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Fire coach Frank Klopas, Dominic Oduro and Pavel Pardo discuss their upcoming game against Houston and Arne Friedrich discusses making his MLS debut.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- Omar Cummings scored in the 58th minute to help lead the Colorado Rapids to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday night.

The teams exchanged scoring chances for much of the game until Cummings found himself alone in the slot. Brian Mullan set up Cummings' second goal of the year. Cummings has six goals in seven games in his career against Chicago.

Kamani Hill added a goal in added time at the end of the game

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Dominic Oduro scored for the second straight game and the Chicago Fire beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Saturday night.

Rookie goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi collected his first shutout of the season, stopping four shots in the Fire's home opener.

Oduro scored with a well-placed header in the 28th minute. Midfielder Marco Pappa beat Philadelphia defender Chris Albright with a fake before feeding Oduro, who was about eight yards away when he sent a curling header past goalkeeper Zac MacMath low to his left side.

Philadelphia has lost its first three matches and scored only two goals. Gabriel Gomez had a pair of promising free kicks in the second half Saturday night, but Tornaghi was there each time.

The Fire (1-0-1) forced MacMath to make five saves.

MONTREAL -- Davy Arnaud scored the first Major League Soccer goal in Impact history, and Montreal tied the Chicago Fire 1-1 Saturday before a crowd of 58,912 at its home opener in Olympic Stadium.

Arnaud's goal in the 56th minute helped give the Impact (0-1-1) their first point since joining MLS as an expansion team this season. Dominic Oduro tied it in the 71st for the Fire, who were opening the season.

The Impact, who opened with a 2-0 loss at Vancouver last weekend, broke the previous record for attendance at a professional soccer match in Montreal. The Manic drew 58,542 for a North American Soccer League playoff game in 1981.

The Chicago Fire was shut out by the San Jose Earthquakes, 2-0, on Saturday in Oxnard, Calif. to close out the West Coast portion of their training camp.

Steven Lenhart and Brad Ring scored first-half goals for the Earthquakes.

Dominic Oduro had a strong chance for the Fire in the opening half, hitting a low drive that San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch turned around the left post for a corner kick.

The Chicago Fire reserves played a separate game simultaneously, getting a 58th-minute penalty kick from Orr Barouch and a 68th-minute header from Pari Pantazopoulos to earn a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the Ventura County Fusion.

The final phase of the Fire’s preseason begins on Wednesday in Charleston, S.C. While in South Carolina, the team will play games against DC United (Feb. 25), Columbus Crew (Feb. 29) and Charleston Battery (March 3), as part of the 2012 Carolina Challenge Cup.

Dominic Oduro scored two goals in the first half as the Chicago Fire won a preseason international friendly 3-1 over Real C.D. España on Saturday in New Orleans.

Fire goalkeeper Jay Nolly played the full 90 minutes in his preseason Fire debut, allowing one goal on a header by España’s Edder Gonzalez.

Orr Barouch iced the game for the Fire with a goal in the 88th minute.

Defenders Cory Gibbs and Gonzalo Segares missed the match after getting banged up on Wednesday in the Fire’s 3-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast University.

The Fire will return to Chicago on Sunday before a trip to Ventura, Calif. on Wednesday. While in California, the Fire will play preseason games against Chivas USA (Feb. 11), the Portland Timbers (Feb. 15) and the San Jose Earthquakes (Feb. 18).

Former Chicago Fire head coach Bob Bradley, coaching for the first time since his tenure with the U.S. National Team, saw his Egyptian national team debut end in a 2-0 loss to Brazil on Monday in Doha, Qatar.

Brazilian forward Jonas netted goals in the 39th and 59th minutes to pace his side past Egypt.

Bradley last coached the U.S. to a 4-2 loss to Mexico in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup final in front of 93,000-plus at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

The U.S. MNT fired Bradley on July 28, and during his tenure Bradley posted a 43-25-12 record and advanced to the 2010 FIFA World Cup's Round of 16. One day after Bradley's dismissal, Jurgen Klinsmann was named the U.S.'s new head coach.

Osorio to coach Puebla: Former Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio will lead Mexican first division's Puebla in late November.

