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Current members of the Chicago Fire Youth Development programs put together some solid performances at the high school level this fall season. Recently, 16 players involved in 2009-2010 Fire Youth Development programs were named to the Illinois High School All-State Team. Two within this group experienced a championship victory in the Illinois High School Association's 2009 Boys State Soccer Championship this past weekend at North Central College in Naperville.

Leading the way was defender Billy McGuinness, who scored the game-winning goal as Lyons Township defeated Lake Zurich, 2-1, in overtime to win the IHSA Class 3A championship. The goal came off of a corner kick by Zach Pearsall.

Trevor Wheeler was part of St. Viator's IHSA Class 2A championship team, which defeated Peoria Notre Dame, 1-0, in the final. In the semifinals, Wheeler contributed a goal as St. Viator blanked Triad, 5-0.

The following Fire Youth Development players were named to the Illinois High School All-State Team: Keegan Balle (Neuqua Valley), Andrew Bellmer (Wheaton South), Bryan Ciesiulka (Neuqua Valley), Art Garza (Naperville Central), Marco Gutierrez (St. Joseph), Connor Holloway (Deerfield), Charlie Lyon (St. Charles East), Billy McGuinness (Lyons Township), Chris Prince (Naperville Central), Harry Shipp (Lake Forest), Mike Stankiewicz (Prospect), Sean Totsch (Oswego), Jack Turanchik (Neuqua Valley), Trevor Wheeler (St. Viator), Cody Wilkins (Whitney Young) and Victor Zamora (Boylan Catholic).

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire's offense and Cuauhtemoc Blanco earned the spotlight Saturday night as they advanced past the New England Revolution and into the Eastern Conference final against Real Salt Lake. They had to post a two-goal swing and came through.

But the Fire defense also stepped up and held the Revs scoreless en route to a 2-0 victory. And go figure, the defensive back line was a little different.

At left back, Daniel Woolard stepped in for Mike Banner, who started the first game of the East semifinal series but struggled in several key moments during the Fire's 2-1 loss at Gillette Stadium. On Saturday, the Revs offense created some chances against Woolard early on, but for the most part New England was held in check.

The left back position is just one slot in which there has been a completely different starter in each defensive position this year. The one constant for every league game has been Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch. In regular-season play, Chicago put together a similar defensive performance in comparison to last season, and the 2008 and 2009 versions of the Fire advanced to this stage of the playoffs.

That's pretty remarkable for this merry-go-round of a defensive group.

"It's amazing -- and I didn't realize this till after the [regular] season -- that our stats are pretty identical to where we were last year," goalkeeper Jon Busch said. "And last year we had a pretty even group. We didn't have a lot of injuries. We had the same guys out pretty much every game each week.

"This year, we were decimated by August. But it speaks volumes of the guys in front of me that we can end up with 10 shutouts just like we had last year, one more goal than we gave up last year. Just a total team effort. We've got a tremendous group in this locker room. I'm just so happy to be a part of it."

While a constant defensive core would be a boost, Busch approaches the frequent changes as an opportunity to prove as a group that they can continue achieving the same positive results.

"It's a challenge, and it's fun. If you're younger, maybe you get a little nervous about it," Busch said. "When you're older, you spin it the right way and you say, hey, this is a challenge.

"This is a challenge to get a Danny Woolard on the same page with the rest of the guys. He's been out for a while. [Saturday night] I thought he did well. Before that it was Mike Banner who never played in the back before in his life. I thought he's done tremendous. For me, it's just a challenge to see if we can pull these guys together somehow and do what we need to do. I can't be happier or prouder of these guys. It's fantastic."

Before the second leg of the East semifinal, Busch had this to say about this season's Fire: "For what we've dealt with on and off the field this year, I take my hat off to the players. Because we've been through a lot, and for us to still be standing and standing where we are, I'm very proud of the boys, especially the young boys who have come through who were unproven in those situations."

