Fire: Chicago Fire
A 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew dropped the Fire two spots in the MLS Power Rankings this week.
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The Fire have been struggling to close games, but still make the Top Ten in the MLS Power Rankings.
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See the complete rankings.
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Adam Moffat scored in the 90th minute and Tally Hall made seven saves to lift the Houston Dynamo to a 1-1 tie with the Chicago Fire in MLS play on Sunday.
Moffat, a midfielder who had moved deep into the offensive play, took defender Corey Ashe's backheel pass in the left side of the penalty area and shot it high over Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson's outstretched left hand.
The tie, the second between the squads this season, moved Houston (10-8-7) into a tie with New England (10-9-7) for the fifth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Each squad has 37 points, and Houston has a match in hand. Chicago (10-10-5) has 35 points.
Until Moffat's goal, the Dynamo had only a few good chances. Johnson batted away a hard shot from Andrew Driver in the 86th minute, his third save of the game, and most difficult since the fifth minute, when he stretched to make a toe save on Will Bruin's low shot.
Fire forward Mike Magee started Chicago's scoring play with a corner kick from the left in the 36th minute. The ball flew over the head of jumping midfielder Jeff Larentowicz and hit defender Bobby Boswell in the shoulder, deflecting in from about eight yards out.
While it went in off an opposing player, the score climaxed a furious sequence that saw Chicago take four shots at Houston from no more than 16 yards in less than three minutes. The first, by Chris Rolfe, skidded wide of the net, but Hall was forced to make saves on Magee and Dilly Duka, the latter stop setting up the corner kick.
It was Chicago's first goal scored directly off a corner this season.
Moffat, a midfielder who had moved deep into the offensive play, took defender Corey Ashe's backheel pass in the left side of the penalty area and shot it high over Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson's outstretched left hand.
The tie, the second between the squads this season, moved Houston (10-8-7) into a tie with New England (10-9-7) for the fifth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Each squad has 37 points, and Houston has a match in hand. Chicago (10-10-5) has 35 points.
Until Moffat's goal, the Dynamo had only a few good chances. Johnson batted away a hard shot from Andrew Driver in the 86th minute, his third save of the game, and most difficult since the fifth minute, when he stretched to make a toe save on Will Bruin's low shot.
Fire forward Mike Magee started Chicago's scoring play with a corner kick from the left in the 36th minute. The ball flew over the head of jumping midfielder Jeff Larentowicz and hit defender Bobby Boswell in the shoulder, deflecting in from about eight yards out.
While it went in off an opposing player, the score climaxed a furious sequence that saw Chicago take four shots at Houston from no more than 16 yards in less than three minutes. The first, by Chris Rolfe, skidded wide of the net, but Hall was forced to make saves on Magee and Dilly Duka, the latter stop setting up the corner kick.
It was Chicago's first goal scored directly off a corner this season.
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Defender Hunter Jumper scored, Sean Johnson made four saves and the Chicago Fire beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on Friday night.
The Fire's win was their third in their past four matches and moved them to .500 (10-10-4) for the season with 34 points in the Eastern Conference.
Sporting K.C. fell to 11-9-6 and remains tied with New York on top of the East with 39 points.
Jumper, in only his second appearance of the season, found his way into the goal box and headed a pass from Mike Magee past Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen while on his knees.
Hunter was about a foot off the ground when he scored. The goal, in the 13th minute, finished off a furious offensive start for the Fire.
Kansas City, with striker Claudio Bieler on the bench after a five-match scoreless streak, failed to rally.
In earning his fourth shutout of the season, Johnson turned back midfielder Graham Zusi's bouncing shot from near the penalty kick spot in the 54th minute and defender Seth Sinovic's 5-yard kick in the 84th minute.
Chicago nearly had a second goal in the 72nd minute, but Nielsen got a fingertip on substitute Patrick Nyarko's hard shot and deflected it off the crossbar.
The Fire played with Mike Matkovich as acting head coach. Head coach Frank Klopas was serving a suspension for his ejection from last Saturday's loss at New England.
The Fire's win was their third in their past four matches and moved them to .500 (10-10-4) for the season with 34 points in the Eastern Conference.
Sporting K.C. fell to 11-9-6 and remains tied with New York on top of the East with 39 points.
Jumper, in only his second appearance of the season, found his way into the goal box and headed a pass from Mike Magee past Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen while on his knees.
Hunter was about a foot off the ground when he scored. The goal, in the 13th minute, finished off a furious offensive start for the Fire.
Kansas City, with striker Claudio Bieler on the bench after a five-match scoreless streak, failed to rally.
In earning his fourth shutout of the season, Johnson turned back midfielder Graham Zusi's bouncing shot from near the penalty kick spot in the 54th minute and defender Seth Sinovic's 5-yard kick in the 84th minute.
Chicago nearly had a second goal in the 72nd minute, but Nielsen got a fingertip on substitute Patrick Nyarko's hard shot and deflected it off the crossbar.
The Fire played with Mike Matkovich as acting head coach. Head coach Frank Klopas was serving a suspension for his ejection from last Saturday's loss at New England.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Camilo scored two goals six minutes apart to lead the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday.
