Chicago Fire

The Chicago Fire completed their second of three games in 11 nights after tying with Real Salt Lake 0-0 on Wednesday.

At halftime, the Fire inducted former star and current Real Salt Lake assistant coach C.J. Brown into the "Ring of Fire" during an emotional ceremony. Brown held back tears of joy during his speech.

The game also featured marvelous defense that won over the praise of Fire coach Frank Klopas.

“As a team we didn’t give anything away and we were good defensively,” Klopas said during his postgame press conference.

When speaking about the match ending in a tie, Klopas spoke of cautious optimism:

“Overall, I was happy with the team’s performance. It would be great to get three points. But in games like this, when you get those opportunities, you have to make them finish because you’re not going to get too many.”

Klopas was aware of the battle that they just had with the team with the best record in Major League Soccer. He is also aware of the team that they will be facing tomorrow when the Eastern Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City invades Toyota Park.

Sporting Kansas City comes to town on a two-game losing streak. With losses to both Montreal and Portland, Sporting Kansas City has not scored a goal since their 3-1 win in Vancouver on April 18.

If the Fire picks up a win, it will move them closer to Sporting Kansas City in the standings.

Ernest Shepard is an Analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand.

The Chicago Fire expect to be very busy this week with two MLS games on the docket.

Real Salt Lake visits Toyota Park on Wednesday while the Sporting Kansas City invades on Saturday.

A difficult stretch continues for the Fire who defeated Chivas USA 2-1 on Friday behind rookie center back Austin Berry’s first career goal.

The Fire were also without coach Frank Klopas, who was suspended for abusive language to the referees during the end of the loss against Seattle.  

This week's matches against Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City will go a long way in determining how far the Fire can go as MLS Cup contenders.

Real Salt Lake are tied for the best record in the league. A win on Wednesday would definitely make a statement. Adding to the drama will be the Ring of Honor induction of all-time great defender C.J. Brown.

Brown is the Fire’s all-time leader in starts, minutes and overall games played. The current Real Salt Lake assistant coach is a two-time Chicago Fire defender of the year (2006 and 2010) and three-time humanitarian of the year (2001-03).

Emotions will be running high that night.

On Saturday, the Fire will have completed a stint in which they would have played three matches in eight days. Winning the two games this week would pull the Fire within two points of the Eastern Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City.

And that is exactly where they want to be.

According to www.chicago-fire.com, Fire midfielder Marco Pappa will throw out the first pitch for the White Sox in their game against the Indians today.

Pappa throwing out the ceremonial first pitch can generate more fan interest in the Fire as well as visibility for himself.

The Fire has a fan base. For instance, over 14,000 fans showed up at the Fire’s match against the Seattle Sounders. And despite the unseasonably cold weather, where the temperature dropped below 40 degrees, the fans stayed inside Toyota Park throughout the competitive match.

Fire coach Frank Klopas and defender Jalil Anibaba will both be suspended for the Friday match at Chivas USA according to team officials.

Klopas was suspended after he berated the referees during the game-ending brawl in last Saturday night’s match versus the Sounders. Anibaba received a red card during the confrontation that took about five minutes to break up.

There is still a possibility that more suspension may be forthcoming once MLS officials complete their investigation of the incident.  

Chicago Fire’s 2-1 loss to Seattle Sounders FC was a game marred by several moments of rough play, including a near brawl at the end of injury time in the second half.

Seattle’s physicality was allowed by the referees from the very beginning—physicality that continued throughout the match. It was dirty and at times unnecessary, yet it was effective.

What has been somewhat lost in the discussion of the Fire’s defeat was a disallowed goal in the 61st minute.

If given, it would have cancelled out a Sounders lead established six minutes before the break when David Estrada's effort was deflected off Arne Friedrich for an own goal.

However, striker Dominic Oduro was adjudged to have interfered with Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning before Fire midfielder Marco Pappa netted from 18 yards.

Although Oduro did not appear to make contact with Gspurning, the officials felt otherwise. As a result, the call placed much of the Fire’s momentum on hold.

Dominic Oduro said after the game:

“Apparently I was in front of the goalie destructing the play. Again it’s the referee’s call. I’m just here to play.”

The Sounders did not waste much time by responding with a goal six minutes later by Eddie Johnson to make it 2-0.

Pappa narrowed the lead when he scored a fine curling effort from a corner kick in the 89th minute, but it was too little, too late.

During his postgame press conference interview, Chicago Fire coach Frank Kloppas said:

“The second goal took a lot out of us. We came. We scored the one goal which I didn’t think the goalie could have it (referring to Seattle goalkeeper Gspurning). And again, Dominic wasn’t there but I think that the second was the difficult one.”

