The Chicago Fire stormed from behind to dispose of rival New England in their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, while Real Salt Lake shocked the MLS universe by taking out the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew. So, who has "The Edge" in the Eastern Conference Championship? The MLSnet.com editorial staff takes a look.
We break down both squads' goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards, then give "The Edge" at each position to one of the two sides before handing out the overall edge. Agree with us? Disagree? Cast your vote for each position and the overall matchup, then leave a comment at the bottom of the page with your thoughts.
Be sure to tune in on Saturday (8:00 p.m. ET; FSC, FSE) for the 2009 Eastern Conference Championship between the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake.
| Position |  |  | Edge | Fans' pick |
| Forwards | Cuauhtemoc Blanco shifted forward in the Fire's formation in their Conference Semifinal Series and made probably a bigger impact than he has in some time, particularly in the second leg, in which he seemed to be an unstoppable force with the ball at his feet. A quad injury should not keep Brian McBride sidelined. | Playing in what could be his final match with Real Salt Lake, you can be sure that Yura Movsisyan, who's been so dangerous of late as a second-half substitute, won't leave anything in the tank. The same goes for Robbie Findley, who had a strong finish to the regular season, as well as a strong Conference Semifinal Series. |  | |
| Midfielders | John Thorrington's return to the Fire lineup following a two-month absence offered a tremendous boost to the Chicago midfield, and his presence in the center of the unit is what enabled Blanco to push forward with such gusto. Marco Pappa and Baggio Husidic both shined against the Revs, while Chris Rolfe, winding down his Fire career, must always be accounted for on the right or left. | How did RSL managed to upend the heavily favored defending champions in their Conference Semifinal Series? The answer was mostly in the midfield, where Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Will Johnson and Andy Williams simply outworked Columbus' vaunted unit. Don't expect them to slow up at all in Chicago. |  | |
| Defenders | The availability of Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares remains up in the air after Conde missed the series with New England entirely and Segares made just a second-half cameo in the opening leg. C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Brandon Prideaux and either Mike Banner or Daniel Woolard will still have to carry the load. | Tony Beltran should be back in place of Robbie Russell after a hip flexor strain sidelined him in the second leg against Columbus. Jamison Olave will likely draw the task of battling McBride in the air for the long balls that are a big part of Chicago's attack, but the entire unit must be wary of giving Blanco too much room to work in the attacking third. |  | |
| Goalkeepers | As the faces continued to rotate along the Chicago backline throughout the season, 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Jon Busch remained a rock, as his 137 shots faced were the third-most in the league, as were his 103 saves made. His 1.13 goals-against-average was good for seventh among all goalkeepers. | Of the remaining goalkeepers in the postseason, Nick Rimando has been called upon to make the most saves, stopping 10 shots against a powerful Crew attack in RSL's Conference Semifinal Series. His 1.14 goals-against-average in the regular season was just a hair behind that of his counterpart in this match. |  | |
| Overall | Having earned a home win and a road draw against Real Salt Lake during the regular season, it would be tough not to give Chicago at least a small advantage heading into this match. However, RSL was able to produce a plethora of scoring opportunities against the Fire, out-shooting Chicago in both clashes. It is worth noting, however, that Blanco, who has two goals and an assist in three career matches against Real, did not play in either of the prior two clashes, meaning the RSL defense will be tested in a way it previously was not. The extent to which Beckerman and the backline are able to limit Blanco's touches will likely go a long way toward determining who is MLS Cup-bound. | | ||
