As United visit, Chicago eyes playoffs
Teams at opposite ends of postseason ladder meet
MLSnet.com Staff
• Download the game guide >
MLS Career: 118 games; FC/gm: 30.3; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 26; pens: 38
Games involving Fire: P19 W8 L8 T3; FC/gm: 30.4; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 4; pens: 7
Games involving United: P19 W8 L10 T1; FC/gm: 31.5; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 1; pens: 7 INJURY REPORT: CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: MF Justin Mapp (R ankle sprain); DF Bruno Menezes (R ankle sprain); DF Osei Telesford (L groin strain); DOUBTFUL: DF Jeff Curtin (R groin strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Ivan Guerrero (L ankle sprain); FW Paulo Wanchope (R knee inflammation); PROBABLE: MF Chris Armas (R ankle sprain); DF Diego Gutierrez (R heel contusion); FW Chris Rolfe (L ankle sprain) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); GK Shawn Crowe (meniscus tear) SUSPENDED: CHI: Gonzalo Segares (through Sept. 23; five cautions) ... DC: Fred (through Sept. 23; five cautions); Christian Gomez (through Sept. 23; five cautions); Ben Olsen (through Sept. 23; eight cautions)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHI: Calen Carr, Dasan Robinson
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHI: C.J. Brown, Chad Barrett, Diego Gutierrez ... DC: Bobby Boswell, Josh Gros, Jaime Moreno, Greg Vanney
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (29 meetings): Fire 12 wins (0 shootout), 46 goals ... United 12 wins (0 shootout), 47 goals ... Ties 5
AT CHICAGO (14 meetings): Fire 8 wins (0 shootout), 27 goals ... United 3 wins (0 shootout), 18 goals ... Ties 3
• This is the second of three meetings this season between the clubs, the lone encounter at Toyota Park. The season series finale is set for the nation's capital on Oct. 13.
• A year ago, the Fire won the season series, claiming two of the four meetings with one draw. The teams split their two meetings in Washington.
• The Fire's 3-2 victory at RFK Stadium in the season finale last year ended a four-game United home winning streak in the series in league play. The last Fire win at D.C. in the regular season had come April 24, 2004 - though, of course, there was the 4-0 win in the second leg of the 2005 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
• While the all-time league record is level between the clubs, the Fire have been dominant in cup competitions. The Fire have won four of the five games played between the teams in the MLS Cup Playoffs (with one draw), while winning the lone encounter in the U.S. Open Cup. The teams also played to a draw in their only match in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
• Coaches record: Juan Carlos Osorio v DC: first game ... Tom Soehn vs. CHI: P1 W1 L0 D0
2007 (MLS):
6/16: DC 3, CHI 1 (Dyachenko 6; Emilio 25, 51 - Monteiro 54)
• D.C. United rolled to a 3-1 victory in the first meeting between the clubs this season, June 16 at RFK Stadium, in what was the last game in charge of the Fire for Dave Sarachan. The Black-and-Red took advantage of some real errors to take a commanding lead by early in the second half.
• In just the sixth minute, Fred drove in a low cross from the left that Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens was unable to control on the short hop, and Rod Dyachenko blasted it into the goal from almost on the line for the simplest of finishes for his first professional goal.
• In the 25th minute, Luciano Emilio was kept onside on a ball played over the Fire line by Christian Gomez, and as Pickens raced off his line, the Brazilian lobbed the ball over the 'keeper's head for his second goal in as many games. Then just after the break, Emilio added to his haul, Pickens again spilling a shot from Gomez and Emilio bundling it over the line with his body (51).