They still are standing, and are one victory away from reaching the MLS Cup in Seattle.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- With the 2009 MLS season on the line, the Chicago Fire put together an energetic and clutch performance Saturday night, defeating the New England Revolution 2-0 in the second game of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Fire now host Real Salt Lake in the East final, which takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 at Toyota Park (game televised on Fox Soccer Channel). Chicago needed a two-goal swing to advance past the Revs on aggregate scoring, and the Fire did everything they needed to do to make that happen.

"It was a special night," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "[We had a] full house. I think the guys understood what was at task, understood the moment from the get-go. We deservedly got the win."

Chicago's energy level was evident on every line, as well as the bench. Cuauhtemoc Blanco was the game's hero with the aggregate game-winner in the 83rd minute. But it was a heads-up play by second-half substitution Patrick Nyarko that set it up.

Nyarko, who came into the game for Brian McBride (knee injury), went up against New England's Emmanuel Osei on a ball headed out of bounds that most would have probably given up on. The thought briefly went through Nyarko's mind, as well.

"I just decided to pressure [Osei]," Nyarko said. "I almost gave up on it. But I just decided to take a few steps and see what happens. I saw he didn't run hard, and so I thought I had a chance of running it down. After the bounce, I knew I had a chance. I got a big break and I saw daylight. I thought about shooting it at first, but then the angle was so much against me. Temo [Blanco] was open and I just set him up."

Blanco did the rest, and the Toyota Park crowd of 21,528 went into a frenzy.

Perhaps the most Fire energy came through the play of midfielder John Thorrington, who had not played since Aug. 29. Thorrington netted the game's first goal in the 35th minute and covered much of the pitch Saturday.

"The guy's been out two months or so, rolled his ankle real bad on Tuesday and I didn't think he would be able to play," Hamlett said. "The guy's a warrior. He brought the fight, the energy -- he just brought a lot to our team tonight. The guys fed off of that."

Defensively, the Fire tried to limit the touches of the Revs' main weapons Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz. Combined with a frequent offensive push, Chicago dominated statistically with a 21-12 shots advantage.

Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made four saves for the clean sheet, and Matt Reis made 10 for New England.

The Chicago Fire are maintaining a positive and upbeat attitude heading into Saturday's critical second leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New England Revolution. Now they just need to translate that into capitalizing on their run of play and set pieces as they host the Revs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Park (game televised on Fox Soccer Channel).

"We knew we would have to win when we came back home, regardless of what happened in New England," Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch said. "We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole, but you know what? We're OK."

The Fire lost the first game of the series 2-1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., so Chicago has some work to do in swinging the aggregate score. Fire defender C.J. Brown thinks New England is the team in the hot seat, though.

"The pressure's on them because they're winning, and they've got to keep the win," Brown said. "We're getting a second chance to make something happen, and for them, they need to hold on to this lead. And it's hard to hold on to leads in this league, I think."

Fire coach Denis Hamlett regularly has preached the importance of solid play in both the offensive creation and defense of set pieces, and that is where the Fire fell short in Game 1.

"It's finishing your chances, doing better in our box on their set plays, because we gave them two goals off of set plays," Hamlett said. "The run of play, for the most part, we handled the situation being the away team. We limited them to not too many chances. We've got to take what we did well in that game and what we've done well in the past and make sure now that we do it consistently for a longer period of time."

The Fire are expecting a large and vocal crowd at Toyota Park. That element is a possible advantage in Chicago's favor, as is the playing surface.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to play soccer this time," Busch said. "On that turf -- no disrespect to [the Revolution] or their facility -- but you can't really play a lot of good soccer up there. The turf's hard, it's bumpy and it hurts. I tell you what, it hurts like hell when you land on it."

The Fire had only two shots on goal in the opener, and Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis was only mildly tested. There were attempts by Chicago's Brian McBride and Baggio Husidic that hit the frame, so the tone of this series' second leg would be much different if the trajectory of those shots had been a few inches farther inside the post and crossbar.

On the injury front, Fire defender Gonzalo Segares was listed as questionable on the MLS injury report Friday night with a right knee sprain he suffered in the second half of Game 1 of the semifinal series. Also questionable is defender Wilman Conde, who is suffering from lingering pain in his right hip. As of midweek, Conde still was not training with the Fire.

