Berg and quickly played a first time pass to Pita, who was running parallel to the last defender. After a quick burst of acceleration, Pita was one-on-one with Nemo, ending his sprint with a calm finish past the goalkeeper’s outstretched right leg to make it 3-0.
Atlanta United 2 (7-4-1, points) returns to action Saturday, June 13, when it faces Chattanooga FC at Turner Soccer Complex (7 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball App, Soccer Down Here).