The second goal scored by Seattle did indeed deflate the Fire, but Kloppas remained optimistic about his team’s performance by praising their ability to “create opportunities.”

Eventually those opportunities will turn into goals scored and more victories.   

Ernest Shepard is an Analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand.

The Chicago Fire played the Houston Dynamo Sunday night in a match that was called in the 66th due to inclement weather of heavy rains and lightning. The competitive match ended up in a1-1 draw.

Not bad considering the Fire played against the reigning MLS Eastern Conference champions. When you also add on a 70-minute weather delay early in the match, any team would have completely packed it in.

Not the Fire.

After Chicago 'keeper Sean Johnson was unable to stop a goal by Dynamo forward Will Bruin in the 24th minute, Fire midfielder Logan Pause quickly responded with a goal of his own three minutes later. Pause's deflection carried over Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall to even the Fire.

Plenty to discuss after the game, including a ton of optimism coming from the coaches and players.

Fire assistant coach Leo Percovich praised the “aggression” of the team, while going on to say that he felt that the Fire would have won had play continued. From Chicago-Fire.com:

We had good chances tonight, we have a lot of mobility.  The team tried to play great soccer for the first half, I guess the wind… their goalkeeper made a couple good saves.  We missed a couple passes at the end because the field was so wet.  Houston tried to put good pressure on them, but Grazzini made a good opportunity to score.  I think we were very aggressive.  If we kept going in this game, we would’ve won this game.  You can see in the second half, we wanted to play.  Houston had players falling down.  We had good chances in the first half against the wind and then more for sure in the second half.

Meanwhile, fellow assistant coach Mike Matkovich concurred with Percovich's assessment of the game, insisting the Fire should have pulled three points on the night, and praised his team's resilience:

Obviously we’re a little disappointed that we didn’t get the game in its’ entirety, but we can’t control the Lord above.  It was a difficult night to play… rain, wind, starts, stops… the one key thing is, we were down a goal, we had a good response, we scored within three minutes to tie it.  I felt that if the game would’ve went on, we could have pulled three points out of the night.  But I give our guys a lot of credit.  They fought hard and there was a lot of adversity.  I thought our focus was good.  The guys came out and kept their focus to try to get three points.  Unfortunately, we ended up in a draw, but we will reevaluate and get ready for Toronto.

Talk about leaving it late. Frank Klopas’ Chicago Fire kept their MLS Cup Playoff hopes alive heading into the final week of regular season action on Saturday in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Ben Olsen’s D.C. United at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

“It was one of the toughest losses I have ever taken,” Olsen told reporters after the match. “[I told the team] I was proud of them, it was a good effort. “

Neither team was able to get on the score sheet for a good deal of the match until the 90th minute, when Dwayne De Rosario scored his 15th goal of the season, tying him for the lead with San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Sebastian Grazzini pulled home the equalizer for his fifth goal of the season. Just when it was about to be a 1-1 draw for D.C., Uruguayan international Diego Chaves scored his fifth goal of the season off a sequence by Gonzalo Segares and Orr Barouch.

“It’s not good when you don’t have your destiny in your own hands, and we’re looking for other teams to lose and win,” said midfielder Santino Quaranta. “This was a great opportunity for us tonight, but we’ll battle on and continue to fight.”

“I thought throughout the game we played well. We pushed the game [and] we had opportunities,” Klopas added. “We created some good chances. You kind of feel bad a little bit for [D.C.], but that’s how the game is. For us, it was a great comeback and a great feeling and I’m proud of our guys. “

With the victory, Chicago improved to 8-9-16 (40 points) and are three points behind the New York Red Bulls, who hold the final wild card playoff spot. As for D.C. United, they can officially think about next season after falling to 9-12-11 (38 points).

The Fire wrap up their regular season in a must-win game against the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium, while D.C. end another sorry year at home against Sporting Kansas City. Both matches will take place on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011.

Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2011 Major League Soccer season.

A win is a win is a win.

The Portland Timbers managed their first road win of the year in a most unconvincing fashion in Chicago over the weekend. A 1-0 nail-biter won with Captain Jack Jewsbury's penalty kick.

The real hero of the match, however, was once again keeper Troy Perkins. He made three saves that would be considered remarkable in any league in the world—one of them might go down as the save of the year.

More on that later.

The soccer gods finally smiled on Portland, after nearly two months of having almost nothing but bad luck. The Timbers managed to lose games, and tie games that they should have won, in every conceivable fashion.

They gave up a goal on a set piece to Colorado in the last 10 seconds of the game that gave Colorado the win.

They committed a hand ball in the penalty area against New York in the last 20 seconds that resulted in a tie.

They gave up two leads in the second half against Seattle that resulted in a tough loss at home against their bitter rivals.

