It was the David Accam show in Clearwater, Fla., on Thursday.
The Chicago Fire winger scored twice and played a big part in a third goal in the Fire's 4-2 preseason win against the Philadelphia Union at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex.
Accam got the scoring started with a penalty kick. In the 14th minute his corner drew a hand ball in the box. He slotted the ensuing penalty home.
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The lead didn't last long at all though. The Union scored 53 seconds after the kick off to score with Sebastien Le Toux crossing into rookie Fabian Herbers, who scored with a back heel. Herbers was a college teammate of starting Fire center back Vincent Keller at Creighton this fall.
The Fire struggled to make a mark on the game for much of the rest of the first half, but the best chances continued to come from the left wing and Accam. Accam broke free when trialist John Goossens hit a through ball to Accam in stride on the wing. Accam blew by the defender and scored with a low finish past goalkeeper Andre Blake for a 2-1 Fire lead in the 40th minute.
The Fire made seven changes at halftime. Sean Johnson, Matt Polster and Brandon Vincent played their first action of the Fire's preseason. Accam, Vincent Keller,
Jonathan Campbell and Michael Harrington were the four starters to stay on after halftime. Harrington moved from right back to left back when Vincent came on for Joey Calistri, who started at right back for the second straight preseason game.
Accam nearly had his hat trick when he broke through the Philadelphia defense again in the 58th minute. He dribbled around Blake, but saw his shot cleared off the line by a diving clearance from defender Ken Tribbett.
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Two minutes later Accam created yet another chance, but this one found the back of the net. He combined with Gilberto down the left wing and fired a shot at Blake, which created a rebound that popped right up to Nick LaBrocca. LaBrocca headed in the easy finish for a 3-1 lead.
Gilberto scored a goal of his own in the 64th minute when a defensive turnover by the Union gave Gilberto an open shot, which he did not miss.
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Alex Morrell soon subbed in for Accam. Collin Fernandez left a few minutes after picking up an injury. He was replaced by Vincent Mitchell. Joao Meira made his first appearance this preseason as a second half sub. Every healthy field player in camp appeared.
Warren Creavalle scored in the 83rd minute for Philadelphia by finishing a cross from the right.
The Fire will travel back to Chicago tomorrow with the Florida part of the preseason now completed. The next preseason game is in Portland on Feb. 21 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.