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MLS Chicago Fire FC

Scoring Scheme

by Steve De Rose
September 9, 2006 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC


The Chicago Fire defeated D.C. United by three-nil, via one goal from Justin Mapp, and two goals from Calen Carr on Wednesday, 6 September at "Sarge" Kracher Stadium in Bridgeview, IL. The Fire advance, and will host the Final of the Lamar Hunt U. S. Open Cup tournament versus the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday, September 27 in Bridgeview (at 19:00 hours CT) (GMT - 6). The match will be televised live by Fox Soccer Channel (English/Español).

Los Angeles advanced to the Final by defeating the Houston Dynamo later that evening at Victoria Station in Carson, CA. by 3-1. In first-half stoppage time, Houston's Dwayne DeRosario had his penalty kick, which would have leveled the score at two saved by Los Angeles goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

The Fire were without the service of Andy Herron, who had figured prominently in their two previous U.S. Open Cup matches. He was recalled to the Costa Rican national team for a tournament in Switzerland. Chicago went into their depth chart and teamed Carr with Nate Jaqua, and started Thiago in midfield.

In the game, Jaqua and Thiago switched between forward and midfield. Matt Pickens received the start in goal. Usual GK Zach Thornton has been suffering a right quadricep injury, and for this match, he did not dress. Reserve GK David Mahoney was the other GK on the Fire match roster.

For D.C.U., Troy Perkins got the start. He has played every minute in the net this season. Nick Rimando's last match was a startling four goal loss at home in the second leg of the 2005 M.L.S. quarter-finals versus the Fire.

D.C.U. were without leading scorer Jaime Moreno, who was injured in the second half of their last M.L.S. match in Carson, CA. versus CHIVAS U.S.A. on Sunday, the 3rd.

The match stagnated early. D.C.U. seemed to be mostly interested in taking time off the clock. They remained extremely compressed in their half of the pitch. If they had any offensive concepts, they were occluded from everyone on the field, and in the stands.
The Fire had their first foray in the 11th minute. Thiago struggled through a tackle from Facundo Erpen, and got by with the ball. As he approached the D.C.U. penalty box, he forayed a cross in the area of Carr, but it was not precise enough, and D.C.U. cleared it away.

The Fire had a good chance on a restart in the 17th minute. The restart cross from the right wing found a Chicago player getting his head to it, but the shot from eight yards out looped lazily over the crossbar.

The Fire had a restart from 29 yards out in the center in the 32nd minute. Justin Mapp stepped over the ball. It was touched off to the left, but Diego Gutierrez's shot was blocked at the source by D.C.U.'s Christian Gomez.
In the final minute of the half (there was no stoppage time), a Fire free kick from 25 yards out on the left wing center was hooked toward the goal, but not on the net, and Perkins collected the ball. Halftime came nil-nil.

Chicago had the first half-chance of the second half. In the 52nd minute, a ball aimed at Carr in the penalty box was thwarted by D.C.U.'s Joshua Gros. In the continuing play, a Fire shot from 22 yards out in the center went up and out.

In what was to be the closest D.C.U. came to scoring for the match in the 53rd minute, a shot by Erpen from 35 yards out in the center roared over the top of the crossbar by two yards.

Aside from this individual shot, D.C.U. were disjointed on their sparse offensive movements; with switching passes and forward balls going fruitless as the anticipated recipient did not present himself.

The Fire were becoming more hazardous to D.C.U. In the 56th minute, a cross from Carr went past one Chicago player, but was on the path of Justin Mapp, on the right wing center. His shot was blocked by Brandon Prideaux.

Chicago broke through in the 58th minute. A long ball out of the back from Chris Armas to Mapp split two D.C.U. defenders on the right wing center. This was compounded by Bryan Namoff "wiping out" on the pitch trying to recover position. Mapp approached the D.C.U. net at a 40 degree angle. Perkins attempted to "make himself large," but Mapp bounced his shot past him to the left post.

