while sitting just eight points behind East leaders New England Revolution.
REFEREE: Terry Vaughn. SAR (bench): Nate Clement; JAR (opposite): Anthony Vasoli; 4th: Ricardo Salazar
MLS Career: 76 games; FC/gm: 31.0; Y/gm: 3.9; R: 23; pens: 23
Games involving Fire: P17 W9 L4 T4; FC/gm: 31.0; Y/gm: 4.2; R: 8; pens: 5
Games involving Crew: P14 W5 L4 T5; FC/gm: 33.1; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 3; pens: 3
INJURY REPORT: CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: DF Jim Curtin (R shoulder labral tear); DF Mike Banner (R groin strain); DF Jordan Russolillo (R hip labrum tear); DOUBTFUL: DF Osei Telesford (L groin strain); MF Justin Mapp (L groin strain); PROBABLE: FW Chris Rolfe (L ankle sprain); MF Bakary Soumare (R ankle sprain) ... COLUMBUS CREW - DOUBTFUL: MF Jacob Thomas (R ankle sprain/avulsion fracture)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHI: Calen Carr, Diego Gutierrez
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHI: Chad Barrett, Gonzalo Segares, Thiago ... CLB: Frankie Hejduk, Guillermo Barros Schelotto
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (33 meetings): Fire 16 wins (1 shootout), 53 goals ... Crew 10 wins (0 shootout), 53 goals ... Ties 7
AT CHICAGO: (17 meetings): Fire 9 wins (1 shootout), 29 goals ... Crew 5 wins (0 shootout), 24 goals ... Ties 3
• This is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season, the second of two in Bridgeview. The season series finale is scheduled for Sept. 8 on the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
• A year ago, the teams split their season series, playing to draws in their first two encounters, then each winning on the other's home ground in the next two.
• The Fire's win against the Crew at Toyota Park in the first meeting this season was their first home win in the series since Oct. 10, 2003. In the six intervening matches, the Crew had won four of the six in the Windy City with two draws.
• After going five meetings in Columbus without a victory, the Fire have won three of the last four at Crew Stadium, with a draw in the fourth. Before the April 30, 2005 victory in Columbus to start the stretch, their last previous success in the Ohio state capital was March 23, 2002.
• Coaches record: Dave Sarachan v CLB: P16 W4 L6 D6 ... Sigi Schmid vs. CHI: P20 W11 L6 D3
LAST MEETING (MLS):
6/3: CHI 3, CLB 2 (Je. Curtin 25; Oliveira 61; Barrett 78 - Oughton 38; Marshall 84)
• The Fire knocked off the Crew on June 3 at Toyota Park, putting an end to a five-game winless run while the Crew saw their own winless streak extended to five games.
• Given his first career MLS start a week earlier, center back Jeff Curtin scored his first career goal to give the Fire a 25th-minute lead. Willian Oliveira whipped in a corner and Curtin came in at the back post to stoop low and nod home.
• The Crew pulled level in the 38th minute through a set-piece of their own. Guillermo Barros Schelotto sent in a free kick from the left, and Duncan Oughton rose up to get just enough of his head on it to redirect it inside the far post. For Oughton, who missed the entirety of the 2004 season and nearly all of 2005 through injury, it was his first goal since 2004.
• Oliveira then put the Fire back in front in the 61st minute, when his free kick from the left touchline somehow sailed untouched past a host of Crew defenders and sliding Fire attackers, leaving Andy Gruenebaum no chance as it tucked inside his left-hand post. The Fire were then left a man down when Curtin had another reason to remember his day -- getting sent off for the first time, in the 68th minute, for a second yellow card.
• Yet Chicago doubled the lead 10 minutes later through a remarkable goal. Oughton mis-hit a rebound attempt outside the area, and Chad Barrett collected the ball and raced away. Some 65 yards later -- with Crew striker Kei Kamara in hot pursuit the entire time, unable to even grab his jersey to pull him back -- Barrett slotted his shot past Gruenebaum for his first goal since April 21.
• The Crew piled on the pressure with the manpower edge, and pulled back a goal in the 84th minute, when a corner kick pinged around the box before getting swept to Chad Marshall, who hooked a shot high into the goal. But when Danny O'Rourke was sent off two minutes later it essentially ended the Columbus chances, though Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens was called upon for one late acrobatic stop of a Frankie Hejduk drive.