For the Revolution, forward Edgaras Jankauskas still is listed as questionable from an illness that forced the Revs to take him out of the opening game in the 52nd minute.

ODDS AND ENDS:

Pause receives humanitarian honor: Fire midfielder Logan Pause and Kansas City Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad share the 2009 U.S. Soccer Foundation/MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Award, it was announced Friday. Pause is a spokesman for the U.S. Soccer Foundation's Passback Program, is a Fire representative at Big Brothers Big Sisters and has donated his time to many other charitable organizations. This is the first year that two players have shared the humanitarian honor.

On this date in Chicago Fire history, Nov. 6, 1997, the Fire selected midfielder/defender Danny Pena with the first overall pick in the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft. The Fire and Miami Fusion combined to make 28 selections.

Pena and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman were the Fire's top two picks in this expansion draft. Pena in particular was vocal about the Galaxy leaving him unprotected following the 1997 season, and he wanted to stay in L.A.

So on Jan. 27, 1998, Pena got his wish. Pena and Hartman were sent back to the Galaxy (as though they never really left) and in return, Chicago acquired Chris Armas and Jorge Campos. That move worked out for the Fire, to say the least.

Pena's career only lasted until the 2001 season. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in June 2000. From here on out, Pena's name is etched into the landing of Armas, who put together a stellar Fire career.

Looking back on this 1997 expansion draft, some other acquisitions panned out for the Fire. Goalkeeper Zach Thornton was the 11th overall pick in the draft (earned MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 1998) and midfielder Diego Gutierrez was the 15th selection. Defender Francis Okaroh, the 13th overall choice, also contributed some valuable minutes for a couple of seasons.

In a surprising Eastern Conference semifinal finish, Real Salt Lake defeated 2008 MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew, 3-2, at Crew Stadium on Thursday, advancing to the Eastern Conference final. RSL awaits the winner of the Chicago Fire-New England Revolution Eastern Conference semifinal series, which wraps up at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview (televised on Fox Soccer Channel).

Real Salt Lake won its semifinal series on aggregate, 4-2. Chicago or New England will host the Eastern Conference title game on Saturday, Nov. 14 (televised on FSC).

Columbus was the top team in the Eastern Conference and won the Supporters' Shield this season, posting a 13-7-10 record and 49 points during the regular season.

RSL plays in the Western Conference, but in Major League Soccer's playoff format, if more than four teams qualify from one conference, the team finishing lower than fourth shifts to the other conference bracket. RSL had the lowest points total (40) among the eight postseason teams and moved over to the East side.

Columbus briefly held the aggregate lead Thursday night over RSL after 2008 MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored the game's first two goals for the Crew. But Real Salt Lake scored three unanswered to advance in the playoffs. RSL's final goal of the series came from former Fire midfielder Andy Williams in the 74th minute.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The natural instinct when falling behind is to do something on the spot to correct the matter and even things up.

As the Chicago Fire wrap up their preparations heading into the second game of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New England Revolution (7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Fox Soccer Channel), the Fire players want to fix the situation -- not necessarily make a quick fix.

"You still have to have that disciplined, defensive mentality," Fire central defender C.J. Brown said. "You can't just attack, attack, attack. Which when we're at home, we kind of do that sometimes. So we still have to be disciplined and get everybody behind the ball. We're going to get our chances on goal. That's a given."

The Fire took an aggressive approach last week in Game 1 of the series, earning an early 1-0 lead and creating several other chances within the game's first 20 minutes. This was a tactic of a road team trying to expose some openings within New England's defense. It worked at the start, but the Revs found some momentum just before the half en route to a 2-1 victory.

Expecting the Fire to take an attack-minded approach to the extreme Saturday would leave them susceptible to the Revs' countering.

"We don't have to go crazy to try and get that first goal early," Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch said. "We don't want to open ourselves up and give them an opportunity for a counterattack. So I think as long as we settle into our game, we'll get our goal. And then hopefully it'll allow us to relax a little bit and then hopefully get that second one."