• The Fire pulled a goal back three minutes when a pass was filtered through for Jerson Monteiro, and after side-stepping Facundo Erpen, the Angolan-born rookie finished inside the left-hand post for his first professional goal.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Facundo Erpen, Devon McTavish, Joshua Gros - Fred, Brian Carroll (Clyde Simms 71), Ben Olsen (Nicholas Addlery 83) - Christian Gomez (Justin Moose 66) - Rod Dyachenko, Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: Marc Burch, Kasali Yinka Casal, Guy-Roland Kpene, Jay Nolly
• Here's Sarachan's team (4-4-2): Matt Pickens - Dasan Robinson (Brian Plotkin 70), C.J. Brown, Jeff Curtin, Gonzalo Segares - Floyd Franks (Jerson Monteiro 46), Diego Gutierrez, Bakary Soumare, Jordan Russolillo (Willian Oliveira 46) - Chad Barrett, Calen Carr. Substitutes Not Used: Mike Banner, Jon Busch, Jim Curtin, Daniel Woolard CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire looked as if they had come away with a long-awaited victory at FC Dallas and a vital three points in their playoff hunt - before a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer left the teams with a 1-1 draw on MLS Primetime Thursday at Pizza Hut Park. The Fire still hold the eighth spot in the MLS overall table, with 31 points from 25 matches, now two points ahead of the Colorado Rapids and three ahead of the Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire had four victories and two draws in their last eight games, coinciding with the arrival of Cuauhtémoc Blanco to the squad, while FC Dallas had lost three of their last four games, including conceding four goals in each of their last two losses.
• The home side held the majority of the opening 45 minutes, but the closest either team came was in the 17th minute when FCD 'keeper Dario Sala tipped a Chris Rolfe blast onto the crossbar.
• But Sala had no answer for Rolfe in the 56th minute. He latched onto the ball some 35 yards from goal before hammering a wicked blast that sailed past the goalkeeper into the upper right corner of the goal.
• It was time then for Chicago goalkeeper Matt Pickens to shine, and he did so with a number of quality saves down the stretch, then helped just before the end of regulation time when C.J. Brown cleared away a rebound from inside the goalmouth as Clarence Goodson came sliding in with the open goal gaping.
• Just when it seemed the Fire would escape, a long ball came in from the right flank and was flicked on by Goodson to the top of the area. Ruiz made a masterful first touch to pull away from two defenders and round Pickens before slotting the ball home for the equalizer and a crucial point on the night.
• Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made two changes to the team that came back to tie the New York Red Bulls 2-2 the previous Saturday at Toyota Park. Bruno Menezes came in for the suspended Wilman Conde on the back line, while Chris Armas returned from injury, coming into the midfield for Diego Gutierrez.
• Here's Osorio's team (4-2-3-1): Matt Pickens - Bruno Menezes, C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Gonzalo Segares - Logan Pause, Chris Armas - Chad Barrett (Diego Gutierrez 66), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Bakary Soumare 83), Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 75) - Paulo Wanchope. Substitutes Not Used: Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, John Thorrington, Daniel Woolard
• "I think we're a little disappointed at the way it ended," said Fire assistant coach Daryl Shore. "We thought we played pretty well tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough game and came in here and worked hard."
TEAM NEWS
• For Rolfe, it was his fifth goal of 2007, but his first since May 12, when he scored goals in four consecutive games to begin the season.
• "We felt like at halftime that there were some gaps on the field that (Rolfe) and Blanco could find and that's how the goal happened," Shore said. "He found himself in a little bit of a pocket, was able to get a little space and hit a great goal. It frees him up a little bit and keeps him from getting banged up by the defenders. It's a unique role for him."
• Over the last few matches, Rolfe has been moved into a wide midfield role. Against FC Dallas, Paulo Wanchope figured as the targetman in attack, with Chad Barrett and Chris Rolfe coming from wide positions and Cuauhtémoc Blanco pulling the strings in behind.
• "We took Rolfie away from his natural forward position and put him in the midfield to give him a little more freedom to run around and find different gaps on the field," Shore said.
• Said Rolfe: "We knew that they were coming with an attacking lineup in the midfield. We played Chris (Armas) and Logan (Pause) a little more defensive to hold back down. I was kind of free to find the gaps between (Pablo) Ricchetti in the first half and (Adrian) Serioux in the second half."
• Besides the performance of Rolfe, the Fire also got a great game between the posts from goalkeeper Matt Pickens, who saved six of the seven shots on frame that he faced.
• "Matt is a very good goalkeeper," Shore said. "He was pretty solid for us tonight. He made some big saves and unfortunately, wasn't able to come up with the last one there at the end but that's soccer. He had a big night for us and probably earned us the point."
• With the draw, the Fire still have not won in Dallas since July 4, 1999, when they won 2-1 at the Cotton Bowl. Since Blanco joined the team in late July, the Men in Red are 4-2-3 and still in eighth place in the MLS overall table, currently holding down the final playoff spot. FCD also retained the Brimstone Cup for the sixth consecutive year with the tie.
• "It seems like every time we come to Dallas, we always have the better play in the game and the run of chances but it doesn't work out," said Fire midfielder Chad Barrett. "Chris (Rolfe) had a couple of nice shots and a great goal. That lifted our spirits a little bit. We made some defensive subs and everything was going great until the last minute, when we had a defensive lapse. That's the worst way to end a game, especially when you really need three points."
• With five games left for the Fire, they now lead ninth-place Colorado by two points and 10th-place Columbus by three in the scrap for the final playoff spot. Holding on for a few seconds longer would have meant neither team could catch Chicago this weekend.
• "You have to give the players a little time to grieve over this one. This isn't a tie for us, this is a loss. This is one where three points were literally taken from us," Barrett said. "We have to regroup. It's a quick turnaround and we have to be ready for D.C.. If we're not, they will walk all over us and that can't happen." D.C. UNITED
D.C. United returns to action after an 11-day layoff after having been the first team to claim a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs in their last match, a 2-1 home win against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 12 at RFK Stadium. United have 49 points from 25 matches, four ahead of the New England Revolution in both the Eastern Conference table and the MLS overall standings as they chase a second successive Supporters' Shield.
LAST MATCH
• D.C. United came in riding an eight-game unbeaten streak as they raced away from the rest of the field in the chase for the Supporters' Shield, while Real Salt Lake had seen their modest two-game winning streak - a season-first - put to an end in a 4-3 loss to Western leaders Houston Dynamo the weekend before.
• Real created most of the early chances - many through Alecko Eskandarian, making his return to the club where he started his career - but United took the lead in the 16th minute. Christian Gomez chased down a loose ball on the right and hooked a lovely cross to beyond the far post, where Luciano Emilio rose to powerfully head home for his league-leading 19th goal on the season.
• RSL pulled level in the 32nd minute. Kyle Beckerman was given acres of space to charge forward from midfield and let fly from well outside the area, beating Troy Perkins inside his right-hand post for his first goal since coming over from Colorado.
• United had a glorious opportunity to pull ahead in the 50th minute when Josh Gros was adjudged to have pulled down in the corner of the area by referee Jorge Gonzalez. But Nick Rimando beat Christian Gomez, diving to his left to stop his well-placed penalty kick.
• Yet Gomez made amends 17 minutes from the end. Fred floated a cross from the right side of the box to the far post where Gomez had shaken his marker, and he easily nodded home for his seventh goal.
• Not to be outdone, Real won a penalty three minutes later when Devon McTavish was ruled to have pulled back Carey Talley as the two grappled in the area for a free kick service. But Perkins stoned Eskandarian, diving to his left to punch out his spot kick attempt, and United held on for the win to become the first team to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
• D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn made four changes to the team that defeated the New England Revolution 4-2 at home the previous weekend. Bobby Boswell came back into central defense in place of Greg Vanney, Ben Olsen and Brian Carroll came in for Clyde Simms and Fred in midfield, and up top Guy-Roland Kpene replaced Jaime Moreno, who was away on international duty.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch - Ben Olsen (Clyde Simms 80), Brian Carroll, Joshua Gros - Christian Gomez - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Fred 46). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Rod Dyachenko, Domenic Mediate, Jay Nolly, Greg Vanney
• I thought on the day it was bad all the way around. Having said that you know there's a lot of situations you are in where you don't play well and don't get the result," Soehn said. "So I still give our guys credit that they did what it takes to win and get our three points and keep our streak alive -- whether it's Troy [Perkins] making a big save or Christian [Gomez] coming up after missing a penalty, Fred injecting some light. We found a way to win and it wasn't pretty today.
TEAM NEWS
• The RSL game was the last for D.C. United before an 11-day break, after a stretch where they had played eight games from Aug. 15-Sept. 12. The United braintrust responded by giving the team four days off before beginning preparations for the Fire match at the start of this week.
• "I've been pushing these guys pretty hard and to their credit they have responded. We've had a lot of games in a short amount of time. We knew we had this break coming up and we might have actually thought we were on break today," Soehn said. "But we need it; we need to recharge our batteries and refocus. Again, I'm still pleased we were able to get a result on a day where it wasn't good enough." Said goalkeeper Troy Perkins: "It was a huge win going into a four-day break. If you lose or draw it, we would spend the whole time thinking about it."
