Chicago Suffers 3-2 Loss at Kansas City
August 22, 2007 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release
KANSAS CITY (Aug. 22) - The Chicago Fire saw its three-game unbeaten streak halted with a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer (MLS) action at Arrowhead Stadium. The Eastern Conference rivals will meet again this Saturday at TOYOTA PARK (7:30 p.m. CT).
K.C. defender Jose Burciaga Jr. factored in all three tallies, registering a goal and two assists. Burciaga sparked the Wizards' second-half comeback, setting up Sasha Victorine's chip shot in the 54th minute, followed by Scott Sealy's marker in the 68th minute. The Wizards (8-7-5, 29 points) scored twice while the Fire were a man down as Gonzalo Segares was ejected after receiving his second yellow card in the 66th minute.
The Fire (6-8-5, 23 points) opened a 1-0 first half lead when Cuauhtémoc Blanco sent a through pass to Chad Barrett, who finished a left-footed shot from 10 yards out to notch his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
Earlier in the half, Blanco was foiled on a penalty kick by goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. The PK occurred when Justin Mapp was fouled in the box in the 12th minute.
The teams exchanged late goals as Burciaga struck in the 82nd minute, which was answered by a goal from Dasan Robinson a minute later. Robinson's first goal of the season came about when Blanco delivered a cross in the box that was punched out by Hartman. With his back to the goal, Robinson whirled and placed a low shot into the middle of the net.
"I think we created enough chances to be up 2-0 in the first half, but we lacked the final touch," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "The game went end-to-end in the second half. I have to credit our players with their effort tonight, but we didn't get the result we wanted."
Notes:
- The Fire saw its shutout streak - which spanned three-plus games -- snapped at 324 minutes
- Captain Chris Armas and goalkeeper Matt Pickens were healthy scratches for the game.
- Segares, who has started every game this season, will miss Saturday's rematch due to his red card
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Major League Soccer Stories from August 22, 2007
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