ODDS AND ENDS

• Willis in the red: The tallest building in North America -- Willis Tower, still known by many as the Sears Tower -- will illuminate red with its two antennae this Saturday for the Fire's playoff game. Considering all of the other major sports teams in this city did not advance to their respective postseasons this year, I'd say this extra support is fitting.
• Hossa skates in: The Fire's communications department said Thursday that Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa will be the official Chicago Fire flag-raiser for Saturday's game.

On this date in Chicago Fire history, Nov. 4, 2002, the Fire named Dave Sarachan as the organization's second head coach.

Before taking over the Fire, Sarachan was the top assistant coach under head coach Bruce Arena for the U.S. Men's National Team, which advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

In four and a half seasons with Chicago, Sarachan had a 55-50-31 regular-season record, a 5-2-2 postseason record, playoff appearances in three of his four full seasons with the team, two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles, and a strong first season in 2003. Sarachan's first year included a 17-5-8 regular season, the Supporters' Shield, MLS Coach of the Year honors, and an appearance in the MLS Cup, falling short against Landon Donovan's San Jose Earthquakes.

He was fired in 2007 after the team started the season with a 4-6-2 mark. "I was shocked," Sarachan simply stated.

Sarachan reunited with Arena as the Los Angeles Galaxy's associate head coach, and the Galaxy organization went through a strong turnaround to reach this year's MLS playoffs and finish runner-up to the Columbus Crew in the Supporters' Shield race. Also this year, Sarachan was inducted into the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Sarachan name still is here locally with Dave's son, Ian, who is a Warren Township grad and current senior midfielder for the University of Illinois-Chicago.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- For more than two months, Chicago Fire midfielder John Thorrington has been salivating at the chance to return to the lineup. The desire is evident in his dialogue, with every thought somehow incorporating a reference to wanting to be out on the pitch.

Now that he has been off the MLS injury report as he fully completes his recovery from a groin/hip issue, Thorrington is anxious to contribute again as the Fire host the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the second leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Bridgeview (televised on Fox Soccer Channel).

"I've been feeling good -- just trying to push on, get my fitness level up and get ready to help the team," Thorrington said Wednesday. "The last few weeks I've been back in training and pushing to get back on the field."

The Fire have some ground to make up after falling, 2-1, to the Revs in Game 1 of the series at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday. Heading into Saturday's match, the midfield play once again will be a focal point in determining who controls the game and then capitalizes on the offensive end.

"I think overall our midfield did a decent job the other day with those guys," Thorrington said. "I think in any game -- not just this one -- the team that wins that battle wins the game. We know that's definitely important. That's why I hope I can be out there and help us get the result we need."

The Fire's needs are cut and dry: earn a two-goal advantage Saturday or even things up in aggregate scoring and then win a shootout.

"There's no gray area about that. We need to come in here and score some goals, and we haven't given up many goals in recent games prior to Sunday," Thorrington said. "We know exactly what we have to do. We had some success in the first 20 minutes [Saturday], but we need more of that over the 90 minutes."

Segares out, but still training: Defender Gonzalo Segares is listed as out on the MLS injury report with an MCL strain. Segares hurt himself when he bumped into New England midfielder Sainey Nyassi during last Saturday's loss to the Revs. Prior to the injury, Segares said that he felt fine from a physical standpoint. Even though he is back on the injury report, Segares appears to be doing everything possible to trudge through another setback with the hopes of getting back. But time is short these days in the heart of playoff action. "We were cautious [Wednesday in training], but he should be back out, fully training [Thursday]," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said.

Thornton earns goalkeeper accolade: Former Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton of Chivas USA was named 2009 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, the league announced Wednesday. The one other time Thornton won the award was during the Fire's 1998 season. "To wait this long and to have gone through what I've been through, and to be able to win the award again, is outstanding," Thornton said on MLSnet.com.

During the 2009 regular season, the Chicago Fire held a respectable record on artificial turf. They were 2-0-2 in MLS matches and also posted a 2-1 SuperLiga win over the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.