• Now with five regular season matches remaining, United tops the MLS Supporters' Shield race (for the overall regular-season points leader) as well as the Eastern Conference race, and have already guaranteed themselves a playoff berth. But with three of their four final opponents in the thick of the fight for a spot in the postseason, the Black-and-Red are gearing up for an intense run-in.
• "There's going to be no easy games from here on out," said midfielder Ben Olsen. "Everybody needs to make playoffs. I say it every year, once the weather starts changing, the mood and the atmosphere in this league changes, because you know it's coming up on playoff time. The summer is gone and now you can run a little bit more and have a little bit more energy to close the ball down, and more tackling. That's an exciting time, and fall brings that on."
• In addition, United faces a home-and-home series with CD Guadalajara (Chivas) of Mexico on Sept. 26 (at RFK Stadium) and Oct. 3 (at Estadio Jalisco) in the Copa Sudamericana. But the club does not want to lose focus on the league battles.
• "We're trying to get after that Supporters' Shield and we can't really afford to let any points pass us by," said defender Devon McTavish. "Chivas [USA] is right there, New England is right behind us and Houston is right behind us, so it's a tight race at the top. We know that. We have five games left and we need to get a result in every one of them in order to win the Supporters' Shield, which is a goal of ours."
• Jaime Moreno missed the RSL match while on international duty with Bolivia, and he said he could miss club matches while again with his national side, as Bolivia take on Uruguay and Colombia to begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in October.
• "Yeah, it's going to be pretty tight, especially with all the many games that we have -- especially if we go through Sudamericana too," said Moreno. "I'm going to miss a few games for D.C., but I think we're doing well and players are stepping up. When I wasn't here, they did a great job. I think we'll be fine."
• United also made an addition to their squad during the break, picking up Angola-born striker Jerson Monteiro from the Chicago Fire. One of the Fire's two first-round picks in this year's SuperDraft (No. 8 overall), the 22-year-old Monteiro moved to Houston from his native country at age 14 and is a product of Alabama-Birmingham. He also scored for Chicago in the first meeting with D.C. this season.
• "I just never got a chance to play," he said of his time with Chicago to The Washington Post, which included just 154 minutes of action. "I was just real optimistic about [the trade], the opportunity to come to D.C."
CHICAGO FIRE v D.C. UNITED
TOYOTA PARK, Bridgeview, Ill.
2 p.m. CT (TeleFutura; My50 [Chi]; CSN-DC)
Sept. 23, 2007 (WEEK 25) / MLS Game #165
MLS Career: 118 games; FC/gm: 30.3; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 26; pens: 38
Games involving Fire: P19 W8 L8 T3; FC/gm: 30.4; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 4; pens: 7
Games involving United: P19 W8 L10 T1; FC/gm: 31.5; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 1; pens: 7 INJURY REPORT: CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: MF Justin Mapp (R ankle sprain); DF Bruno Menezes (R ankle sprain); DF Osei Telesford (L groin strain); DOUBTFUL: DF Jeff Curtin (R groin strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Ivan Guerrero (L ankle sprain); FW Paulo Wanchope (R knee inflammation); PROBABLE: MF Chris Armas (R ankle sprain); DF Diego Gutierrez (R heel contusion); FW Chris Rolfe (L ankle sprain) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); GK Shawn Crowe (meniscus tear) SUSPENDED: CHI: Gonzalo Segares (through Sept. 23; five cautions) ... DC: Fred (through Sept. 23; five cautions); Christian Gomez (through Sept. 23; five cautions); Ben Olsen (through Sept. 23; eight cautions)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHI: Calen Carr, Dasan Robinson
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHI: C.J. Brown, Chad Barrett, Diego Gutierrez ... DC: Bobby Boswell, Josh Gros, Jaime Moreno, Greg Vanney
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (29 meetings): Fire 12 wins (0 shootout), 46 goals ... United 12 wins (0 shootout), 47 goals ... Ties 5
AT CHICAGO (14 meetings): Fire 8 wins (0 shootout), 27 goals ... United 3 wins (0 shootout), 18 goals ... Ties 3
• This is the second of three meetings this season between the clubs, the lone encounter at Toyota Park. The season series finale is set for the nation's capital on Oct. 13.
• A year ago, the Fire won the season series, claiming two of the four meetings with one draw. The teams split their two meetings in Washington.
