much like as he did the weekend previous in New England -- settled it outside the area and hammered home a long-range drive. It was his fourth goal on the season, and his fourth in the last four games. Rolfe has been involved in the scoring on every Fire goal this season.
• The game then turned just before the break, when Dichio and Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez were both sent off after they were involved in a larger fracas in the Chicago goalmouth.
• TFC was able to adjust more quickly, and retook the lead just six minutes after the break. A neat passing sequence saw Andy Welsh find Edson Buddle with a nifty touch, and he poked it wide to Kevin Goldthwaite all alone in the area. Goldthwaite ripped a left-footed drive past Matt Pickens for his first professional goal.
• The home side finished off the match 15 minutes from the end. A long ball down the right found Andrea Lombardo behind the Chicago defense, and his cross into the area found a wide-open Maurice Edu. The No. 1 pick from January's SuperDraft also made no mistake for his first professional goal and sealed TFC's first win.
• TFC head coach Mo Johnston made two changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards in the grand opening of BMO Field in their last game. Ronnie O'Brien made his debut for the club, coming into the midfield for the departed Paulo Nagamura, and Edson Buddle returned to the lineup, partnering Danny Dichio in attack in place of Alecko Eskandarian.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Greg Sutton - Marvell Wynne, Andrew Boyens, Jim Brennan, Kevin Goldthwaite - Ronnie O'Brien (Chris Pozniak 77), Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Andy Welsh (Adam Braz 87) - Edson Buddle (Andrea Lombardo 70), Danny Dichio. Substitutes Not Used: Srdjan Djekanovic, Alecko Eskandarian, David Guzman, Marco Reda
• "I think overall just the way our team performed today (was terrific)," said Johnston. "I felt they left everything on the field. We had to adjust a little bit when Danny was sent off and I felt the fans again were magnificent, I hope they bring that every week, because it's just like a cup final - teams in America won't like coming here."
TEAM NEWS
• It certainly was a noteworthy day for Dichio, the former Preston North End striker who was playing his second match for TFC. His goal prompted thousands of seat cushions - given out to fans entering the stadium - being thrown on the field in celebration. He then became the first Toronto player ever to be sent off 20 minutes later.
• "It's just a fantastic kind of emotion I went through today ... especially when the goal went in, and Frisbees were coming in onto the pitch, and the really loud roar when it went in as well," Dichio said. "Obviously I was a bit upset with my sending off and stuff, but hey, we got the three points. The boys did really well in the second half and I'm happy for them as well."
• Goldthwaite secured the full three points with his goal in the second half. It was his first in 27 career MLS league appearances.
• "I made a long run and it kind of got knocked around a couple of times and it fell to Edson. I just happened to be in the corner of the box. Edson was able to put his toe out and get it to me, took a touch and hit it as hard as I could," Goldthwaite said. "It feels great to be the guy to get the game winner today. And for it to be my first goal in that situation, it couldn't have come at a better time.
• The loss of Dichio and Gutierrez seemed to turn things in TFC's favor in the second half. Toronto outshot Chicago 5-2 in the half and produced the go-ahead goal from Goldthwaite and the insurance marker from Edu.
• "It was down to 10 men on each side, and it's a big field," Buddle said. "[The two fewer players] opened it up and I think we were the fitter team today playing at home. We were able to stretch them out and open up the game for us."
• Toronto finally felt like it was a game where they showed what they could do this season. "I think preparation (was the reason)," Buddle said. "We worked really hard this week in training, we were pushing it and getting after it, we were anxious, and all of the above. For us to get a win at home, I think we got the monkey off our back a little bit."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo return to action after having last weekend off, their last match a come-from-behind 3-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids on May 5 in Commerce City. Dynamo are still tied for third place in the Western Conference with seven points from five matches, level with Chivas USA (though they've played a game fewer), four points behind the division-leading Rapids.