Still, heading back home to Toyota Park's grass, and a playing surface that is longer than Gillette's pitch, should bode well for Chicago in Game 2 of its Eastern Conference semifinal against the Revs (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Fox Soccer Channel).

"We're excited to go back home," Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe said. "We know we need to win at least by one goal, but we're totally capable of that. We'll be playing on grass, which we're more comfortable with, along with a bigger field. That should help us against a team like this."

From a health standpoint, the comfortable grass surface should be a plus as well. Midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco had some earlier hamstring issues and defender Wilman Conde's hamstring problems have lingered. Midfielder John Thorrington and defender Gonzalo Segares missed the final stretch of the regular season and hope to make an impact in the playoffs.

It certainly could be argued that Segares was not ready for last week's opener at Gillette Stadium (a 2-1 Fire loss against the Revs). Fortunately for Segares' sake, he was not used extensively, and as long as training runs smoothly this week, he should be in better game shape for Saturday.

The Fire need to make an offensive push this weekend to avert their one-goal aggregate deficit and advance in the MLS playoffs. Playing on a surface that they know every square inch of should be the Fire's X-factor.

ODDS AND ENDS

Back the Fire for top goal: MLSnet.com is holding a vote for the 2009 AT&T Goal of the Year. Several Fire tallies from this past season are on the list. A personal favorite is Brian McBride's Week 4 goal against the San Jose Earthquakes -- solid passing from front to back and a perfect final touch. That doesn't take anything away from the other panelists, including Chicago's Marco Pappa (Week 16 vs. the Colorado Rapids) and Peter Lowry (Week 21 vs. the Houston Dynamo) who also made the list. Click here to cast your vote!

"Best of" awards: Nominations currently are being accepted for the 2009 Best of U.S. Soccer Awards. The categories include Best Soccer Bar, Best Soccer Specialty Store, Best Soccer Blog and Best Fan Photo. Click here for the full details at USSoccer.com. The nomination period runs until Nov. 20 and actual voting begins on Nov. 23.

The Chicago Fire wanted the win or a draw in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal match against the host New England Revolution. Instead, they came away with a 2-1 loss and now need to climb out of the one-goal deficit.

With the MLS playoff series heading to Toyota Park (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Fox Soccer Channel), the big question is can the Fire make up that type of ground?

Normally, home-field advantage is a valuable commodity, especially in soccer. But the Fire were only 5-4-6 at Toyota Park this season and were in danger of a losing home record if not for a Chivas USA own goal (1-0 victory, Oct. 22) and three unanswered goals against the Colorado Rapids (3-2 win, Aug. 23).

In terms of possession and potential scoring chances, it is safe to say that the Fire held the edge more times than not on their home pitch. But finishing has been a problem. For some games a defensive mishap also was the problem.

The Fire's one-goal playoff deficit is not enormous by any stretch of the imagination. That can be made up within a matter of a minute if they execute properly. But that is just the thing -- the execution has not met the Fire's standards at Toyota Park.

Here are some things to keep in mind for Saturday's game:

Two-goal victories: The Fire essentially need a two-goal win Saturday to take the lead in aggregate. So how rare has a two-goal victory been this year? Chicago has accomplished this just four times among its 30-game regular-season schedule: 3-1 win over FC Dallas (March 21); 2-0 victory against Toronto FC (May 16); 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes (July 18) and a 2-0 shutout of the Kansas City Wizards (Aug. 16). Strictly based on their regular-season numbers, the Fire have a 13.3 percent chance of earning a two-goal advantage Saturday to move to the next round of the playoffs.

Shootout worthy?: Chicago doesn't completely need the two-goal win. The Fire can take this to a shootout. But how confident is this team in PKs? The lasting memory this season was in the SuperLiga final against Tigres UANL on Aug. 5. The Fire and Tigres were 1-all through regulation. Then in the shootout, Mike Banner (wide right) and Justin Mapp (high) could not put the ball on-frame. At this stage of a match, it is a tossup as far as who will be available for a shootout, pending substitutions. Cuauhtemoc Blanco said after the SuperLiga final, "We need a little bit more personality toward the penalty kicks. You have to be stronger in character and always go with your first instinct." The Fire might want to prepare for this potential scenario.

