Chase Adams was focused on the little details and not the big picture before the Columbus Crew’s game against Minnesota United on Saturday.
Chase Adams, who helped Naperville Central win its only state championship in 2022, didn’t know whether he was going to make his MLS debut, but he wanted to be prepared.
“There wasn’t too much going through my head,” he said. “I was just making sure I had my shin guards and my jersey so I could go in.”
With the host Crew trailing by a goal in stoppage time of a 3-2 loss, Chase Adams was sent into the game and played the final seven minutes, his first action in an MLS game.
“I wasn’t too focused on the whole debut thing in the moment,” he said. “Honestly, I was just focused on how I could impact the game, and then after the fact, I kind of realized it.
“It was really fun to be able to experience that.”
Chase Adams, 18, has had a whirlwind of such experiences in the past few weeks. In March, he traveled to Portugal with the U.S. U-18 national team, which went 1-1-1 in three friendly games.
Next came Chase Adams’ first-team debut with Columbus. He entered in the 81st minute of the visiting Crew’s 3-0 win over the Richmond Kickers in a U.S. Open Cup game on April 15, two days before his 18th birthday.
Chase Adams’ father, Troy, who coaches the boys and girls soccer teams at Naperville Central, was in attendance.
“They told him (the day before) to bring your travel stuff just in case,” Troy Adams said. “He told me on Tuesday at 1:00, so I bought a ticket to Richmond, flew out Wednesday morning, was able to get to the game, watch the game, give him a big hug and then flew back the next morning at 5 a.m. so I could teach.”
Troy Adams took the trip even though there was no guarantee his son would play. Chase Adams was rostered twice with the first team in 2025, including a game in New England that Troy Adams attended, but did not play.
“I always said I wanted to be there for his first-team debut,” Troy Adams said. “Luckily, I was able to do that with Richmond.”
The Richmond fans were supportive when they found out about the Adamses.
“They heard the (family) story, and they started clapping when he went in,” Troy Adams said. “It was neat to be around other people that wanted to celebrate the moment. His host mom had flown in too.”
Chase Adams achieved another milestone in another U.S. Open Cup match on April 29, scoring the final goal as the host Crew defeated One Knoxville SC 4-1. Knoxville’s goalkeeper, Jonathan Burke, is a Naperville native who played high school soccer at Wheaton St. Francis.
“I didn’t get to touch the ball too much the Open Cup game, but I thought I did well to put myself in different opportunities to get a chance at a shot on target,” Chase Adams said. “The second game I thought I did really well.
“It was really good to be able to show my quality inside the box and finish the chance that I got, which is really amazing to experience that at home in front of the fans and celebrate with the rest of the team. My teammates came and jumped on me, so that was really neat.”
Adams’ paternal grandparents, Dan and Debbie, attended that game and his MLS debut on Saturday. Troy Adams watched both games on TV.
“Watching his teammates react and see how happy they were for him was really cool,” Troy Adams said. “One of the veteran defenders, Steven Moreira, was warming up to go in, and to see the smile on his face and him giving Chase a hug was just neat to see.”
Troy Adams has attended many of Chase’s games, including trips to Costa Rica and Qatar for international competitions. But Troy Adams’ duties at home prevented that Saturday, when he coached the Naperville Central girls soccer team to a 2-1 win over Libertyville in the Naperville Invitational semifinals in the morning and then watched his daughter Catherine play for the JV team.
“I had a father-daughter thing the next day with my other daughter,” Troy Adams said. “It’s hard. You want to be at everything for everybody, but if you decide to have more than one kid, it’s pretty much impossible.”
Playing in an MLS game at age 18, something only a handful of players have done for Columbus, would seem like an impossible dream for most kids. But not for Chase Adams, who has scored goals at every level he has played. In fact, his coaches expect it from him. He was the leading scorer for the Crew 2 in the previous two seasons and has five goals this season.
“They’re just focusing on the next action, like making sure I’m going to practice, and it’s intense,” Chase Adams said. “The two people in front of me at my position got hurt, so that’s why I was able to get rostered and play with the first team. So when I have the chances, I have to take them and prove that I should be there.
“(The coaches) treat me like I should be there, that it’s not something that’s too special. I’m here for a reason, so they want me to know that I still have to earn everything, and I am earning my things.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