They played strong against Chivas and Kansas City, but still came away with a loss.

Finally, a bit of good fortune smiled on the Timbers.

The game came in spurts and fits, with Portland sometimes leading the attack, and sometimes sitting on their heels. In the 23rd minute a penalty was called on Jorge Perlazza at the top of the box, resulting in a PK and penalty on Gonzalo Segares. The call was probably harsh, but after what the Timbers have endured, it was deserved.

Jewsbury calmly struck in the left corner of the net.

Up 1-0, Portland then went into a defensive shell.

Chicago continually pressed the action and controlled possession for much of the remainder of the game.

Though Jorge Perlazza did have a break away and a one on one with the Chicago keeper that, honestly, should have resulted in a second goal.

Once again Perlazza showed a lack of composure and completely flubbed the shot.

Chicago had at least five excellent shots on goal. Two hit wood, and I have no idea how the second one didn't go in. It was an open shot for substitute Orr Barouch from about eight feet away and he shanked it.

Then, again, Portland received a fortunate result when Yamith Cuesta was sent off with a red card with 23 minutes to play.

You might think that up 1-0, with an extra player, that Portland would dominate play and press the action.

Think again.

Perkins had to make two world-class saves in the waning moments. One, a foot save off a deflection, might go off as save of the year.

By the end of the season, Perkins might be suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome with all the action he's getting.

As far as the team is concerned, the defense is still a mess. I am liking the 4-5-1 formation implemented by coach John Spencer, though.

James Marcelin is definitely an improvement in the middle of the field and cuts down a lot of set pieces and headers. Perlazza had a decent game, but not a great one. Sal Zizzo actually made some great runs into space and put some pressure on the Chicago defenders. Kalif Alhassan had a quiet game.

It's becoming obvious to most that the defense is the weakness on this team. The outside defenders, Wallace and Jeremy Hall, are just horrible. They are continually getting beat on runs. The midfielders need to do a much, much better job of tracking back and defending against runs. Chicago had a ton of chances from their mid-fielders and defenders pushing up.

But, a win is a win is a win. Great to see the lads break their seven-game winless streak and get their first win on the road.

"This is the only country in the world that has the pyramid upside down. You pay for having your kid play soccer. So we need to find ways to connect, however that could be, to connect with Hispanics, to connect with everybody in the soccer environment in the U.S., and to get kids who are really hungry, to get kids on technical level to perform, and what I mean is first touch." - Jürgen Klinsmann

Chicago, IL - In an effort to boost graduation rate amongst young Latinos, the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) announced on Wednesday, April 6 the nonprofit's innovative project: the UNO Soccer Academy.

This K-8 elementary school will be made available to 575 students.

With soccer being the No. 1 sport within the Latino community, UNO organizers believes that by providing a soccer-based Charter School, more Latinos will be better prepared for High School.

In addition, students at the Soccer Academy will have the opportunity to receive a scholarship to play soccer for a reputable High School while being prepared to excel in their classrooms.

The overall goal is for students who attend the UNO Soccer Academy will more than likely complete their High School education. While not every student may ever play professionally, many Latinos will have a greater chance of going to college.

"We have a tremendous amount of soccer talent within our community," said Juan Rangel, CEO of UNO.

"Unfortunately, a lot of kids may have the soccer skills, but they do not have the academic background."

Currently under construction, the UNO Soccer Academy is scheduled to open this fall. With nine charter schools under their belt, this will be UNO's 10th charter school. Once opened, the UNO Soccer Academy will feature an academic curriculum which will be connected with Soccer.

In addition, to their academic studies, the charter school will have physical fitness program where the students will have USSF Licensed coaches who will implement the Instructional practices and professional development guided by the USSF guidelines.

Not only will students benefit from a quality education, they're also going to have their athletic/personal/psychological development monitored by their coaches.

In order to ensure that the UNO Soccer Academy will successful, the Chicago Fire and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) will support and play a role in this project while continuing their partnership with UNO.

Both the Chicago Fire Head Coach, Carlos De Los Cobos and Head Coach of UIC's Men's Soccer Team expressed that by having a Soccer Academy that focuses on Academics and Athletics, many talented players will have a greater probability of obtaining a college scholarship.

For a child to be enrolled in the UNO Soccer Academy, their parents/guardians will have to turn in an application.

Once the application is submitted, that child will be eligible to selected via Lottery which will be held in May 2011.