• Here's Dave Sarachan's team (4-4-2): Matt Pickens - Dasan Robinson, C.J. Brown, Jeff Curtin, Gonzalo Segares - Brian Plotkin, Chris Armas, Bakary Soumare, Willian Oliveira (Jim Curtin 73) - Chad Barrett (Jerson Monteiro 79), Calen Carr. Substitutes Not Used: Mike Banner, Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, Justin Mapp, Jordan Russolillo
• Here's Schmid's team (4-1-3-2): Andy Gruenebaum - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Ezra Hendrickson (Chad Marshall 60), Rusty Pierce (Eddie Gaven 72) - Danny O'Rourke - Ned Grabavoy, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Duncan Oughton - Alejandro Moreno, Robbie Rogers (Kei Kamara 78). Substitutes Not Used: Bill Gaudette, Stefani Miglioranzi, Danny Szetela, Tim Ward
CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire ended their six-game winless streak and won for just the second time since the start of May, going to BMO Field and coming away with a 3-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. The Fire joined TFC in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, both with 19 points (though Chicago has played one fewer game), both five points behind the fifth-place Columbus Crew but 14 points out of first place.
LAST MATCH
• Toronto FC were home again for the first time after six games on the road, winning one and drawing three on their travels. They were entertaining a Chicago Fire team that was winless in their last six games and had won just once since the start of May.
• It was Cuauhtemoc Blanco's league debut for the Fire, and he left his imprint on the game. In the 37th minute, Blanco stood on the ball before lofting a wonderful pass for a perfectly timed run by Ivan Guerrero down the left flank, and the Honduran controlled the ball in the box before whistling a drive over 18-year-old emergency goalkeeper David Monsalve for the opener.
• The Fire doubled the lead in the 58th minute, as Blanco was steaming forward but played a dummy on a pass from the left. It found Calen Carr at the edge of the area, who avoided no fewer than three TFC defenders diving in and hit a shot that deflected off two more players before dropping into the goal.
• Chicago finished off the rout in the 75th minute. Chris Armas played a freekick over the top and Chad Barrett ran onto it with no TFC defenders around. He sent a low cross to the back post where Floyd Franks came racing in to tap home for his first professional goal.
• Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made five changes to the team that lost 4-0 to Houston Dynamo two weeks previous. C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Logan Pause and Calen Carr all returned to the team while Cuauhtemoc Blanco made his MLS debut, while Jim Curtin, Justin Mapp, and Bakary Soumare will all lost to injury, and Bruno Menezes and Thiago returned to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Osorio's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Pickens - C.J. Brown, Diego Gutierrez (Brian Plotkin 87), Gonzalo Segares - Dasan Robinson, Chris Armas, Logan Pause, Ivan Guerrero - Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Thiago 82) - Calen Carr, Chad Barrett (Floyd Franks 66). Substitutes Not Used: Jon Busch, Jeff Curtin, Bruno Menezes, Daniel Woolard
• "I think all the hard work has paid off, at least for today's game," said Osorio. "At both ends of the pitch I think we did very well. I can only be very pleased with our performance today and I hope we can expect these things from now on."
TEAM NEWS
• It was a second game with Cuauhtemoc Blanco in the lineup, and his international pedigree was once again noticeable.
• "He did well today, and I think he will do a lot better," said Osorio. "He knows he might not find the same space or time that he is used to in the Mexican league. As long as our strikers keep making their runs I think he will always find them."
• It was the Fire's first victory since a 3-2 win against Columbus on June 3, and it also marked a few other firsts. It was Osorio's first win since taking over as Chicago's head coach July 9 and his first victory overall as a coach in Major League Soccer.
• It's been a while for a win and it was a convincing one. I think guys came in here with a purpose today; we were extremely well prepared by the coaching staff," said Calen Carr. "And the bottom line is, it came down to guts out there, everyone put out a gutsy performance."
• After recording two shutouts in the first four games of the season - both victories - the Fire had posted two since, but both were scoreless draw. The win in Toronto was the first shutout victory since April 29, a 1-0 win against Houston Dynamo.
• "I think the whole game plan just worked perfectly today. We played against a very good team, we limited them to maybe one shot in the second half and I think two crosses in the first one, so I think defensively the team was spot on with everything we did," Osorio said. "As far as the attacking side, we were very efficient today. We scored three goals and we could have scored more."
• After the signing of Blanco, the Fire added another high-profile Central American striker on Monday when they introduced Costa Rican international Paulo Cesar Wanchope. Wanchope, who played in all three of Costa Rica's games in Germany 2006, has 72 caps and has scored 45 goals for his country. He made one of the biggest moves ever from Costa Rica in 1996, when he signed with Derby County of the English Premiership. In all, the 31-year-old played eight seasons in England, for Derby (to 1999; 72 league appearances, 23 goals), West Ham United (1999-2000; 35 apps, 12 goals) and Manchester City (2000-04; 64 apps, 27 goals). Since leaving Europe, Wanchope has been hit hard by injuries, playing in Spain for Malagá, at Al-Gharrafa in Qatar, Argentina's Rosario Central and Tokyo FC in the J-League.
COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew won for the fourth consecutive home match, getting a pair of goals from Guillermo Barros Schelotto six minutes apart for a 2-0 win against Toronto FC in their last league match, July 22. The Crew now sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 25 points from 18 matches, a point ahead of D.C. United and two behind the New York Red Bulls, with first place just eight points away.
LAST MATCH
• The Crew were coming off a loss away to Chivas USA that put an end to a six-game winless run, while Toronto FC were completing a six-game road swing that began with a loss, but had since seen a victory and three draws.
• After a quiet first half, Guillermo Barros Schelotto hit for two goals in six minutes to send the Crew on their way. First, in the 50th minute, a lovely buildup saw an overlapping Frankie Hejduk get the ball on the right and float in a cross. It sailed over Alejandro Moreno's head, but Schelotto came in behind to knock it home first-time.
• Then Columbus won a free kick just a bit outside the TFC area. The Argentinean playmaker hooked his curling effort around the wall and while Toronto 'keeper Srdjan Djekanovic was able to get his hands to it, the ball still bobbled into the net for Schelotto's fourth goal on the year, to go with seven assists.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to Chivas USA in Carson the weekend before. Stefani Miglioranzi moved to left back for Rusty Pierce as Danny Szetela came off a stellar performance in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to move into central midfield, while Ned Grabavoy also returned to the team, coming in for Andy Herron.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Will Hesmer - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Stefani Miglioranzi - Danny Szetela, Danny O'Rourke - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Robbie Rogers 73), Ned Grabavoy, Eddie Gaven (Andy Herron 87) - Alejandro Moreno. Substitutes Not Used: Andy Gruenebaum, Ezra Hendrickson, Kei Kamara, Duncan Oughton, Rusty Pierce
• "We're 5-1-2 in our last eight games. That's a total of 17 points," said the Crew coach. "If you can average two points a game, that's a good run. As long as we can, I want to average two points a game."
TEAM NEWS
• Szetela returned from action with the U.S. national team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and fell right into place in the Crew midfield, playing what coach Schmid called "his best game this year for us." Said Szetela: "It feels good. I'm finally healthy. I've gone to the [Under-20] World Cup and played there, getting my confidence up and forgetting about all my injuries and everything here. ... It's nice playing with [the U-20 national team], but it's nice to get back to your family. It was great to get the start today, and it was a great atmosphere out there."
• Hesmer has now recorded five shutouts in his seven starts since taking over the reins as starting 'keeper. "Great job, collectively, by the team defending again. I had a couple of saves to make but for the most part they were easy or predictable," said Hesmer. "Obviously the team is riding high right now, and the chemistry is really there."
• Guillermo Barros Schelotto now has three goals in his last three games, and he is second in MLS with seven assists, one behind the New England Revolution's Steve Ralston.
• "Guillermo has been very instrumental since he's been with us, and I think when you look at all the foreign signings in the league this year he is definitely, in my mind, in the top two," said coach Sigi Schmid. Said Schelotto: "I was comfortable from the first minute. Obviously, as time goes by I feel even more comfortable, not only with the team, but also with the language and teammates and things like that.
• On Saturday, Aston Villa rounded out their North American tour Saturday with a 3-1 win against the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. Villa got first-half goals from Ashley Young and John Carew and survived a second-half goal from the Crew's Jason Garey before Luke Moore scored in injury time to cement the win.
• "I thought in the first half, we were still on vacation for the first 15 minutes. Once you get into the rhythm of being second to the ball and being late and so forth, it's tough to get your rhythm in the first half," Schmid said.
• Schmid used the match as an opportunity to get 22 players some time. Only Ezra Hendrickson and Rusty Pierce played the entire match.
• "They are in preseason and they are trying to accomplish certain things," said Schmid. "We're coming off four or five days off. We're obviously going to rest our players before this game and not before Toronto or Chicago, to accomplish what we are trying to do."
• Will Hesmer (Andy Gruenebaum 46), Ezra Hendrickson, Marcos Gonzalez (Jed Zayner 46), Chad Marshall (Tim Ward 46 / Andrew Peterson 89), Rusty Pierce, Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Eddie Gaven 46), Danny O'Rourke (Duncan Oughton 46), Danny Szetela (Jason Garey 74), Ned Grabavoy (Ricardo Virtuoso 46 / Ben Hunter 89), Robbie Rogers (Andy Herron 46), Alejandro Moreno (Kei Kamara 46).