Osorio, who coached during the second half of the Fire's 2007 campaign, will depart Colombian club Once Caldas and guide a Puebla team that includes former Fire midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.

Oduro third in Comeback voting: Fire forward Dominic Oduro finished third in the 2011 MLS Comeback Player of the Year voting. On Monday the league announced Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham as this year's award winner, followed by D.C. United's Charlie Davies and Oduro.

Oduro did receive the top percentage of votes among the MLS club voting at 18.1 percent, followed by the Houston Dynamo's Geoff Cameron (17.2) and Beckham (17.0). The Ghanaian forward made his presence felt with the Fire this year after posting a career-high and team-high 12 goals.

"With a new team you've got to prove yourself, and I think I did," Oduro said. "It paid off on the field. I tried to do all the right things, and I have to go back to my teammates who helped me out, through hard work and dedication."

Bocanegra nears 100 caps: Former Fire defender and U.S. National Team captain Carlos Bocanegra should earn his 100th international cap on Tuesday when the U.S. faces host Slovenia at 11 a.m. CT at Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia (ESPN2).

Bocanegra is sitting on 99 caps following the U.S.'s 1-0 loss to France on Friday, and with his next appearance Bocanegra will become the 12th player in U.S. history to reach the century mark. The two-time MLS Defender of the Year made his U.S. debut on Dec. 9, 2002, against Korea.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire capped off their final training session on Thursday, and now the focus squarely shifts toward head coach Frank Klopas' club making the necessary moves to improve their fate for 2012.

The Fire, who posted a 9-9-16 record and put together a winning record in the final third of the season, anticipate that a bulk of this year's team will be retained for next season. That would be a big change of pace considering how hectic the player movement was after the 2010 campaign.

"We did a lot of that last year," Klopas said of the previous personnel changes. "Obviously we have to look to get better. With the expansion draft (Nov. 23, Montreal Impact) there's a possibility that you might lose a player there. Like any team you're looking to get better. I think we feel very good with the base that we have. Now we've got to continue to build on that, and that's the important thing."

Klopas spent much of Thursday's post-training fielding questions regarding whether key players within the 2011 roster will definitely be back next season.

As of now, midfielder Marco Pappa is under contract through the 2012 season, and midfielder Sebastian Grazzini's one-year contract goes through July of next year. The same tone remains with midfielder Pavel Pardo, who wants to return and the organization wants to see return. But an extension is not set at the moment.

Klopas said that Ghanaian forwards Patrick Nyarko and Dominic Oduro were set with the team for the 2012 season, though the players have not echoed that sentiment.

"It will be up to management to see if I'm coming back or not," Oduro said on Thursday.

"I have another team option for next year that hasn't been picked up," Nyarko said last week. "They have to let me know by Dec. 1, so I'll wait on that."

So there clearly is plenty of work needed in solidifying the pieces for next year, but the overall feeling among the organization is that it wants the core group intact.

"I would love it if management keeps the team because as you saw in the last 10 games we had a great record," Oduro said. "We lost only two games out of those 10, which is pretty impressive. We had it together. So it would be nice to have everybody back. At the same time, you always need one or two players to fill in some gaps, and I think we should be fine."

Reports have recently surfaced regarding the possibility of goalkeeper Sean Johnson going on a trial with Manchester United and forward Orr Barouch heading to Maccabi Haifa (Israeli Premier League). While Klopas did not confirm the validity of those potential moves happening, he does anticipate Fire players in the future training elsewhere to maintain an active offseason.

"In the future, we're going to be doing more things like this because we do have relationships now with other clubs," Klopas said. "With some of the players I think it's important for their growth to be in an environment where they continue to train. We'll be looking to do more things like that with some of our players who want to, because it is a long break."

The Houston Dynamo thought that Dominic Oduro was so much of a liability after missing a sitter in the season opener that they immediately cast him off to the Chicago Fire, trading him for Calen Carr.

Houston's misstep was Chicago's offensive answer, particularly in the final two thirds of the season, as Oduro received ESPNChicago's vote for the team's most valuable player in 2011.

Oduro netted 12 goals, becoming the first Fire player since Damani Ralph in 2004 to reach double-digit tallies in a season. That number more than doubled Oduro's previous-best five goals in 2008 with FC Dallas and last year with the Dynamo. And that goal production tied him for fifth among the league leaders.