Camilo leads MLS with 12 goals this season. Second-half substitute Kekuta Manneh also scored for the Whitecaps (8-7-6) as they extended their unbeaten streak to a club record six games.
Camilo leads MLS with 12 goals this season. Second-half substitute Kekuta Manneh also scored for the Whitecaps (8-7-6) as they extended their unbeaten streak to a club record six games.
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi scored in the first eight minutes, and Sporting Kansas City beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 on Sunday, snapping Chicago's three-match winning streak.
The victory was only Kansas City's second in the past seven matches, giving SKC 30 points.
Kansas City's two goals were scored 2 minutes, 14 seconds apart.
Feilhaber scored his first of the season in the sixth minute, hammering a right-footed shot from 16 yards when a throw-in by defender Matt Besler deflected off two players and ended up at his feet.
Chicago goalkeeper Paulo Tornaghi couldn't stop that shot, and seemed surprised by midfielder Zusi's nonchalant 20-yard shot soon after. It curled over Tornaghi and into the upper right-hand corner.
Mike Magee cut the margin to 2-1 in the 38th minute.
The victory was only Kansas City's second in the past seven matches, giving SKC 30 points.
Kansas City's two goals were scored 2 minutes, 14 seconds apart.
Feilhaber scored his first of the season in the sixth minute, hammering a right-footed shot from 16 yards when a throw-in by defender Matt Besler deflected off two players and ended up at his feet.
Chicago goalkeeper Paulo Tornaghi couldn't stop that shot, and seemed surprised by midfielder Zusi's nonchalant 20-yard shot soon after. It curled over Tornaghi and into the upper right-hand corner.
Mike Magee cut the margin to 2-1 in the 38th minute.
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chris Rolfe scored twice and the Chicago Fire beat the Orlando City SC Lions 5-1 on Wednesday night in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match.
Rolfe beat goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo on a 7-yard header to open the scoring in the sixth minute and on a short kick from even closer range in the 64th, breaking the contest open.
The Fire hosts D.C. United in an all-MLS semifinal match on Aug. 7.
Orlando pressed hard in the first 15 minutes of the second half, tying the match on overlapping defenseman Rob Valentino's goal from close range in the 51st minute. Valentino was set up by Kevin Molino's perfect pass.
Chicago, 6-0-2 in its last eight MLS and U.S. Open Cup matches, answered with two goals in five minutes. Patrick Nyarko ran by a pair of defenders and beat Gallardo from the left side in the 59th minute, and five minutes later, Rolfe made it 3-1. Mike Magee and Joel Lindpere added goals for Chicago in the final 10 minutes.
The Lions, from the USL Pro League, forced Chicago's Sean Johnson to make six saves, but lost two players, Yann Songo'o and Adama Mbengue, to ejections in the last 19 minutes.
Rolfe beat goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo on a 7-yard header to open the scoring in the sixth minute and on a short kick from even closer range in the 64th, breaking the contest open.
The Fire hosts D.C. United in an all-MLS semifinal match on Aug. 7.
Orlando pressed hard in the first 15 minutes of the second half, tying the match on overlapping defenseman Rob Valentino's goal from close range in the 51st minute. Valentino was set up by Kevin Molino's perfect pass.
Chicago, 6-0-2 in its last eight MLS and U.S. Open Cup matches, answered with two goals in five minutes. Patrick Nyarko ran by a pair of defenders and beat Gallardo from the left side in the 59th minute, and five minutes later, Rolfe made it 3-1. Mike Magee and Joel Lindpere added goals for Chicago in the final 10 minutes.
The Lions, from the USL Pro League, forced Chicago's Sean Johnson to make six saves, but lost two players, Yann Songo'o and Adama Mbengue, to ejections in the last 19 minutes.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mike Magee had the winning goal and Joel Lindpere had two assists to help the Chicago Fire rally in the second half for a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.
Lindpere found former Crew midfielder Dilly Duka at the far post for a right-footed stab that tied the game 1-1 in the 52nd minute.
Two minutes later, Lindpere assisted on Magee's 10th goal, sending a cross into the box that Magee chested into the goal.
Magee has scored in four league matches and six straight in all competitions since being acquired from Los Angeles in May.
The Fire (5-7-3) are 3-0-2 in their past five matches and have won six of the past seven against the Crew.
Federico Higuain scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute for Columbus (5-6-5).
The Fire continue to look like geniuses for obtaining Mike Magee, but still lag in the power rankings.
Read ESPN's MLS Power Rankings: Week 15
Read ESPN's MLS Power Rankings: Week 15
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- An own goal knocked in by D.C. midfielder Nick DeLeon and a late score by Chicago newcomer Mike Magee gave the Fire a 2-0 victory over the United on Sunday.
Magee's goal came on his fourth and final shot of the match, a 14-yarder that beat United goalkeeper Joe Willis cleanly in the 85th minute.
