The Chicago Fire had an unlikely offensive hero in their season-opening victory against rival New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Toyota Park.
The club's top two scorers from last season, Andy Herron and Nate Jaqua, left in the offseason, and took with them 17 of the 43 goals the Fire scored a year ago. Fire coach Dave Sarachan knew those goals would have to come from somewhere this year -- but didn't expect that Logan Pause would necessarily be a source.
Pause was credited with the only goal in the game in the fourth minute when he got onto the end of a Justin Mapp cross from the right flank and deflected past Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis inside the far post, though New England defender James Riley might also have had something to do with putting the ball in his own goal. It was Pause's first goal in his fifth season in MLS.
"Logan is an unselfish player and he is very versatile as well," Sarachan said. "He's not going to have the burst of speed that some of our players have with the ball but he's a very smart player."
Pause, who was an All-American at the University of North Carolina, usually plays as either a holding midfielder or a defender. He said that being a player who can contribute at different positions has had both positives and negatives.
"When you're a versatile player and you can play several positions, it can be hard sometimes," Pause said. "When you're moved from position to position, it's hard to build consistency but it can be a plus because I am able to contribute in many ways to help our team."
Pause admitted that although he's not looked to to provide the offensive firepower for Chicago, he was relieved to score his first goal.
"It's nice to get the monkey off my back," Pause said. "Playing in the league for over four years and now getting a goal is a big relief and it's even better because I was able to contribute to the win."
Pause was especially pleased that his first career score came against the Revolution.
"It's just the first game of the season but it's great to get a win against a rival like them," Pause said. "We have a nice rivalry going against them and it's always good to beat them."
Equally impressive was the play at the other end by goalkeeper Matt Pickens. During the final parts of the 2006 season Pickens showed promise as the future goalkeeper for the Fire, and he showed the move of Zach Thornton to Colorado in the offseason was a good one.
Pickens got off to a great start Saturday evening as he turned away five New England shots on goal to garner a 1-0 shutout.
"I saw the ball well tonight," Pickens said. "All of my defenders did a great job and that makes my job even easier."
Now that he is the starting goalkeeper, Pickens feels he can be an even more effective player.
"It is a comfortable for me to that I know that every night that I will be in goal," Pickens said. "Playing in Chicago is a great atmosphere and the fans add to the intensity of the game and I feed off that."
Sarachan not only had to worry about the Revolution, but also how his club would respond to the record-low temperatures in Chicago Saturday night.
The game-time temperature for the 7:30 p.m. CT start was a below-freezing 31 degrees and continually dropped throughout the contest. Sarachan made sure that his squad would do its best to respect the elements.
"We didn't change anything about how we game-planned offensively but I told the guys to get out and warm up longer and prepare properly for it (the weather)," Sarachan said "There is nothing you can do about the weather but you have to be prepared for it."
Tim Hilton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