But Oduro was not exactly a runaway MVP choice for this team. Throughout a decent portion of this season his finishing ability was questioned, starting the minute he was brought in to play for the Fire. MVP consideration also went to Fire midfielder Sebastian Grazzini, despite his limited playing time. Grazzini was hands down the best production-per-minute player on the team.

Grazzini scored five goals and added four assists in only 780 minutes. Triple that production for a full season of play and that is not just team MVP-worthy -- that is league MVP consideration. But the bottom line is Grazzini only saw the pitch for 11 games, and the Fire desperately needed more minutes out of him to reach the postseason. Unfortunately for Chicago, Grazzini's hamstring issues limited his time, both in regular-season play and in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The speedy Oduro missed his share of high-percentage scoring opportunities, but he was responsible for more than a quarter of the Fire's goals this season. His offense picked up the slack for a team that also was expecting more from midfielder Marco Pappa, who struggled mightily (other than his hat trick against Real Salt Lake) following his CONCACAF Gold Cup stint.

ESPNChicago's choice for team defender of the year was center back Cory Gibbs. He was the most consistent player from start to finish. And a bulk of Gibbs' value has to be toward mentoring a young defensive group that included Jalil Anibaba (23), Yamith Cuesta (22) and Josip Mikulic (25).

Following C.J. Brown's retirement and Wilman Conde's departure after the 2010 season, there were plenty of defensive question marks heading into this year. Gibbs filled a needed role to lead the back line, and that appears to be the area on the pitch with the least concern heading into this offseason.

Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson also was considered for the defensive honor. Johnson struggled at the start of the season and briefly lost his starting job to Jon Conway. But the second-year goalkeeper improved immensely down the stretch, posting seven shutouts on the campaign.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire's postseason hopes were erased Thursday night with the New York Red Bulls clinching the final playoff spot. But that does not mean there is little value to the Fire's home finale when they host the Columbus Crew.

Chicago (8-9-16, 40 points) has come a long way during the second half of the season to even be a part of the postseason dialogue over the past several weeks. So the Fire would like to maintain that trend with one final positive result heading into 2012.

"The most important thing, and our focus, has to be on making sure we finish the season strong," Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas said. "We're playing at home against a very good team -- a big rival of ours. It's just important to continue to be building and getting better every game."

"I feel like we're playing for something," Fire forward Patrick Nyarko said. "We're playing for three points, playing for a win, playing for our fans who have been with us all year through torrid times."

Toyota Park will have a sellout crowd on hand, and the Fire for the most part had found some life on the home front over the past couple of months. The Fire had a four-game winning streak at home to get into the postseason picture, but they hit a roadblock during their 2-1 home loss to FC Dallas on Oct. 12.

"Against Dallas, we didn't come out sharp mentally and physically, and they punished us," Nyarko said. "If we go out there like we did against Dallas, it'll be a long night. But we know how we played against D.C. and we know we can get the wins. The guys are mentally ready to close the season on a bright note."

The Fire are fresh off a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over D.C. United last Saturday at RFK Stadium. Diego Chaves scored the winner and Sebastian Grazzini had the equalizer -- both goals coming in stoppage time. But Grazzini is a question mark heading into this weekend with a lingering hamstring injury.

Some reinforcements that were not in D.C. will be back this weekend. Midfielder Pavel Pardo (red card) and defenders Cory Gibbs (yellow card accumulation) and Dan Gargan (yellow card accumulation) return from their suspensions. Defender Josip Mikulic, who replaced Gibbs in the D.C. match, will be suspended for the season finale because of yellow card accumulation.

Columbus (13-12-8, 47 points) is coming off a 3-0 victory at the New England Revolution last Saturday. Team scoring leader Andres Mendoza posted a pair of goals to increase his season total to 13.

The Fire defeated the Crew, 1-0, in Columbus on June 12. Cristian Nazarit tallied a stoppage-time goal as Klopas earned his first win at the helm after taking over for former head coach Carlos de los Cobos. That victory also ended an 11-game winless streak (0-4-7).