Fire's lack of home offense: Opposing teams held a 17-16 scoring edge over Chicago at Toyota Park. The Fire's 16 home goals were the lowest total in MLS, an average of just more than one goal per game. They will need to double that figure Saturday.

Revs' lack of road offense: New England was not exactly the greatest road team this season. Sure, the 4-6-5 road record was just enough. But in terms of the Revs' actual work on the field, they were out-played more times than not. On the road, the Revs were outscored 21-11. Their 11 goals were the fourth-lowest output in MLS, and their 10-goal deficit was the sixth-worst in MLS.

Chicago Fire forward and Arlington Heights native Brian McBride is one of three finalists for Major League Soccer Comeback Player of the Year, the league announced Monday.

The 37-year-old target forward spent four years away from MLS, playing for Fulham FC in the Premier League. McBride returned to MLS for the final third of the 2008 season. This year, McBride played in 22 regular-season games, and he recovered quickly from midseason shoulder surgery. Early indications had McBride missing almost the remainder of the regular season, but he made it back on the pitch for the Fire's six final regular-season matches and now the playoffs.

McBride led this year's Fire with seven goals, and he briefly held the league lead with six goals following a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC on May 16.

McBride is going up against D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen and Chivas USA goalkeeper and former Fire netminder Zach Thornton for the comeback honor, which will be announced on Nov. 10. Thornton also is a finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year against Seattle Sounders FC's Kasey Keller and the Los Angeles Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts.

The Chicago Fire elected a different approach from Major League Soccer's first two playoff games of 2009 in that they used an early push on the road to net a goal and an early lead. But the New England Revolution rebounded with two unanswered scores en route to a 2-1 victory Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

The second leg of the series heads back to Toyota Park for a 7:30 p.m. clash Saturday in Bridgeview (Fox Soccer Channel).

Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, scoring off a loose ball from Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis. Marco Pappa provided the initial cross from the right flank, but Reis could not grasp the ball and it bounced toward the top of the box for Rolfe.

The Fire probably wish they had a few other chances back within the game's first 20 to 25 minutes. Fire target forward Brian McBride had three of them -- two headers that went wide right and a shot that hit the left post in the 20th minute.

The Revs' turning point of the match appeared to be the 25th minute, when New England's Jeff Larentowicz hit the left post. Earlier in the sequence, Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch darted out to his left to bat the ball away from New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph. Busch hit the ground hard, and the net was wide open for the Revs.

New England's attack continued to pick up, and the Revs cashed in with Emmanuel Osei's first-half stoppage time goal to tie the score 1-1, and then with a Joseph goal in the 75th minute for the winner.

"I think that once we got our goal, they felt a sense of urgency and they were pushing forward, attacking quite a bit," Rolfe said.

The Revs had a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal, with Rolfe providing Chicago's only two shots within the frame.

Chicago's most impressive near-miss came in the 71st minute, when midfielder Baggio Husidic ripped a world-class strike from deep that hit the crossbar and ricocheted perpendicular to the ground, hitting the goal line at a 90-degree angle. The Fire could have regained the lead, but instead fell behind about four minutes later.

•  Missed chances: How many times during the Fire's 2009 season have we referred to "missed chances?" Seems like there's a missed chance in every draw or defeat, and even in the occasional victory. This playoff opener was no exception.

During the regular season, the Revs gave up a flurry of shots on a regular basis, and Reis was not tested as much as he probably should have been. The first surge in the opening 20 to 25 minutes was a positive. But in the second half, the Fire showed some hesitancy in pulling the trigger. One sequence that stood out came in the 56th minute, when McBride was wide open behind the Revs' defense. McBride waited too long for the ball and did not provide a strong attack on goal.

"I think we maybe could have done a little more in the second half," Rolfe said. "We were playing on turf, which is a whole different ball game. The spin of the ball and some other elements can throw you all off. But we could have done better with our chances."