Until then, a carom that first hit the chest of Fire midfielder Jeff Larentowicz, then hit DeLeon in the chest before bouncing off the turf and trickling across the goal line in the ninth minute was the game's only score. Willis had moved in the original path of the ball and couldn't reverse course in time.
Not counting the own goal, the Fire (3-7-2) have scored only eight goals in 12 matches this season, and DC (1-10-2) has only six in 13.
Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson needed to make only one save for his third shutout of the season.
Chicago got its first MLS victory since beating Columbus 1-0 on April 20. The Fire were 0-3-1 in league play since.
The loss extended United's winless streak to 0-9-2, and kept them last in the Eastern Conference.
Magee, making his MLS debut for Chicago, was acquired from Los Angeles in exchange for the rights to Robbie Rogers last weekend. He was saved on a breakaway by Willis in the 83rd minute, two minutes before he scored his seventh goal of the season.
United goalkeeper Bill Hamid missed the game due to his presence on the U.S. national team, backing up Tim Howard in a 4-3 exhibition victory over Germany in Washington.
Chris Rolfe and Mike Magee, who made his Fire debut, scored for Chicago in a 2-0 victory over the Charlotte Eagles in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Wednesday in Rock Hill, S.C.
Acquired from the Galaxy on Saturday, Magee headed in a goal in the 11th minute to give the Fire a 1-0 lead.
"It was great not only for Mike to have a good game and score but also for Chris Rolfe," Fire coach Frank Klopas said. "I think games like this are never easy. You see around the world just the upsets that take place and there are great opportunities for teams like Charlotte to compete against MLS teams and also for players to showcase their abilities. More than anything we had to take the game very serious, which we did but it was a great night. The facilities here were great, they're a great team and we kept a clean sheet and so it was nice for us."
The Fire will host the Columbus Crew in the fourth round of the Cup on June 12 at Toyota Park.
Acquired from the Galaxy on Saturday, Magee headed in a goal in the 11th minute to give the Fire a 1-0 lead.
"It was great not only for Mike to have a good game and score but also for Chris Rolfe," Fire coach Frank Klopas said. "I think games like this are never easy. You see around the world just the upsets that take place and there are great opportunities for teams like Charlotte to compete against MLS teams and also for players to showcase their abilities. More than anything we had to take the game very serious, which we did but it was a great night. The facilities here were great, they're a great team and we kept a clean sheet and so it was nice for us."
The Fire will host the Columbus Crew in the fourth round of the Cup on June 12 at Toyota Park.
SANDY, Utah -- Quincy Amarikwa scored in the 84th minute to counter a goal from Alvaro Saborio in the 78th and the Chicago Fire played Real Salt Lake to a 1-1 draw Saturday night.
The Fire (2-7-2) snapped a three-match losing streak and improved to 3-2-3 all-time in Utah. Chicago is the only MLS club with a winning road record against Salt Lake (6-5-3).
The Fire (2-7-2) snapped a three-match losing streak and improved to 3-2-3 all-time in Utah. Chicago is the only MLS club with a winning road record against Salt Lake (6-5-3).
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Fire acquired defender Bakary Soumare from the Philadelphia Union on Thursday for a second round-pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money.
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Read the entire story.
MONTREAL -- Andres Romero and Marco Di Vaio scored in the second half, lifting the Montreal Impact to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Montreal (5-1-1) improved to 3-0-1 at home and won for the first time since beating visiting New York on March 23. The Impact lost 2-0 at Sporting Kansas City a week later and had a 1-1 home draw with Columbus on April 4 in MLS play, and lost 2-0 at Toronto on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals.
The Fire (2-5-1) dropped to 0-3-1 on the road.
Romero got his first MLS goal 57 minutes in as he took a ball on the left side, sidestepped Fire captain Logan Pause and sent the ball into the far top corner behind Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
With the Fire down a man in the 76th, Di Vaio controlled a chip pass from Daniele Paponi and, with his back to the goal, spun and fired a low shot inside the left post for his fourth of the season.
Fire midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was issued a red card for a reckless tackle on Paponi in the 64th and a skirmish erupted when Johnson then charged at Di Vaio to thwart a shot attempt. Both were cautioned.
The Impact showed their rust early as Chicago controlled the play and got chances from Gonzalo Segares, Patrick Nyarko and a long blast by Daniel Paladini that forced Troy Perkins to dive to his right.
Montreal picked up the pace midway through the first half as Paponi headed a Pisanu pass just over the bar in the 27th minute. Jeb Brovsky just missed the left post with a volley and Paponi hit another drive just wide.
Already hit with injuries in the central defense, the Impact saw veteran Alessandro Nesta leave in the 54th minute. French native Wandrille Lefevre, a product of the club's academy, saw his first MLS action. He was given an assist on Romero's goal and received a yellow card for a tackle from behind.
The Fire were without defenseman Wells Thompson, who served a one-game suspension for a reckless tackle against Columbus.
NEW YORK -- Chicago Fire defender Wells Thompson was suspended for a game and fined an undisclosed amount Thursday for his reckless challenge on Columbus' Agustin Viana in a game April 20.
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