Oduro, Gibbs earn team awards: Though the season has one final game remaining in the books, the Fire felt that it was clear-cut in naming forward Dominic Oduro the team MVP and Cory Gibbs the Defender of the Year on Friday. Oduro leads the Fire with 12 goals in 33 games. Both players will receive their awards before Saturday's match. The team said that Gibbs narrowly beat out goalkeeper Sean Johnson for the defensive honor. Both awards were voted on by local media and the team's technical staff. Defender Steven Kinney, who did not play on the pitch this season because of an Achilles injury in 2010 and had various setbacks during his recovery process, was named Fire Humanitarian of the Year.

Draft takes place on Jan. 12: Major League Soccer announced Friday that the 2012 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Jan. 12 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo. ESPN2 will broadcast the first round, starting at 11 a.m.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire missed out on the Brimstone Cup yet again. But even worse, their postseason hopes virtually have been eliminated.

Sebastian Grazzini's late goal for the Fire was all Chicago could muster as FC Dallas gained a two-goal lead and held on for a 2-1 victory on Wednesday in front of 10,362 at Toyota Park. Dallas' Jackson and Daniel Cruz netted goals as the team retained the Brimstone Cup, which has been in its possession since 2002.

The Fire (7-9-16, 37 points) still are mathematically in the playoff picture, but they would need to win out, a couple of teams would need to lose out and Chicago would have to make a jump in goal differential.

Dallas (14-11-7, 49 points) was in control for the entire match, creating its share of scoring chances, while minimizing the Fire's attack. Chicago did not register a shot on goal during the first half, while Dallas lingered around the goal for many stretches, especially in the first 45 minutes.

"We were flat from the beginning," Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas said. "We weren't sharp. We were just a step behind everything. Give credit to Dallas. They came out and made it difficult for us."

The Fire eventually registered three shots on goal, but their offensive impact was minimal. Dallas contained forward Dominic Oduro and the rest of the Fire by dropping back so they would not get burned by Oduro's quickness.

"It was really hard for me to get behind the defense," Oduro said. "I think they just dropped back the whole time, so we had to change tactics and play on the right. I was able to get a few balls on that side. But technically they did well by just sitting back."

"I think we were just too naive," Fire defender Gonzalo Segares said. "We've got to be smarter. I think they definitely knew what our strength was and that's our speed and getting behind defenses, and from the beginning they went back and dropped and made us play. That's when we tried to force balls and lost them in tough places. That's how they got so many chances in the beginning. We'd lose the ball easily and they'd counter with really fast guys, and it gave us a lot of trouble."

The Fire's lone offensive contribution came from Grazzini, who netted a goal in the 86th minute off of an Orr Barouch assist.

It took Dallas some time to get on the board, and Jackson finally provided the offense in the 41st minute with a shot aimed toward the right side of the frame past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson for a 1-0 lead.

While Johnson should have done better on defending against Jackson's goal, he did come up with three saves in the first half, including a clutch stop in the 24th minute against Jackson. During that play, Jackson had a step on Fire defender Jalil Anibaba and looked like he had a sure goal, aiming to the left of the frame. But Johnson reached to his right and was able to corral the shot.

Dallas padded its lead in the 53rd minute with Cruz's volley for a 2-0 advantage. Ricardo Villar took the corner kick from the right side, and Dallas' Zach Loyd headed the ball to Cruz, who shot with his back turned to the goal.

The Fire will try to move forward in their final two matches, beginning at D.C. United on Saturday. But they will be without three of their starters. Defenders Dan Gargan and Cory Gibbs will be out because of yellow card accumulation. And midfielder Pavel Pardo was shown a straight red card on Wednesday in the 79th minute for harshly fouling Villar.

"It was a play where I was a little bit late," Pardo said. "I know it was a foul. But this is the referee's decision. There's no excuse. I got a red card and I apologize because of course when you are with 10 players it's difficult to play to try to win."

Analysis: After posting a four-game home winning streak and working their way back into the postseason picture a bit, the Fire played their worst match since falling to the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps.

Whether or not they just did not fully recover from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup loss to Seattle Sounders FC, Chicago was completely out-played by Dallas in every area on the pitch.

Klopas did not use the absence of Marco Pappa as an excuse. The Fire did not use their schedule as an excuse. Dallas was the team with far more energy and movement and better decision making than Chicago.