• The Fire's 3-2 victory at RFK Stadium in the season finale last year ended a four-game United home winning streak in the series in league play. The last Fire win at D.C. in the regular season had come April 24, 2004 - though, of course, there was the 4-0 win in the second leg of the 2005 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
• While the all-time league record is level between the clubs, the Fire have been dominant in cup competitions. The Fire have won four of the five games played between the teams in the MLS Cup Playoffs (with one draw), while winning the lone encounter in the U.S. Open Cup. The teams also played to a draw in their only match in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
• Coaches record: Juan Carlos Osorio v DC: first game ... Tom Soehn vs. CHI: P1 W1 L0 D0
2007 (MLS):
6/16: DC 3, CHI 1 (Dyachenko 6; Emilio 25, 51 - Monteiro 54)
• D.C. United rolled to a 3-1 victory in the first meeting between the clubs this season, June 16 at RFK Stadium, in what was the last game in charge of the Fire for Dave Sarachan. The Black-and-Red took advantage of some real errors to take a commanding lead by early in the second half.
• In just the sixth minute, Fred drove in a low cross from the left that Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens was unable to control on the short hop, and Rod Dyachenko blasted it into the goal from almost on the line for the simplest of finishes for his first professional goal.
• In the 25th minute, Luciano Emilio was kept onside on a ball played over the Fire line by Christian Gomez, and as Pickens raced off his line, the Brazilian lobbed the ball over the 'keeper's head for his second goal in as many games. Then just after the break, Emilio added to his haul, Pickens again spilling a shot from Gomez and Emilio bundling it over the line with his body (51).
• The Fire pulled a goal back three minutes when a pass was filtered through for Jerson Monteiro, and after side-stepping Facundo Erpen, the Angolan-born rookie finished inside the left-hand post for his first professional goal.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Facundo Erpen, Devon McTavish, Joshua Gros - Fred, Brian Carroll (Clyde Simms 71), Ben Olsen (Nicholas Addlery 83) - Christian Gomez (Justin Moose 66) - Rod Dyachenko, Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: Marc Burch, Kasali Yinka Casal, Guy-Roland Kpene, Jay Nolly
• Here's Sarachan's team (4-4-2): Matt Pickens - Dasan Robinson (Brian Plotkin 70), C.J. Brown, Jeff Curtin, Gonzalo Segares - Floyd Franks (Jerson Monteiro 46), Diego Gutierrez, Bakary Soumare, Jordan Russolillo (Willian Oliveira 46) - Chad Barrett, Calen Carr. Substitutes Not Used: Mike Banner, Jon Busch, Jim Curtin, Daniel Woolard CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire looked as if they had come away with a long-awaited victory at FC Dallas and a vital three points in their playoff hunt - before a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer left the teams with a 1-1 draw on MLS Primetime Thursday at Pizza Hut Park. The Fire still hold the eighth spot in the MLS overall table, with 31 points from 25 matches, now two points ahead of the Colorado Rapids and three ahead of the Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire had four victories and two draws in their last eight games, coinciding with the arrival of Cuauhtémoc Blanco to the squad, while FC Dallas had lost three of their last four games, including conceding four goals in each of their last two losses.
• The home side held the majority of the opening 45 minutes, but the closest either team came was in the 17th minute when FCD 'keeper Dario Sala tipped a Chris Rolfe blast onto the crossbar.
• But Sala had no answer for Rolfe in the 56th minute. He latched onto the ball some 35 yards from goal before hammering a wicked blast that sailed past the goalkeeper into the upper right corner of the goal.
• It was time then for Chicago goalkeeper Matt Pickens to shine, and he did so with a number of quality saves down the stretch, then helped just before the end of regulation time when C.J. Brown cleared away a rebound from inside the goalmouth as Clarence Goodson came sliding in with the open goal gaping.
• Just when it seemed the Fire would escape, a long ball came in from the right flank and was flicked on by Goodson to the top of the area. Ruiz made a masterful first touch to pull away from two defenders and round Pickens before slotting the ball home for the equalizer and a crucial point on the night.
• Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made two changes to the team that came back to tie the New York Red Bulls 2-2 the previous Saturday at Toyota Park. Bruno Menezes came in for the suspended Wilman Conde on the back line, while Chris Armas returned from injury, coming into the midfield for Diego Gutierrez.
