so was last week."
• After scoring seven goals in three games, the rojiblancos have been shut out in back-to-back matches. Chivas were not shut out in consecutive matches in either of the last two seasons; the last time the club was held without goals in successive league matches came Sept. 3-10, 2005.
• "The last two games we managed to do some things but came away with no goals. That's obviously a problem," Marsch said. "It's a long season. It's frustrating losing at home and not really finding our way other than the three-game stretch we had."
• The last seven Chivas goals have all come from midfielders. The team's last goal scored by a forward was May 11, when Justin Braun scored his first professional goal. "He had three chances [Sunday], and you've got to get there. You have to find yourself in the position to score goals," Preki said. "Right now no one is finding the spot apart from that kid. He is not finding the net right now, but hopefully he will. We need goals from the forwards, and right now we can't find the goals."
CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire suffered a rare road loss, falling 1-0 to FC Dallas on Sunday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park. The Fire now have 19 points from 11 matches, falling to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a point behind Toronto FC and three behind the Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas came into the match off back-to-back losses, the first with interim boss Marco Ferruzzi in charge, while the Fire were coming off their second loss in three matches, at home to D.C. United, though they had not lost away from Toyota Park on the season.
• On a broiling hot afternoon in north Texas, the home side took the lead after 17 minutes. Kenny Cooper was set free toward goal after Andre Rocha carved open the Fire defense with a through ball from his own half, and Cooper bent a shot inside the right-hand post from outside the box as goalkeeper Jon Busch flew off his line to cut down the angle.
• It was Cooper's seventh goal on the season and gave FC Dallas their first victory since May 24, while the Fire went down to defeat on the road for the first time this season.
• Fire head coach Denis Hamlett made four changes to the team that lost 2-1 to D.C. United at home the previous weekend. With Brandon Prideaux suspended, Diego Gutierrez injured and Gonzalo Segares on international duty, Hamlett brought Brian Plotkin, C.J. Brown and Austin Washington into the back four. Chris Rolfe was also out to injury, and Stephen King came back into the midfield.
• Here's Hamlett's team (4-4-1-1): Jon Busch - Brian Plotkin, C.J. Brown, Bakary Soumare, Austin Washington (Andy Herron 60) - John Thorrington, Stephen King, Logan Pause, Justin Mapp (Patrick Nyarko 72) - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chad Barrett (Tomasz Frankowski 80). Substitutes Not Used: Calen Carr, Peter Lowry, Nick Noble, Daniel Woolard
• "I think we gave up an early goal and a bad goal," Hamlett said. "It was just a little too easy after that. The field conditions made it hard and whoever got that first goal was going to sort of sit and look for the counter. To our credit, in the second half, we had a better idea as far as pushing. We kept the ball on the ground and created a couple of chances but we just weren't clinical enough. We gave up a few chances, but that's going to happen when you're trying to push the game for the equalizer."
TEAM NEWS
• The first road loss of the victory for the Fire meant they have lost back-to-back games for the first time on the season.
• "It's really not too big of a deal," striker Chad Barrett said. "We got off to enough of a good start that we can afford to slip up in two games. But if we win these next two games, we're one point behind New England, caught up with them in games and still at the top of the league. We have to know that we have to get as much rest as we can before we go to Chivas."
• After recording four shutouts and conceding just three goals over the first seven games of the season, the Fire have allowed six goals over their last four matches.
• But the Fire were held without a goal for just the second time on the season. Cuauhtémoc Blanco suffered six fouls as FC Dallas committed five times the number of fouls as Chicago.
• "That's a pattern that's going on in the last couple games," Hamlett said. "We have a special player who can make special plays with the ball. And in the last three games, there is a pattern that he's getting fouled six or seven times and the referees haven't figured out that it's a tactical play that these teams are doing. We just have to understand that now and step up on that part of it. The foul count today was 15-3, so you figure out how they were stopping our advantages."
• Said Barrett: "But I still thought that Cuauhtemoc did a good job today of dropping back in the midfield and connecting. Every time he did get the ball, you could see the other players back off of him because of the enormous respect they had for him. We had a bunch of other chances. Justin had some chances and I did too. It's something we will have to sharpen up before our next game."
• Rookie Austin Washington was given his MLS debut in the back four, while Stephen King started his second match of the season. Washington did get the start and played the full 120 minutes at midweek in the Open Cup qualifier; King has also made seven substitute appearances. As well, after battling injuries for the entire season, first-round SuperDraft selection Patrick Nyarko made his MLS debut.
• "This is an opportunity for guys to step up and make contributions," Hamlett said. "This is why you have a 28-man roster. The young guys could get a chance here."