Two games remain, and while the Fire claim they will try to field the best team available, it really is time to start taking a look at the rest of their roster in gearing up for next year. Having three starters out for D.C. will assist that process to some degree.

Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas certainly was not conceding Saturday's game against the Houston Dynamo. But with Tuesday's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Seattle Sounders FC and a recent 3-0 win at Real Salt Lake three days prior, Klopas decided to put several of Chicago's key cogs on the bench to start out.

One regular starter who got the call to start Saturday was Fire forward Dominic Oduro. Oduro netted a first-half goal against his former Dynamo team as Chicago rallied from a deficit to draw Houston, 1-1, at Robertson Stadium.

Oduro was traded to Chicago for Calen Carr at the start of the season after missing a sitter during the Dynamo's opening match. Now, Oduro is leading the Fire with 12 goals and is in the running for the league's Golden Boot.

"It was good to be back in Houston," Oduro said. "Playing on the other side was a little bit different. At the end of the day, I think the fans appreciated me playing for them and I thank them."

Oduro's day was cut short as he limped off the field with an ankle injury and was replaced by Patrick Nyarko in the 51st minute for precautionary reasons.

"It was just a little bit sore when I made contact in the box," Oduro said. "I should be OK for Tuesday."

Typical starters Nyarko, midfielder Marco Pappa and midfielder Pavel Pardo all played for a portion of the second half. Normal right back Dan Gargan got the night off as Michael Videira filled in.

The big question is what Saturday meant for the Fire's playoff chances. Chicago (7-8-16, 37 points) basically needed to win out in order to keep making a push. With only three regular-season games remaining and multiple teams ahead of Chicago in the wild card standings, the playoff odds took a hit on Saturday.

"We knew we needed the three points to help our chances in making the playoffs," Oduro said. "We've just got to be grateful that we didn't lose the game. At this point, one point is better than no points."

The New York Red Bulls (40 points) maintained their final wild card position with a come-from-behind 1-1 draw against Toronto FC on Saturday night at BMO Field.

Neither the Fire nor Dynamo created a whole lot of scoring opportunities through the first 30 minutes. But in the 33rd, the Dynamo struck first with a Colin Clark goal for a 1-0 lead. Houston took a corner kick from the left side and the ball was headed in the path of Brian Ching. Fire defender Jalil Anibaba broke it up but was unable to clear the ball. Instead, the ball bounced off of Anibaba and went toward Clark, who used his left foot to net the goal.

Chicago responded in the 43rd minute when Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic played a through ball to Oduro, who then proceeded to beat Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell toward the goal. Oduro pushed the ball underneath Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall to tie the score at 1-1.

"It was a good combination and through ball from Baggio," Oduro said. "It was just a good goal. When it was me and Bobby, I knew I had the speed to get past him and I pushed it across."

Analysis: The Fire could have rolled out with their usual lineup, but that would be a weary midfield and front line heading into Tuesday's Open Cup. You can't fault Klopas for juggling the lineup a bit, though perhaps it was the difference between Chicago walking away from Houston with three points instead of just the one.

Several weeks back, when the Fire's playoff chances looked bleak, the Open Cup represented the primary goal of a struggling campaign. Saturday's draw pushed the pendulum slightly toward this sentiment once again as Chicago only has three regular-season games left to make up more ground.

Some MLS teams don't take the Open Cup as seriously as others, but it is refreshing to see two organizations gearing up for this final with vigor. After Tuesday's Open Cup, no matter which team emerges with the win, the Fire and Sounders will have a combined seven crowns over a 14-year stretch.

The Chicago Fire do not have any time to savor one of their biggest victories of the season at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Chicago heads into Saturday three points behind the New York Red Bulls, who currently hold the final wild card spot with 39 points. With only four regular-season games remaining, the Fire can potentially eliminate the gap behind New York when they face the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium.

Chicago interim head coach Frank Klopas's squad is in the midst of a three-game stretch in seven days. On Tuesday, the Fire head to CenturyLink Field to take on the Seattle Sounders in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.

"Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of games that aren't important," Fire defender Dan Gargan said. "All of these games are massive for us. Frank knows that, and he's doing the best to put out a good side each time we're out there."

