Chicago Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton seemingly put a wall in front of his net. The Kansas City Wizards might as well been shooting target practice, they put up so many shots, so many accurate missiles at goal.
But Thornton was always there, constantly in the right position, as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Thornton certainly didn't deserve to lose the match. But a 1-1 tie didn't seem especially right either. The score easily could have been 3-1 or 4-1. And the one goal that got past Thornton came on a rebound, from Eddie Johnson early in the second half after Chad Barrett had given the Fire a first-half lead.
The Wizards had the first chance of the game when forward Josh Wolff turned on the afterburners in the fifth minute, slipping past the Fire defense. But his shot from the right flank was high over the net.
Fire defender Logan Pause was soon after awarded a yellow card for diving, when he dived in front of Kansas City goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi. Referee Kevin Stott ran over quickly to show the card to Pause.
The Fire seemed sparked by the booking. Barrett took a precise pass from fellow forward Chris Rolfe and turned it into a breakaway down the center of the field. Barrett beat Oshoniyi with a bullet in the right corner of the net.
A yellow card was involved in the next Wizards scoring opportunity. Johnson was fouled in the penalty area by Fire midfielder Chris Armas. Armas received a yellow card for dissent as Stott pointed to the spot. But Johnson telegraphed his penalty kick attempt, and Thornton made the save and then cleared the rebound by Wizards defender Nick Garcia.
The Fire successfully snuffed out the Wizards' many opportunities in the half. The Wizards placed five shots on goal, all resulting in Thornton saves. The Wizards took 10 shots in all in the first half.
Thornton successfully stopped Wizards attacker Davy Arnaud twice. Wizards midfielder Sasha Victorine boomed a 27-yard blast that clanged off the left post. And Wizards defender Jack Jewsbury also tried a long-range blast, but it sailed over the crossbar and into the stands.
The Fire defense got the result it wanted for the first half. Thornton and the back four weren't spectacular, but they shut down a potent Wizards offense.
Johnson finally got a shot past Thornton in the 48th minute. Just a minute earlier Thornton had again frustrated the Wizards, stopping a chance from Arnaud. But Johnson returned a rebound from defender Jack Jewsbury's shot, threading it past Thornton into the right corner of the net.
Then the Fire had their best opportunity of the second half when Kerry Zavagnin committed a foul in the area and Stott whistled for his second penalty kick of the match. But Oshoniyi made a sliding save to stop Ivan Guerrero's shot in the 67th minute and keep the score level.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of a Major League Soccer or its clubs.