As had occurred to New England in the Open Cup quarterfinal, the realization that killing the match for 120 minutes and taking the lottery of penalty kicks was no longer applicable, D.C.U. decided to finally attack. Matias Donnet substituted in the 64th minute, and swiftly delivered an intriguing cross into the Chicago box, which was repelled. Soon afterward, Chicago's Pickens made his first save of the match on a shot by Gomez from 20 yards out toward the low right post.

Match referee Rich Heron, who had given the stern word to some players previously, issued his first official discipline in the 68th minute to D.C.U.'s Clyde Simms. Chicago's Carr was seemingly about to elude him on the dribble at the midfield stripe, but fell afoul to the dreaded jersey tug. Two minutes later, Simms was substituted by Ben Olsen.

A flash point for the match was in the 74th minute. A D.C.U. shot on goal from the left wing center was saved by Pickens. He went to the turf with the ball, and then it was seemingly kicked out of his hands by a D.C.U. player. The whistle sounded. The ball was sunk into the Fire net from an acute angle on the right. The apparent goal was waved off and the Fire given the defensive restart.

Two minutes later, the Fire made it two-nil. On a defensive zone restart, Armas played another long ball up the left wing for Jaqua, who flicked it toward the center of the pitch for Carr. He struck it first time against the grain back to the low left post.

D.C.U. were extremely disquieted by this turn of events. Soon after the subsequent kickoff, they lost possession, and Chicago played a forward pass on the right wing for Thiago who was brusquely propelled to the turf by Erpen. Players for both teams rushed to the point of the incident. A red card was pulled and shown to Erpen. Then more players began pushing and thrusting arms. Erpen was shoved and fell to the turf. This was adjudged to have been done by Armas. Moments later, he was shown the red card. This means, in all probability, he will be ineligible for the Final.

D.C.U. had one good offensive maneuver remaining. In the 84th minute, a headed ball with much spin on it was nearly dropped into his own net by Pickens. It was cleared off the line by Gonzalo Segares. Seconds thereafter, with much of the net gaping open, a shot from 12 yards out in the center was blocked out (for a corner kick) by Jim Curtin.

Four minutes of stoppage time were displayed. Chicago had a left wing corner kick. D.C.U. thought they would play clock management and convene around the ball near the corner kick arc. They were caught derelict when Ivan Guerrero stepped inside his marker inside the end line and crossed to an open Carr on the right side of the penalty box. With D.C.U. players hurling their bodies to the turf in front of him, he faked with the right foot, maneuvered to the left, and sunk the goal with his left foot. Full time came 3-nil.



Chicago Fire (adidas: Red | Red | Red): #18 Matt Pickens; #2 C. J. Brown, #5 Jim Curtin, #25 Gonzalo Segares; #8 Diego Gutierrez, #10 Thiago, #14 Chris Armas, #21 Justin Mapp (#12 Logan Pause 73'), #23 Ivan Guerrero; #3 Calen Carr, #11 Nate Jaqua.

D.C. United (adidas: White | White | White): #1 Troy Perkins; #5 Facundo Erpen, #26 Bryan Namoff, #32 Bobby Boswell; #4 Brandon Prideaux (#7 Matias Donnet 64'), #10 Christian Gomez, #16 Brian Carroll (#21 Stephen DeRoux 80'), #17 Joshua Gros, #19 Clyde Simms (#14 Ben Olsen 70'); #9 Freddy Adu, #23 Jamil Walker (#15 Rod Dyachenko 46').

Scoring:
CHI - Justin Mapp (Chris Armas) 58'
CHI - Calen Carr (Nate Jaqua) 75'
CHI - Calen Carr (Ivan Guerrero) 90'

Discipline:
DCU - Clyde Simms (yellow) 68'
DCU - Facundo Erpen (red) 76'
CHI - Chris Armas (red) 76'
DCU - Ben Olsen (yellow) 86'
Referee: Rich Heron
Attendance: 5,153

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