Brandon Vincent was not thrown into an easy situation last year.
The Chicago Fire left back was thrust into the starting lineup as a rookie and did so on a last place team.
Vincent made 26 appearances and 24 starts in MLS player last season as part of a defensive unit which allowed the second most goals in the league. This year he has played every minute for the Fire and says he has more confidence in his game.
“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things, just my own year of experience, myself just struggling last year,” Vincent said of his improvement from last year to this year. “It’s tough coming into a team, especially when you’re not doing well as a group. That takes a toll on young players. Mentally I’m in a better place. I think the guys in the locker room bring the level up so a combination of a lot of things.”
Vincent had an assist in the Fire’s 3-0 win against Colorado on Wednesday. It was his second assist of the year and the Fire’s fourth shutout of the season.
He set up Nemanja Nikolic on a cross that left Nikolic with an open header.
“Brandon gave me a fantastic ball,” Nikolic said. “In that moment I don’t have a really difficult job. The ball was perfect and in the space between the keeper and the defenders. So that ball for the defenders is the most difficult ball, for the strikers the most easiest.”
Chicago Fire
Vincent said crossing is something he worked on during the offseason.
“I worked a lot on my own,” Vincent said. “Just putting good balls in the box in good areas and knowing that guys will be in the box to try to get their head on it. The more we can put it in there and put good balls in, the higher chance we have of scoring. Niko is in there always looking so if anybody can get a decent ball in there’s always a decent chance we can score.”