Results tagged “mls”

   

There are no box scores to link to today as none of Chicago's teams were in action last night. However, there's plenty of sports news to go around.

While the Cubs and Sox sat out October baseball, the Chicago Fire joined the Bulls and Blackhawks as another of the city's teams looking to make a splash in their league's post-season action in 2009. The soggy conditions at Toyota Park didn't dampen the Fire's spirits as they celebrated not only a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA, but also clinching a spot in the MLS playoffs. The Fire's goal came in the 67th minute when Chivas' Eduardo Lillingston attempted to clear a Blanco cornerkick but since the ball into his own goal instead. In spite of awful conditions, the Fire still got plenty of chances, taking 14 corner kicks and 13 shots, though only two of those were officially credited as shots on goal. Goalie Jon Busch had three saves in the winning effort.

D.C. United only got two shots on goal against the Chicago Fire in yesterday's match, but they made the most of those opportunities, scoring the game's only goal en route to a 1-0 victory over the Fire. The Fire had six shots on goal but couldn't convert any of them into points on the scoreboard. The Fire, who remain in second place in the MLS's Eastern Conference, get a breather next week before their September 12 at Real Salt Lake.

The Chicago Fire rallied from an early two goal deficit but weren't able to hold as the Houston Dynamo edged Chicago 3-2 on Sunday. Houston took a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Kei Kamara and Ricardo Clark. But the Fire came out hot in the second half, scoring a pair of goals in the first five minutes (Chris Rolfe and Peter Lowry). But in the 83rd minute, Stuart Holden netted a penalty kick for Houston that put the Dynamo up for good and costing the Fire a point and a chance to close in on first-place Columbus. Next up for the Fire in MLS action is a trip next Sunday to Kansas City.

The Chicago Fire dispatched the New England Revolution 2-1 last night in Foxboro, earning themselves a trip to the 2009 SuperLiga final. Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the way for Chicago with an assist to Brian McBride in the 34th minute to give the Fire a 1-0 lead. Then Blanco netted an unassisted goal in the 63rd minute to break a 1-1 tie and put the Fire ahead for good. Keeper Jon Busch played outstanding for the Fire, stopping 8 of 9 shots on goal fired by New England. The Revolution - the defending SuperLiga champs - were also a bit short-handed as suspensions, injuries, and other duties kept seven players off their roster for this match. Still, there's nothing to take away from the Fire, who earned the right to host the August 5th SuperLiga final against Tigres UANL. Fire coach Coach Dennis Hamlett said after the game, "You need big plays to win and our big players stepped up and made great plays."

The Chicago Fire's hopes for another MLS title came to an end in Columbus last night as the Crew out-dueled the Fire 2-1 in the MLS Eastern Conference final. Brian McBride scored in the 29th minute on an impressive header to give the Fire a 1-0 edge, but the Crew scored twice in the second half (49th and 55th minute) to take the lead, one they wouldn't relinquish. It was a bittersweet experience for McBride who spent many years in Columbus yellow. The Fire had some late chances, but a fourth trip to the MLS Cup Final wasn't in the cards. Goalkeeper Jon Busch was upbeat after the loss, saying, "We gave a good effort. They have a very good team. We had our chances and they had theirs. We gave them too many chances. The first goal took a little air out of us. I can't say enough good things about these guys. We just had those two lapses."

On a night that the #3 of Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson, two great Blackhawk defensemen, was retired, the Blackhawks fought hard in a defensive struggle, but dropped the game to Boston in a shootout, 2-1. The teams went almost two complete periods without scoring, but Boston's Marco Sturm tipped in a power play goal in the closing seconds of the second. Jonathon Toews scored the equalizer for the Blackhawks in the middle of the third period on a power play and a scoreless overtime sent the game to a shootout that Boston won 2 goals to 1 to take the win. In spite of the loss, Nikolai Khabibulin had a fantastic night in net, stopping 38 of 39 shots. Coach Quenneville said of the goalie, “Khabibulin had a special night for us. He gave us a chance to win.” Patrick Kane added, “We were on the penalty kill for two minutes [in overtime]. Khabi stood on his head.”