"We're talking in the locker with our teammates that each game is a playoff for us right now," Fire midfielder Marco Pappa said. "We're still alive and we need to get points, and we know the next game is going to be hard in Houston."

The Fire (7-8-15, 36 points) are in the midst of five wins in their past six matches, the most recent a 3-0 win over RSL, led by Pappa's hat trick. Houston (10-9-12, 42 points) has posted back-to-back wins and is third in the Eastern Conference.

It is a tight race for everyone, but Chicago is on the outside looking in. Even if the Fire defeat Houston and the Red Bulls lose to Toronto FC on Saturday, New York carries the playoff advantage over Chicago. New York and Chicago posted a pair of draws during the regular season, but at the moment the Red Bulls hold an advantage over the Fire in goal differential.

Fire midfielder Sebastian Grazzini is questionable for Saturday's game with a hamstring injury, but he is in Houston with the team.

Fire forward Dominic Oduro will be a focal point during the match. Oduro, who missed a sitter with Houston to open the season, was then immediately traded to Chicago for Calen Carr.

The move has been a steal from the Fire's standpoint as Oduro leads Chicago with 11 goals.

Earlier this season the Dynamo came from behind to pull off a 1-1 draw against the Fire on April 23 at Toyota Park. Diego Chaves had the game's first goal, but Bobby Boswell scored in the 83rd minute to give Houston a road point.

Houston has had the best of Chicago in the past three meetings at Robertson Stadium, winning all three games. But the Fire are playing at a different level these days. Their three-game winning streak is their first since May 16-28, 2009.

"I think that we're certainly coming together as a group," Gargan said. "We're getting better performances day in and day out. As good as the Real Salt Lake win feels, it's behind us. That is only the beginning of a tough road trip. Saturday is a crucial matchup against a tough team, in another tough place to play. We have to keep moving in the right direction."

The Chicago Fire have won four of their five past matches, but they will likely have to continue pushing on without midfielder Sebastian Grazzini.

Grazzini, who injured his hamstring during the first half of Chicago's 3-2 win over the New England Revolution, is expected to miss Wednesday's match at Real Salt Lake.

The midseason acquisition had a goal and an assist before his departure. Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas told MLSSoccer.com this week that Grazzini would not play against Salt Lake, which is coming off its worst loss of the season, a 4-1 defeat at D.C. United. Grazzini is listed as questionable on the MLS Injury Report.

Klopas likely will return to Baggio Husidic in the midfield for the Fire (6-8-15, 33 points). Husidic replaced Grazzini during Sunday's win over the Revs, and it will be a tough task to match Grazzini's skill set and activity.

"Baggio came in and my message to him was he's got to get the ball and make those passes like Sebastian," Klopas said. "At first he was looking to get behind more and left a little bit of a gap."

Fire defender Cory Gibbs will return from his one-game suspension. For the first time since Chicago's Aug. 27 win over the Colorado Rapids, the Fire will have all of their available defensive options.

On offense, Chicago has tallied five goals and benefited from an own goal in its past two matches against Chivas USA and New England. And for the first time this season with the Dominic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko pairing up front, each forward netted a goal against New England. Oduro's rolling right along with a team-high 11 goals, and for Nyarko it was his first of the season.

Everyone already is familiar with Nyarko's ability to set up players, as evidenced by his team-leading seven assists. But Klopas wants to see Nyarko become more proactive in attacking the goal.

"I've told him at times that he needs to be more selfish, especially now that he's playing on top," Klopas said. "When he gets opportunities as a forward, he's always looking to make that pass. But sometimes he needs to be selfish and finish plays off himself. I was happy for him. Whether he gets assists or getting a goal, that's great for his confidence."

"As a striker you've got to do that," Nyarko said. "But that's not my personality. That's not how I play. I look to play, I look to find people -- the easiest spot to get us a goal and to help the team win. Maybe sometimes I could be [more selfish], but I don't look at it from that standpoint. Especially like I missed a goal [Sunday] that I could have passed to Dom. But I think he was offside. If he wasn't, I would have passed it. That's my game. That's unselfish."

RSL's offense is lead by Alvaro Saborio, who has 10 goals and has scored in Salt Lake's past two matches.

