NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Chicago Fire FC

Fire Looks to Jump to First Place Tomorrow in Nation's Capital

June 14, 2005 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


CHICAGO, IL (Tuesday, June 14, 2005) - After a convincing 2-0 win over FC Dallas last Sunday at Soldier Field, the Chicago Fire (7-5-1, 22 pts.) will play for its third win in as many games when it faces Eastern Conference foe DC United (3-4-4, 13 pts.) Wednesday at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Conversely, United is looking to break a recent run of three consecutive non-wins, its last victory coming against Kansas City on May 21. In the second of four meetings in 2005, Chicago will look to build on its 9-8-4 advantage overall against former Fire captain Peter Nowak's 2004 MLS Champions. Fire rookie Chris Rolfe's 50th minute strike in the first meeting on Apr. 9 was enough to give Dave Sarachan's squad a 1-1 tie. A win tomorrow would put the Fire in a first place tie in the Eastern Conference with the unbeaten New England Revolution. Kick-off for the match is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, live on Comcast Cable Systems.

Marsch Looks to Join MLS' 200-Game Club

Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch will join the ranks of captain Chris Armas - and 12 other MLS players - by suiting up in his 200th regular season match, which is likely to take place tomorrow against DC. Marsch hit number 199 by starting and playing the full 90 minutes in Sunday's 2-0 victory over FC Dallas at Soldier Field - which marked his third straight appearance in the starting line-up and his tenth start in 13 games this season for the "Men in Red." In his 10-year MLS career, the "Fire Original" has made it to the starting eleven 171 times while posting 20 goals and 30 assists. Marsch's 200th appearance could bring his career full circle should it take place against DC United, with whom he began his MLS career in 1996. Marsch might not be the only "Mr. 200" on Wednesday, as DC United striker Jaime Moreno also enters the contest sitting on 199 career games played. Marsch should hope to equal the task of Armas, who scored a goal and an assist while becoming the 12th player in League history to reach the 200-game plateau on May 28 in a 3-0 win at Real Salt Lake.

Quick Kicks vs. D.C. United

* Fire defender Jim Curtin will tie current DC United Head Coach and ex-Fire midfielder Peter Nowak for 6th place on the Fire's all-time games chart with his next appearance. Curtin enters Wednesday's match with 113 games played since beginning his career in 2001.

* D.C. United midfielder Steve Guppy is the cousin of new Fire President/CEO John Guppy.

* Zach Thornton claimed the career minutes played milestone during last Sunday's victory over FC Dallas. Thornton surpassed fellow "Fire Original" C.J. Brown's record in the 37th minute of the 2-0 win by logging minute number 15,717 in a Fire uniform.


• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

Major League Soccer Stories from June 14, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Chicago Fire FC Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central