BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Major League Soccer today announced that Chicago Fire forward Nate Jaqua has been named to the 18-man MLS All-Star roster that will take the field against English powerhouse Chelsea FC in the 2006 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game on Saturday, Aug. 5 at TOYOTA PARK in Bridgeview (5:30 p.m. CT, live on ESPN).
This marks the first MLS All-Star selection for the 24-year-old Jaqua, who is midway through his fourth season with the Fire. A right knee injury suffered during the U.S. National Team's training camp in January and a shoulder injury picked up during the Fire's second match of the season at the Los Angeles Galaxy limited Jaqua's minutes early in the 2006 campaign, but the towering striker has overcome those knocks to earn a starting role in 10 of the Fire's last 11 contests.
"Being named to the MLS All-Star team is certainly a huge honor and one of the highlights of my career," said Jaqua. "I'd first like to thank Peter Nowak for considering me for selection to the squad, and I'd also like to thank my family, teammates, coaches and the Fire organization for helping me develop and reach this point. I'm excited to have the chance to represent the Fire and MLS against a team like Chelsea, and to do so in front of the hometown fans will make the experience that much sweeter."
The Eugene, OR native and product of the University of Portland product is currently tied for the Fire's team-lead with four goals and also has one assist to go along with a team-high 27 shots. All four of Jaqua's goals have come in an eight-game span that started on June 11, when he scored the first two goals in TOYOTA PARK history against the New England Revolution. Jaqua's four goals this season has moved his career total with the Fire to 17 tallies, putting him in a seventh-place tie on Chicago's all-time goal-scoring chart alongside Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoitchkov. Jaqua now has 17 goals and 10 assists in 79 career MLS games (51 starts).
"It's always a great honor to be recognized as an All-Star in your league, and I give Nate a lot of credit for battling through early season injuries after coming off the National Team experience," said Fire Head Coach Dave Sarachan. "It's a testament to Nate's hard work and passion that he's been able to get himself healthy and, not only get himself back on the field, but contribute for us as well."
The 18-man competitive squad that will square off against the two-time defending Barclay's English Premier League champions next month at the corner of 71st & Harlem was named earlier today by D.C. United and MLS All-Star Head Coach Peter Nowak, the former Polish international who served as the Fire's first captain from 1998-2002 and was the inaugural member of the team's Hall of Fame, the "Ring of Fire." Jaqua will be the only Fire representative to take the field for the midseason showcase, but the addition of more "Men in Red" to the All-Star list could come next week when MLS will announce its list of 14 alternates for the match.
2006 MLS All-Star Team
Goalkeepers: Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Joe Cannon (Colorado Rapids)
Defenders: Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake), Josh Gros (D.C. United), Bobby Boswell (D.C. United)
Midfielders: Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Christian Gomez (D.C. United), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Freddy Adu (D.C. United), Richard Mulrooney (FC Dallas), Ronnie O'Brien (FC Dallas)
Forwards: Nate Jaqua (Chicago Fire), Jaime Moreno (D.C. United), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