LAST MATCH
• The Rapids were returning home after splitting two games on their road trip, the last a win at Real Salt Lake, while Dynamo were coming off back-to-back 1-0 defeats, having scored just one goal on the season.
• The Rapids took a very early lead on a strange night in Commerce City. A free kick was driven into the area, and trickled through to where a pair of Rapids players were standing all alone in the heart of the box. The ball came to Roberto Brown, and he turned and stabbed it home after just five minutes.
• But after the break, Dynamo hit for a three-goal blitz to finally break out of their scoring slump. Brad Davis served in a low cross from the left and Brian Ching came sliding in to knock it home ahead of Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul (55).
• Dwayne De Rosario then scored twice within six minutes. First, he took the ball near the center circle and went haring forward up the center of the field before driving a wicked blast that sailed past Coundoul to his right and into the upper corner of the goal (63).
• Then Ching tried to force a pass through from the right, saw the ball knocked away by Pablo Mastroeni in the goalmouth, then hit Coundoul and roll away toward the goal. De Rosario came sliding in to push the ball the final couple of inches over the line and make 3-1 for Colorado in the 68th minute.
• Dynamo boss Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Chicago Fire the week before. Richard Mulrooney made his first start with Houston since his trade from Toronto FC, coming in at right back for Kelly Gray. Paul Dalglish was the choice to start in attack alongside Brian Ching, in place of Chris Wondolowski.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Stuart Holden 91+) - Dwayne De Rosario - Brian Ching, Paul Dalglish (Alejandro Moreno 79). Substitutes Not Used: Kelly Gray, Patrick Ianni, Craig Waibel, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski
• "I think we had the edge," Kinnear said. "They had the goal, and I think maybe it shocked us and it took us a little bit to get back into it. After that we were really close to scoring a couple goals, and I'm not saying we dominated them, but I think we did play well tonight."
TEAM NEWS
• Dynamo really had been struggling - until the three-goal burst. They had scored just one goal on the entire season, and had gone 259 minutes without hitting the back of the net until Brian Ching's goal in the 55th minute tied the game and turned the tide.
• "It was frustrating," Ching said. "The frustration continues to build the longer and longer you don't score. We just kind of got back to what we're good at. We put our heads down and work hard and stick to what we're all good at. That makes us one of the better teams in the league. We didn't let the frustration get to us."
• After thinking they were on the right path from their run in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, falling just short after scoring four goals in two games in the semifinals against eventual champion Pachuca, Dynamo began the season with three scoreless matches and came in with back-to-back shutouts.
• "Things haven't really been going our way. Last couple games, two losses in a row, we had a sour taste in our mouth," Ching said. To be the first [visiting team] victory (in Colorado) against a team that's been playing pretty well is uplifting for us. Hopefully we can continue to build on this and get some more wins."
• A big change in the Dynamo team was putting Richard Mulrooney at right back. A midfielder for almost the entirety of his career - including six seasons with San Jose, where Kinnear saw him for three as an assistant coach, Mulrooney came in for Kelly Gray.
• "Richard Mulrooney was on the right hand side because Brian Mullan was commanding the attention of two guys out there. Richard was wide open a lot," Kinnear said. "We were trying to let guys know, if anything else happens, we have that right-hand side to be kind of a bailout. Plus, Richard is a good player, he makes the right pass. His first pass led to a couple goals tonight."
• Last week, Dynamo went some ways toward addressing the early-season drought when they acquired Joseph Ngwenya from the Columbus Crew for Alejandro Moreno. Ngwenya is in his fourth MLS season. He scored four times in his rookie year with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2004, but failed to find the back of the net in 2005. After being traded to Columbus early last season, the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe native scored five goals. He has no goals and one assist this season.
• "We think the world of Alejandro and wish him the best with his new team," Kinnear said. "At the same time, we are excited about bringing Joseph in, as we feel he will add a great dose of danger, athleticism and depth to our offense."