• Here's Osorio's team (4-2-3-1): Matt Pickens - Bruno Menezes, C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Gonzalo Segares - Logan Pause, Chris Armas - Chad Barrett (Diego Gutierrez 66), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Bakary Soumare 83), Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 75) - Paulo Wanchope. Substitutes Not Used: Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, John Thorrington, Daniel Woolard
• "I think we're a little disappointed at the way it ended," said Fire assistant coach Daryl Shore. "We thought we played pretty well tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough game and came in here and worked hard."
TEAM NEWS
• For Rolfe, it was his fifth goal of 2007, but his first since May 12, when he scored goals in four consecutive games to begin the season.
• "We felt like at halftime that there were some gaps on the field that (Rolfe) and Blanco could find and that's how the goal happened," Shore said. "He found himself in a little bit of a pocket, was able to get a little space and hit a great goal. It frees him up a little bit and keeps him from getting banged up by the defenders. It's a unique role for him."
• Over the last few matches, Rolfe has been moved into a wide midfield role. Against FC Dallas, Paulo Wanchope figured as the targetman in attack, with Chad Barrett and Chris Rolfe coming from wide positions and Cuauhtémoc Blanco pulling the strings in behind.
• "We took Rolfie away from his natural forward position and put him in the midfield to give him a little more freedom to run around and find different gaps on the field," Shore said.
• Said Rolfe: "We knew that they were coming with an attacking lineup in the midfield. We played Chris (Armas) and Logan (Pause) a little more defensive to hold back down. I was kind of free to find the gaps between (Pablo) Ricchetti in the first half and (Adrian) Serioux in the second half."
• Besides the performance of Rolfe, the Fire also got a great game between the posts from goalkeeper Matt Pickens, who saved six of the seven shots on frame that he faced.
• "Matt is a very good goalkeeper," Shore said. "He was pretty solid for us tonight. He made some big saves and unfortunately, wasn't able to come up with the last one there at the end but that's soccer. He had a big night for us and probably earned us the point."
• With the draw, the Fire still have not won in Dallas since July 4, 1999, when they won 2-1 at the Cotton Bowl. Since Blanco joined the team in late July, the Men in Red are 4-2-3 and still in eighth place in the MLS overall table, currently holding down the final playoff spot. FCD also retained the Brimstone Cup for the sixth consecutive year with the tie.
• "It seems like every time we come to Dallas, we always have the better play in the game and the run of chances but it doesn't work out," said Fire midfielder Chad Barrett. "Chris (Rolfe) had a couple of nice shots and a great goal. That lifted our spirits a little bit. We made some defensive subs and everything was going great until the last minute, when we had a defensive lapse. That's the worst way to end a game, especially when you really need three points."
• With five games left for the Fire, they now lead ninth-place Colorado by two points and 10th-place Columbus by three in the scrap for the final playoff spot. Holding on for a few seconds longer would have meant neither team could catch Chicago this weekend.
• "You have to give the players a little time to grieve over this one. This isn't a tie for us, this is a loss. This is one where three points were literally taken from us," Barrett said. "We have to regroup. It's a quick turnaround and we have to be ready for D.C.. If we're not, they will walk all over us and that can't happen." D.C. UNITED
D.C. United returns to action after an 11-day layoff after having been the first team to claim a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs in their last match, a 2-1 home win against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 12 at RFK Stadium. United have 49 points from 25 matches, four ahead of the New England Revolution in both the Eastern Conference table and the MLS overall standings as they chase a second successive Supporters' Shield.
LAST MATCH
• D.C. United came in riding an eight-game unbeaten streak as they raced away from the rest of the field in the chase for the Supporters' Shield, while Real Salt Lake had seen their modest two-game winning streak - a season-first - put to an end in a 4-3 loss to Western leaders Houston Dynamo the weekend before.
• Real created most of the early chances - many through Alecko Eskandarian, making his return to the club where he started his career - but United took the lead in the 16th minute. Christian Gomez chased down a loose ball on the right and hooked a lovely cross to beyond the far post, where Luciano Emilio rose to powerfully head home for his league-leading 19th goal on the season.
• RSL pulled level in the 32nd minute. Kyle Beckerman was given acres of space to charge forward from midfield and let fly from well outside the area, beating Troy Perkins inside his right-hand post for his first goal since coming over from Colorado.
• United had a glorious opportunity to pull ahead in the 50th minute when Josh Gros was adjudged to have pulled down in the corner of the area by referee Jorge Gonzalez. But Nick Rimando beat Christian Gomez, diving to his left to stop his well-placed penalty kick.
