MLS Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire Weekly Notes

Published on October 13, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


BRIAN McBRIDE EARNS MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 29 of the 2008 season. McBride scored two goals on Sunday in his club's 2-2 tie with Columbus, which helped the Fire clinch a berth in the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs. Last weekend's performance was the 10th multi-goal game of McBride's career. McBride has earned Player of the Week honors five times, last garnering the award in 2003 as a member of the Crew. McBride has four goals and one assist in nine games (eight starts) for Chicago this season.

CHICAGO PLAYS FINAL REGULAR SEASON ROAD GAME AT TORONTO FC SATURDAY

The Chicago Fire (12-9-7, 43 pts.) will play Toronto FC in their last regular season road match on Saturday, Oct. 18 (2:30 p.m., My50 Chicago, WRTO 1200-AM Spanish) at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario. Chicago tied Columbus last week to secure a playoff position and moved into second in the Eastern Conference.

The Fire are 6-4-4 on the road this season, and have an overall record of 7-3-4 against Eastern Conference opponents. The Fire have already passed their 2007 win (10) and points total (40) and look to surpass their 2007 shutout total (11) with two regular season games to go. The Fire lead MLS in goals against average 1.00 (28 GA/28 G) and their goal differential remains at +9 (37-28), second best in the league behind Columbus' +15 (48-33).

CHICAGO-TORONTO SERIES

Chicago and Toronto play for the second time this season. Chicago defeated Toronto FC 2-1 in their first meeting on July 12 with midfielder Chris Rolfe scoring the first goal in the sixth minute. Toronto evened the score with a goal from forward Abdus Ibrahim, but a stoppage time goal from midfielder John Thorrington in the 92+' helped the Fire win for the first time in five games. The clubs are meeting for just the fifth time, and Chicago holds the all-time series lead at 2-1-1, yet have split their two games at BMO Field. The Fire also hold a slight advantage in goal scoring with 7 goals for and 5 goals against.

CHICAGO IN MLS CUP PLAYOFFS FOR 10TH TIME IN 11 SEASONS

The Chicago Fire secured a position in the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 2-2 draw against Columbus Sunday and will play New England in the first round of this year's postseason. Tickets for the Fire's playoff game (date and time TBA), as well as the final regular season home match on Oct. 23 against New York, are on sale now at the TOYOTA PARK box office, by calling 888-MLS-FIRE or logging onto chicago-fire.com and at any Ticketmaster location including ticketmaster.com.

Chicago and New England are now locked into the second and third spots in the Eastern Conference and will play for the sixth time in the last seven years in the playoffs. Still yet to be determined which team will finish as the higher seed and earn home-field advantage (the higher seed plays the second game of the two-game, aggregate goals series at home). Entering this week's MLS action, the Revs and Fire are tied (12-9-7, 43 pts.), however Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after defeating the Revolution in all three meetings this season. The Fire finishes the season at Toronto FC on Saturday and then at home vs. New York (Oct. 23) while New England visits D.C. United (Oct. 16) and hosts Kansas City (Oct. 25).

FIRE RESERVES TRAVEL TO TORONTO

The Chicago Fire Reserves (5-5-1, 16 pts.) defeated the Columbus Crew Reserves (3-5-2, 11 pts.) 1-0 last Sunday in the final seconds of a Major League Soccer Reserve Division match at TOYOTA PARK. Tomasz Frankowski scored the game-winning goal in the 90+ minute off a free kick by Peter Lowry. The Fire Reserves will play the Toronto FC Reserves on Saturday, Oct. 18, at BMO Field following the first team game (5 p.m. CT).

THREE FIRE PLAYERS TO SERVE WITH NATIONAL TEAMS

Chris Rolfe has been called up to join the United States Men's National Team for their World Cup Qualifier match against Trinidad and Tobago this Wednesday, Oct. 15 in Port of Spain at 7:00 p.m. The match will be televised nationally on ESPN. Rolfe has played eight times with the U.S. MNT, most recently in an appearance in the USA's 1-0 win in Barbados on June 22 in the second round of qualifying. Rolfe replaces forward Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew) who suffered an injury while playing against the Fire last weekend.

Gonzalo Segares (Costa Rica) and Marco Pappa (Guatemala) will also serve with their respective national teams this Wednesday. Pappa played 90 minutes on Oct. 11 in Guatemala's 0-0 tie with Trinidad and Tobago, and will return to the Fire after a match against Cuba (7 p.m.). Segares has joined his national team for their qualifier against Haiti on Wednesday at home in San Jose (9 p.m.).

All three players will return prior to the Fire's match against Toronto on Saturday.

VIEWING PARTY THIS SATURDAY AT QUIGLEY'S IN NAPERVILLE

The Chicago Fire will be hosting a viewing party this Saturday at Quigley's in Naperville (43 East Jefferson, Naperville). The event starts at 2 p.m. and includes free food and drink special, as well as special Fire give-a-ways. Quigley's is a family friendly environment so fans under 21 years-old are encouraged to attend and cheer on their team.

2009 NEW SEASON TICKET DEPOSITS

Chicago Fire 2009 Season Tickets are now on sale. With a deposit of $200 on new season tickets, individuals will receive one free Cuauhtémoc Blanco autographed picture and one free $50 Best Buy Gift Card. Call 1-888-MLS-Fire for more information.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMES TO TOYOTA PARK

The first-ever high school football game to be played at TOYOTA PARK will be Friday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m. and will feature De La Salle vs. Fenwick. The game will also be Fenwick's Senior Night. Tickets are on sale at the TOYOTA PARK Ticket Office, both high schools and all Ticketmaster outlets including ticketmaster.com.

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Major League Soccer Stories from October 13, 2008


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