Thanks to a 0-0 tie in the first game of their aggregate playoff series with the New England Revolution, all the Chicago Fire had to do was win to advance to round two. And win they did, topping the Rev 3-0 Thursday night at The Camry in front of a crowd of over 17,000. Chris Rolfe scored the first goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half, taking advantage of a loose rebound after Rev goalie Matt Reis had to stretch to stop a Blanco shot. At the beginning of the second half, in the 49th minute, defenseman Wilman Conde scored off a free kick by Justin Mapp. Rolfe also got an assist on a nice pass to Gonzalo Segares, whose goal in the 74th minute clinched the game for Chicago. It was an intense, physical game which saw 21 fouls and six misconducts, including a red card on New England's Chris Albright in the 83rd minute. The Fire managed six shots on goal and goalie Jon Busch stopped all four New England shots on goal in the win. Now the Fire await the winner of the Columbus-Kansas City series, which concludes Saturday, in the Eastern Conference Championship, which begin next Thursday.

The Chicago Fire played the New England Revolution to a draw in the opener of their two-game aggregate playoff series last night 0-0. Both teams struggled to get much offense going throughout the physical match that saw 22 fouls and five yellow cards. The Fire mustered five shots on goal (Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the Fire with two) while goalie Jon Busch stopped all four New England shots on goal.

The Chicago Fire played to a 1-1 draw with Kansas City on Sunday and are still looking to clinch a spot in the playoffs. The Fire's lone goal came off of a Blanco penalty kick in injury time at the end of the first half, his sixth goal of the season. KC only managed two shots on goal, but one was on-target from Michael Harrington in the 48th minute. The Fire remain one point behind New England in the standings with three games remaining. Next up, the Columbus Crew visit The Camry Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Chicago Fire lit up the Revolution in the Fire home opener on last night. Just four minutes into the game Chad Barrett buried a goal to give the Fire the early lead.

The Chicago Fire earned a point on the road thanks to an injury-time blast from Cuauhtemoc Blanco in a 1-1 game against Real Salt Lake. With time winding, down Fire substitute Calen Carr sprinted down the far sideline and crossed a ball into the box that was deflected directly to Blanco, who brilliantly connected with the ball bending it around goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

The Chicago Fire kick off their 2008 campaign tomorrow when they play Real Salt Lake on the road.

The Chicago Fire's Chris Armas officially announced his retirement today, concluding a 12-year career in Major League Soccer. Armas, who had said at the beginning of the season that he intended to retire, played his final match in the play-off loss to the New England Revolution last Thursday. Armas played with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the league's inaugural season and in 1997 before coming to the Chicago Fire when the league expanded in 1998....

For the fifth time in six years, the New England Revolution have ended the Chicago Fire's season. New England forward Taylor Twellman scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal in the 38th minute that turned out to be the game winner. Twellman was covered tightly by Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause but was able to head the ball in the air then perform the acrobatic kick between the two defenders and leaving goal keeper Matt Pickens...

Two of Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player finalists will meet on the pitch tonight in a winner-plays-on playoff game. The Chicago Fire hold a single goal advantage in the two-game series that is based on aggregate scoring. The two league MVP candidates are sure to play important roles in the game. The Fire will look to the leadership of team MVP Cuauhtémoc Blanco to help them knock off DC United, who finished the 2007...

Neither the Los Angeles Galaxy nor the Chicago Fire have lost in their last seven games. Their recent successes have helped make up for poor starts and given them both a chance to earn the final playoff spot this afternoon in the Major League Soccer regular-season finale. The Fire advance to the post-season with a win or a tie, but the Galaxy need a victory to advance. The game will feature two of Major League...

Chicago Fire Forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco proved that David Beckham is not the only recent Major League Soccer acquisition that can be deadly accurate on free kicks. Kansas City came into Toyota Park after their midweek 3-2 victory over the Fire and dominated the first half of play, heavily out shooting the Fire. Just before the halftime break Fire midfielder Ivan Guerrero was tripped up just outside the Kansas City penalty area resulting in a...

The Fire's recent changes, bringing in Juan Carlos Osorio as head coach and signing Cuauhtemoc Blanco, are paying off as the Fire earned their first victory since the first week of June. Many, including Chicagoist questioned the Fire's decision to sign Blanco figuring that a combination of his aging legs and his often destructive temper would not allow him to be a productive member of the team. Since joining the Fire a little over a...

