HOUSTON - The Chicago Fire remained unbeaten for the 2007 season, getting a second-half goal from Chris Rolfe for a 1-0 win against Houston Dynamo on Sunday evening at Robertson Stadium and sending the defending MLS Cup champions to their second consecutive loss.
After a sluggish first half in which Houston looked like the more dangerous team, Chicago came out strong in the second half, outshooting Dynamo 10-4 and playing a tough defensive style that frustrated the Houston attackers.
Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens got into the action early when Houston midfielder Dwayne De Rosario slipped around Chicago midfielder Diego Gutierrez and fired a low shot that forced Pickens' first save in the fourth minute of the match.
Chicago's best chance of the first half came in the 18th minute, when midfielder Gonzalo Segares sent a leading pass into the box for forward Chad Barrett. Unfortunately, the pass was just a touch too fast, and Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad was able to spring forward and scoop it up before Barrett could get a touch on the ball.
Midfielder Ivan Guerrero drew a yellow card for his hard tackle on Houston forward Brian Ching in the 21st minute. Guerrero's tackle sent Ching to the floor for the third time in the half, and seemed to be indicative of a Chicago strategy to play Ching physically in defense to keep the Houston striker off-balance.
This defensive strategy worked well for the Fire, keeping Houston's frequent headers out of the net and often making it impossible for Houston's forwards to get a shot on goal. Pickens only had to make one difficult save, deflecting a Ching header that looked like it was about to go between the 'keeper's legs.
The Fire began the second half looking much sharper then they had in the first. Rolfe led the half off with a sliding shot from just outside the box, putting the ball low and hard but directly towards the center of the goal, allowing Onstad to make the easy save.
Ching nearly put Dynamo ahead with what appeared to be a goal on a header in the 51st minute, but Houston defender Ryan Cochrane was whistled for a shove on Pickens, and the goal was disallowed.
Chicago took the lead shortly after Ching's near-goal, when Rolfe received a pass from Segares on the right of the area and skipped into the area. He juked Dynamo back Wade Barrett to the ground before slotting a left-footed shot just past a diving Onstad in the 60th minute.
Rolfe almost scored again in the 68th minute when he received the ball unmarked on the left side of the attack, but his low shot went wide of the back post by only a few inches. Fire striker Chad Barrett had an almost identical opportunity only one minute later, getting free on the right side and sending a lofted shot past Onstad and just outside the far post.
As the match drew into the final 15 minutes, the Dynamo attack was getting desperate, but Chicago's defense held. As Houston surged forward, the Fire's defense did an excellent job of keeping bodies between the ball and the goal, stopping most of Houston's attempted shots before they could reach Pickens in the goal.
In injury time, Houston received a free kick right on the edge of the box for a foul by Chicago defender Osei Telesford. De Rosario took the kick, heeling the ball back to a charging Brad Davis, but Davis wasn't able to get a shot off before Gutierrez slid in to take the ball away, ending the threat and cementing Chicago's victory.
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
