MLS Chicago Fire FC

Fire Look For Second Consecutive Home Win this Saturday at Toyota Park

Published on July 29, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


The Chicago Fire return to TOYOTA PARK for a match against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The team looks to reclaim their first place position in the Eastern Conference standings after the Columbus Crew took the lead after last week's matches. The Fire are coming off of a 0-0 road tie against the Seattle Sounders FC while Real Salt Lake turned around a dismal first half effort last week for a 4-2 win over FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The Fire are vying for first place in the East, sitting just one point behind the Columbus Crew (7-3-9, 30 pts.) with a game in hand, while D.C. United and Toronto FC are nipping at the Fire's heels with 28 and 26 points respectively. Salt Lake is in sixth place in the West and will look to improve on that positioning Saturday as they battle for three points on the road.

Saturday's match is just the ninth meeting of the two clubs since Salt Lake joined the league in 2005. The Fire has only lost one time to Salt Lake, falling on June 3rd on the road at Rice-Eccles stadium in 2006. The Fire has enjoyed an undefeated home record against Salt Lake, posting a 2-0-2 record through their four home matches and outscoring the 2005 expansion side by five goals to two when at home. Through all-time league play, the Fire have a 4-1-3 record and have outscored their opponent 12 goals to six.

While the Fire will benefit from the return of midfielder Logan Pause, fellow midfielder John Thorrington will be unavailable due to a one game suspension for his red card ejection last week against the Seattle Sounders FC. Defender Gonzalo Segares has also returned to the Fire after playing two games for Costa Rica in their 2009 Gold Cup semifinal run. Segares played 90 minutes against Seattle last week after Costa Rica fell to Mexico in penalty kicks on July 23.

Six All-Stars game day players will be playing in Saturday's match as Wilman Conde, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and Bakary Soumare face Will Johnson, Javier Morales, and Kyle Beckerman of Salt Lake.

Tickets are still available for the match through all Ticketmaster outlets, by visiting www.chicago-fire.com, calling 888-MLS-FIRE, or through the TOYOTA PARK box office.

CHICAGO FIRE WEEKLY AGENDA

**Sites/times subject to change. Please call 708.496.6725 or 6726 to confirm training schedule. All times Central.

Wednesday, July 29 Fire Training at TOYOTA PARK practice field - 9:45 a.m.

Thursday, July 30 Fire Training at TOYOTA PARK stadium field - 9:00 a.m.**

Friday, July 31 Fire Training at TOYOTA PARK stadium field - 9:45 a.m.**

Saturday, Aug 1 FIRE vs. REAL SALT LAKE @ TOYOTA PARK - 7:30 p.m. - My50 Chicago

**Training will be closed to the media with the exception of the last 15 minutes, which will be open for interviews with players and coaches following the end of practice. Please contact the Fire Communications for further information or to schedule interviews.

FIRE READY TO BATTLE TIGRES UANL IN SUPERLIGA 2009 FINAL AT TOYOTA PARK ON AUGUST 5TH

After posting a 3-1-1 record through out the SuperLiga 2009 tournament, the Fire are set to take on Tigres UANL in the Final next week on Wednesday, August 5 at 7 p.m. CT. The team is ready for a battle as Tigres is the only team that was able to defeat the Fire through the tournament. The two teams met in the final game of group play on June 26 when the Fire fell 2-1 to their opponent at TOYOTA PARK.

The Fire secured a position in the SuperLiga semifinals with a group play record of 2-1-0 in Group A and a goal differential of +1. With their win over the Fire, Tigres UANL took the top spot in Group A and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament as well. As the second place finisher in Group A, the Fire took on defending SuperLiga champion and 2009 Group B top seed, the New England Revolution on July 15 at Gillette Stadium and brought home a 2-1 win to advance to the Final in their first year participating in the tournament. Tigres UANL advanced to the Final of the tournament in their first year as well with a 3-2 win over Santos Laguna at Gillette Stadium.

The winner of Wednesday night's match will be presented the SuperLiga trophy following the match a TOYOTA PARK in a formal ceremony.

Tickets for the SuperLiga 2009 Final in Chicago, are on sale now starting at just $22. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.chicago-fire.com, through the TOYOTA PARK box office, or by calling 888-MLS-FIRE. Groups of 15 or more can receive group rates by contacting the Chicago Fire at 888-MLS-FIRE or emailing tickets@chicago-fire.com.

The Fire are competing for the first time in the third annual competition, which pits top soccer teams from Mexico and MLS against each other for local bragging rights and one of the biggest purses in the region. For more information about the SuperLiga tournament, visit www.superliga2009.com.

BLANCO, CONDE, AND SOUMARE SET FOR MLS ALL-STAR GAME TONIGHT

Three Chicago Fire players will suit up in the 2009 MLS All-Star game tonight against Everton FC at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Fire defenders Wilman Conde and Bakary Soumare, as well as 2008 MLS All-Star MVP Cuauhtémoc Blanco will shine tonight among the other MLS All-Stars. The 2009 MLS All-Star match will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and Galavision at 8:30 p.m. CT.