Being down a goal in aggregate, the Fire will need to take a few more chances on Saturday and force the Revs' defense to work. New England is prone to a defensive mistake here and there. Rolfe's lone tally Sunday was a perfect example.

On paper, the Chicago Fire have the depth and an improved health situation panning out as they enter their Eastern Conference semifinal opener Sunday at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution (1 p.m. CT, Fox Soccer Channel). But the Fire are not going into this goals-aggregate series thinking they have some sort of advantage.

In a Fire-Revs showdown, anything can happen.

"They've been playing without (key) men since the start of the season, and you don't go into a game with the sense that you have an advantage," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said on Friday. "You have eight playoff teams who are still standing. We played them two weeks ago and it was a competitive game."

That regular-season matchup, a scoreless draw on Oct. 17 at Gillette Stadium, had some controversy to it when the Fire's Chris Rolfe was yellow-carded for taking a dive. Replays clearly showed that Rolfe was bumped by Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis, in which case Rolfe should have been awarded a penalty kick.

The past is the past, and the playoffs are the playoffs, meaning this incident is long gone in the players' minds. But there was one final positive to take out of the Fire's regular season slate, and that was the number of set-piece chances they had during their 1-0 victory over Chivas USA.

"In the playoffs, the amount of set pieces you can create are important," Hamlett said. "Just look at the Houston-Seattle game (on Thursday)."

In that match, Seattle Sounders FC and the Houston Dynamo combined for 16 corner kicks en route to a hard-fought scoreless draw.

Entering the Revs series, the Fire will want to test New England's young defenders -- specifically rookie center defensive backs Darrius Barnes and Emmanuel Osei -- to create some gaps and force Reis into a busy day in the net. Reis' ratio of shots on goal faced per game was the highest in MLS. Opposing teams held a 189-133 advantage over New England in shots on goal, and a whopping 426-290 edge in total shots.

In this aggregate two-game format, attaining any potential scoring edge on the road is a bonus. But most importantly is keeping a clean sheet on the other end and holding New England's offense at bay.

"We'll see how the game plays out," Hamlett said. "You're always aware that there is a return game to our home field."

The Fire's health is promising, but Hamlett alluded to the likelihood that some of his returning players will need to be eased in. Two of the notable examples are defender Gonzalo Segares and midfielder John Thorrington, both with a clean bill of health entering the weekend as they are no longer listed on the MLS injury report.

"Gonzalo has been out for two months and John Thorrington has been out. So in five days, to ask them to get their sharpness back. They're going to need more training and game time," Hamlett said.

Viewing parties: With Chicago on the road to open the playoffs, join a bunch of the Fire faithful by dropping in on one of the many pubs televising Sunday's match. You can win playoff tickets to the Nov. 7 match against the Revolution at Toyota Park, and the first 100 fans at many locations receive a free Fire scarf. Click herefor the full details.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. --On this date in Chicago Fire history, Oct. 30, 1998, the Fire followed up their MLS Cup title with a victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Chicago topped the Columbus Crew 2-1 in overtime as the Fire became the second MLS team to win the "double." D.C. United won the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup in 1996.

Frank Klopas, who is now the Fire's technical director, netted the winning goal in the 99th minute as Chicago won in front of a Soldier Field crowd of 18,615. The winner represented Klopas' final goal in a Fire uniform. He played sporadically (476 minutes) in 1999 and did not score a goal, then announced his retirement in January 2000.

In the U.S. Open Cup finale, the Fire earned a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute. Chicago's Josh Wolff was tripped up by the Crew's Juergen Sommer in the penalty box, and Jerzy Podbrozny capitalized on the penalty kick. Columbus tied the score at 1-all with a Stern John goal in the 53rd minute, a 20-yard strike past Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton.

The Crew lineup included Arlington Heights native and current Fire forward Brian McBride, who was held in check in the championship match.

With Fire defender Lubos Kubik leaving the game in the 14th minute with a fractured left fibula, the rest of Chicago's defense picked up the slack in his absence. Fire defender C.J. Brown was awarded U.S. Open Cup Final MVP of the Game.