RIDGELAND, Miss. - Ahead of its April 7 season opener versus Toronto FC, Chivas USA defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0 this evening in a preseason exhibition held at M&F Bank Stadium outside of Jackson, Mississippi.
Forward Ante Razov, the all-time leading scorer for both Chivas USA and the Chicago Fire, bagged the game's only goal with a left-footed strike in the 29th minute, beating goalkeeper Matt Pickens from 25 yards after receiving a pass from Sacha Kljestan.
Chivas USA returns to Southern California on Sunday and resumes training at The Home Depot Center on Tuesday ahead of Saturday's season opener versus Toronto FC.
Major League Soccer's Canadian debutants, for their part, are scheduled to train Friday in Carson at a time TBA.
A full training schedule for Chivas USA, as well as a recap of the team's preseason results, is below.
Chivas USA kicks off the 2007 Major League Soccer season at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California against Toronto FC, MLS's new Canadian team, on Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. PT.
For tickets, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit www.cdchivasusa.com.
Chicago Fire 0:1 Chivas USA
MLS Preseason Exhibition - 31 March 2007 - 7:30 p.m. CT (5:30 p.m. PT)
M&F Bank Stadium - Ridgeland, Mississippi
Scoring Summary:
CHV - Ante Razov (Sacha Kljestan) 29
Lineups:
Chicago Fire (4-4-2): Matt Pickens; Ivan Guerrero, Gonzalo Segares, Diego Gutierrez, C.J. Brown (Calen Carr, 80); Chris Armas, Logan Pause (William Oliveira, 72), Thiago (Floyd Franks, 82), Justin Mapp (Bakary Soumare 87); Chad Barrett, Chris Rolfe.
Chicago Fire Head Coach: Dave Sarachan.
Chivas USA (4-4-2): Brad Guzan; Jason Hernández, Claudio Suárez, Lawson Vaughn, Alex Zotinca; Francisco Mendoza, Jesse Marsch, Amado Guevara, Sacha Kljestan (John Torrington 46); Ante Razov (John Cunliffe 72), Maykel Galindo (Matt Taylor 62).
Chivas USA Head Coach: Preki Radosavljevic.
Cautions:
CHV - Jason Hernández 50
CHV - Alex Zotinca 83
Ejections:
CHV - Jesse Marsch 68
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Assistants: George Gansner; Anthony Vasoli
Weather: Cloudy, 61°F / 16°C
[All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.]