Conde was selected as one of three defenders on the league's All-Star First XI squad. Fire midfielder Blanco joined the First XI group as he replaced Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne De Rosario who is unavailable due to participation in the CONCACAF Champions League. Soumare was also added to the roster as a replacement for Houston forward Brian Ching who is unavailable due to injury.

The Fire are also proud to announce that forward Brian McBride was named to the 2009 MLS All-Star inactive roster. McBride underwent successful shoulder surgery on July 17 and is expected to miss 3-4 months of the season.

CHICAGO FIRE CAUTION WATCH

Player Number of Cautions

Tim Ward 4

Chris Rolfe 3

John Thorrington 3**

**THORRINGTON OUT FOR MATCH AGAINST SALT LAKE

Fire midfielder John Thorrington will be unavailable this week for the Fire's match against Real Salt Lake as he picked up a red card in last Saturday's game against the Seattle Sounders FC and will be forced to serve his one-game suspension this week. Thorrington entered the match with three yellow cards, and since the first yellow card contributed to the red card later in the match - Thorrington will still only carry three yellow cards when he returns to league play on August 9th against the Houston Dynamo.

WILMAN CONDE IS UNIVISION CHICAGO'S FEATURED PLAYER OF THE MONTH

The Fire and Univision Chicago are partnering to feature a different Chicago Fire player or coach each month as the Univision Chicago Player of the Month. Defender Wilman Conde is the Fire Player of the Month for June and will not only be featured each Monday during the Univision 10 o'clock newscast during the "Chicago Fire: Conexión Máxima" segment, Thorrington will contribute to Univision Radio's Nuevo Dia program on Monday mornings and connect with fans directly through a Live Chat and blog entries on Univsion.com. Head Coach Denis Hamlett was featured during the month of April, midfielder Marco Pappa was featured in May, and midfielder John Thorrington was featured in June.

4-v-4 FUTBOLITO TOURNAMENT COMES TO CHICAGO ON AUGUST 22

MLS Futbolito, the largest touring Hispanic event hosted by a U.S. professional sports league, comes to Chicago on August 22 at Riis Park, 6100 W. Fullerton Ave. The all-day 4-v-4 tournament is open to players of all ages, abilities and affiliations. Team rosters can consist of up to seven players (four field players and three substitutes) and each team will play in round-robin action, with the possibility of advancing to the single-elimination championship playoff. Teams registered for the competition will be divided according to age groups and competitive levels with winners in each division receiving prizes. In addition to the games, each registered player will receive a ticket to an MLS match (in applicable markets), a Futbolito t-shirt, and the chance to win prizes from the presenting sponsors as well as associate sponsors. For more information or to register a team, visit the official website: www.MLSFutbolito.com or call 888-MLS-FUTBOLITO.

PHISH SUMMER TOUR STOPS AT TOYOTA PARK

On their first summer tour in five years, Phish has announced a concert date at TOYOTA PARK on Tuesday, August 11th. Tickets are on sale now. Reserved and general admission tickets are priced at just $49.50 and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets including the TOYOTA PARK ticket offices, Ticketmaster.com and by calling (800) 745-3000.

BUFFETT RETURNS TO TOYOTA PARK

After the success of last summer's two TOYOTA PARK concerts, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will return to the stadium again this summer for two more unforgettable concert experiences as part of the "Summerzcool" Tour 2009. The concert dates are set for Saturday, Aug. 8 and Saturday, Aug. 15. The seating setup at the stadium will be similar to last year's concerts, as all seats will be reserved both on the field and in the stadium bowl. Tickets are on sale now through all Ticketmaster outlets including the TOYOTA PARK box office, Tickemaster.com, and by calling (800) 745-3000. For more information visit www.toyotapark.com.

BLANCO'S ‘DIRECTO AL BLANCO' RADIO PROGRAM TUESDAY

"Directo al Blanco" a full-hour live radio program hosted by Fire midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco will air this and every Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. CT. Listeners are encouraged to call and talk to Blanco about the latest soccer-related news regarding the Chicago Fire, Major League Soccer, and the Mexican Primera Division. The show airs nationally on RadioCadena stations in Chicago (WRTO-AM), Las Vegas (KLSQ-AM), Los Angeles (KTNQ-AM), San Francisco (KLOK-AM), El Paso (KAMA-AM), San Antonio(KCOR-AM), Dallas (KFLC-AM), McAllen (KGBT-AM), Houston (KLAT-AM), New York (WADO-AM), and Miami (WQBA-AM).

ABOUT CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER

Chicago Fire Soccer was founded on October 8, 1997 as a Major League Soccer expansion team. The Fire won the MLS Cup in its inaugural season in 1998 and was crowned the champion of U.S. Soccer's national tournament, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, in 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006. In June 2006, the Fire moved into its world-class home of TOYOTA PARK, located in Bridgeview, IL.

ABOUT TOYOTA PARK

Located 15 minutes from downtown Chicago and minutes from Midway airport off of I-55 on Harlem Avenue, TOYOTA PARK is the Midwest's preeminent outdoor live entertainment and sporting facility. Opened in 2006, TOYOTA PARK not only serves as the home of the Chicago Fire, but also hosts a variety of sporting events, special events and concerts by national and international artists. In 2009, artists ranging from Jimmy Buffett to Phish will perform live at TOYOTA PARK.

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 29, 2009


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