• Yet Gomez made amends 17 minutes from the end. Fred floated a cross from the right side of the box to the far post where Gomez had shaken his marker, and he easily nodded home for his seventh goal.
• Not to be outdone, Real won a penalty three minutes later when Devon McTavish was ruled to have pulled back Carey Talley as the two grappled in the area for a free kick service. But Perkins stoned Eskandarian, diving to his left to punch out his spot kick attempt, and United held on for the win to become the first team to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
• D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn made four changes to the team that defeated the New England Revolution 4-2 at home the previous weekend. Bobby Boswell came back into central defense in place of Greg Vanney, Ben Olsen and Brian Carroll came in for Clyde Simms and Fred in midfield, and up top Guy-Roland Kpene replaced Jaime Moreno, who was away on international duty.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch - Ben Olsen (Clyde Simms 80), Brian Carroll, Joshua Gros - Christian Gomez - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Fred 46). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Rod Dyachenko, Domenic Mediate, Jay Nolly, Greg Vanney
• I thought on the day it was bad all the way around. Having said that you know there's a lot of situations you are in where you don't play well and don't get the result," Soehn said. "So I still give our guys credit that they did what it takes to win and get our three points and keep our streak alive -- whether it's Troy [Perkins] making a big save or Christian [Gomez] coming up after missing a penalty, Fred injecting some light. We found a way to win and it wasn't pretty today.
TEAM NEWS
• The RSL game was the last for D.C. United before an 11-day break, after a stretch where they had played eight games from Aug. 15-Sept. 12. The United braintrust responded by giving the team four days off before beginning preparations for the Fire match at the start of this week.
• "I've been pushing these guys pretty hard and to their credit they have responded. We've had a lot of games in a short amount of time. We knew we had this break coming up and we might have actually thought we were on break today," Soehn said. "But we need it; we need to recharge our batteries and refocus. Again, I'm still pleased we were able to get a result on a day where it wasn't good enough." Said goalkeeper Troy Perkins: "It was a huge win going into a four-day break. If you lose or draw it, we would spend the whole time thinking about it."
• Now with five regular season matches remaining, United tops the MLS Supporters' Shield race (for the overall regular-season points leader) as well as the Eastern Conference race, and have already guaranteed themselves a playoff berth. But with three of their four final opponents in the thick of the fight for a spot in the postseason, the Black-and-Red are gearing up for an intense run-in.
• "There's going to be no easy games from here on out," said midfielder Ben Olsen. "Everybody needs to make playoffs. I say it every year, once the weather starts changing, the mood and the atmosphere in this league changes, because you know it's coming up on playoff time. The summer is gone and now you can run a little bit more and have a little bit more energy to close the ball down, and more tackling. That's an exciting time, and fall brings that on."
• In addition, United faces a home-and-home series with CD Guadalajara (Chivas) of Mexico on Sept. 26 (at RFK Stadium) and Oct. 3 (at Estadio Jalisco) in the Copa Sudamericana. But the club does not want to lose focus on the league battles.
• "We're trying to get after that Supporters' Shield and we can't really afford to let any points pass us by," said defender Devon McTavish. "Chivas [USA] is right there, New England is right behind us and Houston is right behind us, so it's a tight race at the top. We know that. We have five games left and we need to get a result in every one of them in order to win the Supporters' Shield, which is a goal of ours."
• Jaime Moreno missed the RSL match while on international duty with Bolivia, and he said he could miss club matches while again with his national side, as Bolivia take on Uruguay and Colombia to begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in October.
• "Yeah, it's going to be pretty tight, especially with all the many games that we have -- especially if we go through Sudamericana too," said Moreno. "I'm going to miss a few games for D.C., but I think we're doing well and players are stepping up. When I wasn't here, they did a great job. I think we'll be fine."
• United also made an addition to their squad during the break, picking up Angola-born striker Jerson Monteiro from the Chicago Fire. One of the Fire's two first-round picks in this year's SuperDraft (No. 8 overall), the 22-year-old Monteiro moved to Houston from his native country at age 14 and is a product of Alabama-Birmingham. He also scored for Chicago in the first meeting with D.C. this season.
• "I just never got a chance to play," he said of his time with Chicago to The Washington Post, which included just 154 minutes of action. "I was just real optimistic about [the trade], the opportunity to come to D.C."