Toyota Park will host two international sporting events this summer. The first on Sunday, July 22 when the Chicago Fire host Scottish Premier League side Celtic FC. Celtic FC had a remarkable season last year where they went unbeaten in 31 of 34 games, leading them to a repeat as champions in the Scottish Premier League. The club has won five of the last seven championships and has racked up 41 domestic titles in their...

The Chicago Fire have named Juan Carlos Osorio as the third head coach in their history. Osorio leaves Colombian club Millonarios to join the Fire mid-season. Prior to Millonarios, Osorio was an assistant manager for Manchester City in the English Premier League. He also was an assistant coach and conditioning coach for the New York Metrostars of Major League Soccer for several seasons at the same time Fire President/CEO John Guppy was serving as V.P....

The Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew at Toyota Park on Sunday, ending a five game winless streak. Defender Jeff Curtin got the Fire out in front when a well-placed corner kick by Willian Olveira found Curtin at the far post where he headed in his first MLS goal. Prior to the halftime break the Columbus Crew's recent acquisition Gullermo Barros Schelotto, formerly of Argentinian club Boca Juniors, served in a free kick that found...

The Fire will be looking for a win tonight when they return home after dropping the last two of a three game road run. The Fire helped make history in their last match, but not the good kind, when they became the first franchise to be scored upon by expansion franchise Toronto FC and then went on to be the first team to lose to the Canadian club. The Fire host FC Dallas in tonight's...

The Chicago Fire came into the week tied for first place as a result of the Fire's best Major League start in club history, 3-0-1. After Sunday night’s loss to the New England Revolution the Fire (3-1-1, 10 pts) fall below the fold in the tough Eastern Conference standings to fourth behind Kansas City (4-1-0, 12 pts), New York Red Bulls (3-0-2, 11 pts) and New England Revs (3-1-2, 11 pts). The Fire were able...

The Chicago Fire put together a strong team performance to earn three points on the road against the defending MLS champions Houston Dynamo. Chris Rolfe tallied the lone goal in the 60th minute to propel the Fire to their best start in franchise history. After four games the Fire are 3-0-1, earning them 10 points, tying them with the New York Red Bulls (3-0-1) at the top of the seven-team Eastern conference. The Fire's previous...

Saturday night, the Chicago Fire won their first season opener in five years. The game time temperature was a frigid 31 degrees but that did not deter nearly 15,000 fans from coming out to Toyota Park to cheer on the Fire. The fans were barely in their seats before the Fire netted the game winner. In the fourth minute midfielder Justin Mapp(right) drove down the sideline and crossed a ball to Logan Pause who flicked...

Last month we shared with you the rumors that the Chicago Fire were in talks with Mexican Soccer Star Cuauhtémoc Blanco. The Fire announced on Sunday that Blanco would be coming to Chicago on Monday to sign a Designated Player (DP) contract with the Fire. The Fire will become only the third team to take advantage of Major League Soccer's Designated Player rule. The rule allows MLS teams to sign a player and have only...

The Chicago Fire officially announced that goalkeeper Zach Thornton has been traded to the Colorado Rapids for a conditional draft pick in the 2008 supplemental draft. A trade for Thornton comes as no surprise as the Fire had not renewed his contract. Fire President John Guppy commented, "Zach Thornton played an integral role in helping the Fire build a winning tradition during the club's first nine years, and the atmosphere here will be different as...

The Women's United Soccer Association was the first full-time women's soccer league in the world when it was founded in 2000. Franchises existed in Atlanta, Boston, Chapel Hill & Cary, NC, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Jose, and Washington D.C. After three full seasons, the WUSA suspended operations in the fall of 2003. The WUSA failed for a variety of reasons including a lack of attendance and significant television ratings, and blowing through $100...

The folks over at U.S. Soccer House, in the Prairie Avenue Historical District, have announced their intentions to submit a bid for the 2018 World Cup. The United States hosted a successful World Cup in 1994, which included games at Soldier Field. The World Cup took place last summer in Germany and will next be played in South Africa in 2010. The 2014 World Cup is expected to go to a South American country, though...