now sitting at 333 scoreless minutes in league play and counting.
• "Our strikers that we have are getting themselves in good spots and getting good looks, and if you're going to be critical -- they need to finish those plays. I think Tomasz [Frankowski] had one in the first minute of the game, a very good look 12 yards out. Rolfe had one and Cannon made a good save," Hamlett said. "We are getting ourselves in good spots. It's still about composure in front of the goal, and making the 'keeper make a good save."
• The Fire scored 20 goals in their first 10 games. The last league goals came in the five-goal outburst against the New York Red Bulls on May 25.
• "In the first games we were scoring goals early," Hamlett said. "When you do that the game opens up. We're not doing that right now. In the final third our communication and our decision-making are not quite there. We're making runs. We're getting shots. We're just not finishing."
• While they went without a goal in league play for the month of June, the Fire earned their first point in the month and earned their first shutout since May 8, a 2-0 win at D.C. United.
• "Tonight we half-stopped bleeding," Hamlett said. "We got a point and a shutout. We almost gave the game away at the end with a few plays. But we held on." Said Gonzalo Segares: "We needed a shutout. It's been a couple of games without one. Although, we didn't get what we wanted. We wanted a win."
• On Tuesday, however, the goals again came in a U.S. Open Cup match. After earning qualification to the tournament proper with a 3-2 win against Columbus on June 8, the Fire rolled over the Cleveland City Stars (USL2) 4-1 at Toyota Park in their third-round tie. Chicago now faces a trip to play D.C. United in the quarterfinals.
• The Fire had three goals before the first half-hour was out, from Mike Banner (13), Calen Carr (23) and Chris Rolfe (26). After Kiel McClung pulled a goal back for the City Stars in the 61st minute, Banner completed his double and put the game away in the 73rd minute.
• "It sends a message to our veteran guys that these guys can play," Hamlett said. Said Banner: "Considering our losing streak, tonight was a big game for everybody,"
• Here's Hamlett's team: Nick Noble, Austin Washington, Brian Plotkin, Daniel Woolard, Lider Marmol, Mike Banner, Stephen King, Peter Lowry, Chris Rolfe (Tomasz Frankowski 46), Calen Carr (Cuauhtemoc Blanco 85), Chad Barrett (Patrick Nyarko 46)
• For Lider Marmol, it was his first appearance for the Fire after suffering a knee injury earlier this month. Marmol was a part of a controversial tug-of-war with the New York Red Bulls for his services back in March.