In order to obtain an application, one can visit any one of the following UNO Campus:

Officer Donald J. Marquez School: 2916 W. 47th St; Chicago, IL 60632

Veterans Memorial Campus: 4248 W. 47th St; Chicago, IL 60632

For more information about the United Neighborhood Organization: www.uno-online.org

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He's also a Columnist for USSoccerPlayers.com; Your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at cesar@latinosports.com and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

The Seattle Sounders FC concludes a long and winding series of road matches in Chicago on Saturday before settling in at home for the majority of its remaining matches. The Sounders tackle the Chicago Fire at 5 p.m. PT at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Saturday’s confrontation is not only an important match for both teams regarding MLS playoff implications in a season that has reached its late crucial stage.  It is also round two in the competition pitting the Sounders against its former star midfielder, Sweden’s international star Freddie Ljungberg.

Round one of the competition, August 28 in Seattle, against Ljungberg and his mates went to the Sounders 2-1 on an exciting game winning header by Fredy Montero two minutes into stoppage play.  The Fire is now poised to return the favor on its home pitch.

Saturday’s match features teams heading in separate directions in recent MLS play.  Sounders FC come into action with a 10-9-6 league mark and 36 points.  The Sounders stand sixth in the West on goal difference, but have lost only once in their last 10 league matches with an impressive 6-1-3 mark.

Chicago, conversely, is struggling to remain in the postseason hunt. The Fire come into play at 6-9-8 with 26 points.  The Fire are fifth in the East and winless (0-2-2) in four matches since losing, 2-1, on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field on August 28. It was the first win in the series after two draws a year ago.

Wednesday night the Sounders were defeated 3-2 at Mexico's Monterrey in CONCACAF Champions League play.  With its chances to advance out of Champions League Group C dwindled after dropping its fourth straight match, Sounders FC must win in its final two CCL dates and rely on additional help to stay mathematically alive.

The prospect of reaching the quarterfinal knockout stage in Group C is exceedingly slim.  The Sounders, however, as a team in only its second year of existence that possesses many promising young players has benefited from CONCACAF play through opportunities to take on some of soccer’s most talented teams on an international stage.  

With a 0-4 mark thus far, the Sounders would love to break into the CONCACAF win column.  Two matches remain and both are at home in the friendly confines of the Xbox Pitch of Qwest Field.  Seattle faces Honduras' Marathón on September 29 and Costa Rica's Saprissa on October 19.

In regard to the MLS Cup Playoff picture a much brighter picture emerges.  An impressive 4-0 victory at Eastern Conference leader Columbus last week kept Seattle in the fourth and final wild card playoff position.

With Saturday’s important match on the road, it is significant to see how the Sounders are faring away from home against MLS opponents.  The Sounders on the season are 4-5-3 on the road.  The important recent statistic, however, is that three of those wins have occurred in the last five games.  Chicago stands at 3-2-6 at home.

Seattle sent shock waves through the MLS landscape on Saturday, dealing the Crew its worst home loss in five years. Furthermore, the three goals of striker Blaise Nkufo may signal the awakening of a potentially ferocious three-pronged attack featuring the veteran Swiss international alongside the speed and scoring punch of Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani.

Beginning September 29 when it hosts Marathón at 7 p.m. PT in the Champions League, Sounders FC plays three contests in a row at home. On October 2 at 12:30 p.m. PT Toronto FC comes to town.  Columbus confronts the Sounders in an October 5 rematch, this time not in MLS play but for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.  Action begins at 7 p.m. PT.

Real Salt Lake faced the Chicago Fire at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

It was a decisive game for both teams since Real Salt Lake is in second place in the MLS Western Conference and the Chicago Fire is in fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

Chicago Fire was also starting its first game under its new President Julian Posada, who deserves to be congratulated. The game started with Real Salt Lake dominating from the beginning until the end.

The team from Utah was great in its distribution, consistency, and organization when it came to playing a solid football/soccer game.

The only goal was brilliantly executed by Alvaro Saborio for Real Salt Lake with a right-foot kick towards the left side of the goal net within 45 minutes of the game.

The goal was the result of a penalty committed by Wilman Conde of the Fire against Ned Grabavoy of Real Salt Lake.

Conde was expelled from the game for his offenses against Grabavoy. It appeared that he did not learn his lesson when he received the yellow card during the beginning of the game.

The referee Jorge Gonzalez was fair since he awarded a yellow card for Kyle Beckerman of Real Salt Lake for misconduct of a lower degree. He deserves high marks for his professional behavior in this game.

The Chicago Fire was unable to play at the same tempo as Real Salt Lake and the situation worsened after the expulsion of Conde.

The substitutions within the team did not resolve the situation or help the team attempt an equalizer.

In the end, Real Salt Lake won the day and continues its advance towards the MLS Ranking.

Real Salt Lake 1-0 Chicago Fire

Rio Tinto Stadium Sandy, Utah

Most Valued Player: Alvaro Saborio