Salt Lake (15-8-6, 51 points) has stamped a playoff spot, and it will take a dominating run and a Los Angeles Galaxy collapse for RSL to think about earning the Supporters' Shield. The Galaxy has a 10-point lead on Salt Lake and a seven-point lead on Seattle Sounders FC.

The pressure is all on the Fire this Wednesday. Chicago sits six points behind the New York Red Bulls who own the final wild card spot at the moment.

The Fire and Salt Lake played to a scoreless draw on June 22 at Toyota Park.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire made an early push on the offensive end, and they needed every goal to overcome a late lapse on the defensive end against the New England Revolution on Sunday. Chicago tallied three first-half goals and edged the Revs, 3-2, in front of 14,576 at Toyota Park.

Fire midfielder Sebastian Grazzini had a goal and an assist before leaving the match in the 25th minute because of left hamstring tightness. Dominic Oduro netted his team-leading 11th goal, and Patrick Nyarko's first goal of the season proved to be the game-winner as the Fire took a 3-0 lead into halftime.

It was a much needed victory for Chicago in order to stay within reach of the bottom of the wild card pack. The New York Red Bulls moved back into the final wild card position on Saturday with 39 points after posting a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers.

"There was a lot on the line -- do or die, I think, for both clubs," Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas said. "We came out and we had a very good start to the game."

The Fire (6-8-15, 33 points) still have to make up a six-point deficit over five games, and they will not have much time to rest as they travel to Rio Tinto Stadium to take on Real Salt Lake. As for the Revs (5-13-12, 27 points), their hopes for the postseason have just about faded, though the last-place Eastern Conference squad has not mathematically been eliminated just yet.

Grazzini was having a strong match with a goal and an assist. But he was replaced by Baggio Husidic after he hurt his hamstring.

"I just got a little stiff," Grazzini said. "The same as the [Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup] game against Richmond. I feel all right, but I'm going to try to work hard to get back as soon as possible."

It is hard to say if Grazzini can make a quick enough recovery in time for the Fire's Wednesday match at Real Salt Lake.

"I'm not sure because I haven't been looked at by the doctors yet," Grazzini said through a translator. "But hopefully [Monday] we'll be able to get that taken care of, and then hopefully be back by Wednesday because I would like to play."

"I don't know the extent or how serious the pull is," Klopas said. "But we'll have to see how he feels [Monday]."

On Sunday, Grazzini netted a penalty-kick goal in the fifth minute for a 1-0 lead. The Fire earned the opportunity after Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis tripped up Nyarko in the fourth minute. Grazzini then assisted an Oduro goal in the ninth minute for a 2-0 advantage. Grazzini had a couple of chances to slot the ball to Oduro as the Revs' defense broke down in tracking Oduro.

Nyarko then got into the scoring column in the 30th minute with an open-net goal after Reis made a poor attempt to clear the ball with his foot. That gave the Fire a 3-0 halftime lead for the first time at home since a 4-0 victory over the Revs on April 3, 2008.

The Fire maintained their three-goal cushion for most of the second half, but Revs midfielder Ryan Guy tallied an unassisted score in the 90th minute, followed by his second goal a couple minutes into stoppage time.

"We're kicking ourselves a little bit because we made it a little tougher on ourselves at the end," Nyarko said. "But it's a win. We set the tone early and we got ahead early. That was the key in this game. We still had a couple of chances to put the game away, but that's how it goes."

Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson actually was tested pretty regularly, but he had a beat on most of New England's scoring chances, coming up with a game-high eight saves. His counterpart, Reis, made three saves.

Analysis: The Fire will take the closing minutes to heart, but this match clearly was in Chicago's control. Chicago had its most productive first half of the season, while the Revs looked every bit like a non-playoff team that they are about to become.

The Fire should be concerned that Grazzini has not had a healthy stretch with the Fire. While Husidic did not have a poor performance on Sunday off the bench, it is not even fair to compare him against what Grazzini brings to the pitch with his control and the ability to create scoring opportunities.

Klopas smartly gave Oduro and Nyarko some rest in the second half in gearing up for Salt Lake this Wednesday. RSL will be eager to erase its horrific 4-1 loss to D.C. United over the weekend.