Fire Fall to Red Bulls, 1-0

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Sept. 1) – The Chicago Fire gave up a late goal to the league's leading scorer which proved to be the difference in a 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium.

Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel scored his MLS-leading 14th goal (pulling even with DC's Luciano Emilio for league honors) with a right-footed shot from 11 yards out that eluded goalkeeper Matt Pickens in the 75th minute.  Pickens was busy on the night, making five saves as the Red Bulls finished with a 19-7 shot advantage.

"I'm disappointed because we allowed Juan Pablo only one good shot and he turned it into a goal," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio.  "We can play better on defense and we need to create more offensive chances, but we're continuing to improve."

The Fire managed just three shots on goal, with a pair occurring in the closing minutes.  Diego Gutierrez, who switched from midfield to defense, placed a shot on net in the 84th minute which was followed by Chad Barrett's shot in the 90th minute – both turned away by goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus.

Chicago travels to Columbus next Saturday (Sept. 8).

Notes:

·          Ivan Guerrero left the game with a left ankle sprain in the 65th minute.

·          Tonight's contest marked a homecoming for Osorio, who served as an assistant coach for the MetroStars

·          Ironically, the Men in Red generated a season-high 21 total shots in their first meeting with New York on May 24, a 3-0 loss that didn't produce as nearly as close a match as tonight's encounter.

Scoring Summary:

NY: Juan Pablo Angel (Dane Richards) 75

Chicago Lineup (4-4-2): GK-Matt Pickens, D-C.J. Brown, D-Diego Gutierrez (Chad Barrett 89), D-Gonzalo Segares, D-Logan Pause, MF-Cuauhtémoc Blanco, MF-Bakary Soumare, MF-Ivan Guerrero (Mike Banner 66), F-Paul Wanchope, F-Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 60)

New York Lineup (4-4-2): GK-Ronald Waterreus, D-Jeff Parke, D-Seth Stammler, D-Dave van den Bergh, D-Chris Leitch, MF-Dane Richards, MF-Claudio Reyna, MF-Joe Vide (Mike Magee 69), MF-Clint Mathis (Carlos Mendes 89), F-John Wolyniec (Francis Doe 63), F-Juan Pablo Angel

Discipline Summary

NY – Joe Vide (caution) 27

CHI – Paulo Wanchope (caution) 86

Referee: Terry Vaughn  Referee Assistants: Greg Barkey, Kermit Quisenberry  Weather: clear, 76 degrees  Attendance: 13,219

Contact:  Daniel Jankowski / 708.921.6504 / djankowski@chicago-fire.com