By FRANCO PANIZO

The Chicago Fire have signed Notre Dame forward Harrison Shipp to a Homegrown Player deal, the club announced on Thursday.

Shipp joins the Fire after a four-year collegiate career that was punctuated with the Fighting Irish’s first NCAA College Cup title. The 22-year-old Shipp – who is originally from Lake Forest, Ill., and played for the Fire academy in 2009 and 2010 – finished his senior season with 12 goals and 10 assists in 24 matches and set up the game-winner in last month’s championship match vs. Maryland.

“Harry’s a local guy, one of the best college players in the country and we are extremely excited to have him join the Fire,” said Chicago Fire head coach and director of soccer Frank Yallop. “It speaks very highly of our player development system where a player of Harry’s caliber can thrive and have a direct route to the first team. He’s trained with the first team over the summer and we expect a smooth transition for him from the college game to the professional ranks.”

In his collegiate career, Shipp scored 23 times and assisted on 24 others in 83 matches. He is one of three finalists for the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy that will be announced on Friday.

What do you think of the Fire signing Shipp to a Homegrown deal? Excited by the move? See him making an impact this season?

Share your thoughts below.