Fire and D.C. United Face-off Sunday at TOYOTA PARK

 

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Sept. 22, 2007) – The Chicago Fire (8-10-7, 31 pts.) play their second of two games this week as Eastern Conference leader D.C. United (15-6-4, 49 pts.) come to play Sunday afternoon at TOYOTA PARK. The “Men in Red” came away with a point via a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas on Thursday in Frisco, Texas, and hope to gain ground in the playoff picture with a win on Sunday. D.C. United should be well-rested, having last played on Sept. 12, yet will be missing there starting players in Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez, and Fred due to yellow card accumulation. Kick-off for Sunday’s match is at 2:00 p.m. CT, and will be televised live on My50 (English) and TeleFutura (Spanish), and broadcast over the airwaves on Chicagoland radio station WRTO-AM 1200 (Spanish) and WNVR-AM 1030 (Polish).

 

Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United :: Fire Match # 26 MLS Match # 165

Sunday, September 23 @ 2:00 p.m. CT :: TOYOTA PARK – Bridgeview, Ill.

TV: My50 (Fred Huebner, Chris Doran, Sarah Kustok), TeleFutura (Jorge Navarro, Diego Balado)

Satellite: VYVX Conf #2382872

Audio: WRTO-1200 AM (Oscar Guzman, “Batata” DaSilva, Enrique Fernandez), WNVR-1030 AM (Daniel Bociaga, Edward Janik)

Game Guide:

 

Fire History vs. D.C. United

The Chicago Fire last played D.C. United on June 16, falling 3-1 at RFK Stadium in what would mark the six loss out of eight games played and the last game with former head coach Dave Sarachan at the helm. The loss evened the Fire to a 12-12-5 record against D.C. United in regular season matches played, and the “Men in Red” are 8-3-3 in games contested in Chicagoland. Chicago has done exceptionally well versus D.C. in the playoffs as well, boasting an undefeated 4-0-1 record in five all-time postseason match-ups. Last year the Fire fared well against D.C. United, notching a 3-1-1 mark in the 2006 overall series across all MLS regular season and U.S. Open Cup play. Chicago dropped its first road test at D.C. on June 21, dropping a 1-0 decision at RFK Stadium, but would bounce back with a 1-1 draw on July 22 in the first-ever meeting at TOYOTA PARK. The Fire evened the 2006 over series on Sept. 6, with an emphatic 3-0 win over United in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals at TOYOTA PARK, and notched another home victory 1-0 over D.C. just a few weeks later on Sept. 17. In Chicago’s 2006 regular season finale on Oct. 15, the Fire came back from a 2-0 deficit to pull out a 3-2 win on D.C. soil.

 

My50 to Air First Game Broadcast this Sunday

The My50 broadcast team will make their MLS debut this Sunday, as the Fire’s newest broadcast partner, Fox affiliate My50, airs their first of two games this season.   Local sports radio personality Fred Huebner will handle the play-by-play duties and long-time Fire broadcast sideline reporter Chris Doran will join him in the booth as color commentator, while local Fox affiliate reporter Sarah Kustok will make her Fire broadcast debut with the sideline call. Chicago Fire Soccer and My50 reached an agreement in early August to broadcast two games this season, including the Oct. 21 home finale against the Los Angeles Galaxy. More information on My50’s programming is available at www.my50chicago.com.

 

Chicago Fire/AthletiCo "Recovery Room” :: September 21

Armas, Chris – R ankle strain – PROBABLE

Curtin, Jeff – R groin strain – DOUBTFUL

Curtin, Jim – R shoulder labral tear – OUT FOR SEASON

Guerrero, Ivan – L ankle sprain – QUESTIONABLE

Gutierrez, Diego – R heal contusion – PROBABLE

Mapp, Justin – R ankle sprain – OUT

Menezes, Bruno – R ankle sprain – OUT

Rolfe, Chris – L ankle sprain – PROBABLE

Russolillo, Jordan – R hip labrum tear – OUT FOR SEASON

Telesford, Osei – L groin strain – OUT

Wanchope, Paulo – R knee inflammation – QUESTIONABLE

 

Fire in Playoff Contention

With a 1-1 tie against FC Dallas on Thursday, the “Men in Red” still retain the eighth and final playoff spot with 31 points, just three points ahead of the Columbus Crew and one point in front of the Colorado Rapids. Five weeks remain in the regular season, but if it ended today, the eight teams below would qualify. They are listed according to their would-be opponents in two-game, aggregate goals playoff series:

 

Eastern Conference Semifinals                                              Western Conference Semifinals

D.C. United vs. Kansas City Wizards                                Houston Dynamo vs. Chicago Fire*

New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls                Chivas USA vs. FC Dallas

 

*As the fifth team to qualify from the Eastern Conference, Chicago would shift over to become the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket.