BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - John Wolyniec scored in his third straight game for New York on Sunday, but it was not enough to defeat the Chicago Fire as the Red Bulls fell 2-1 at Toyota Park.
Chicago's Chris Rolfe opened the scoring in the 13th minute with his fifth goal of the season. Diego Gutierrez, who replaced Rolfe at the half, stole the ball from a New York defender in the 60th minute and raced in to score his second goal of the season. Wolyniec pulled one back for New York, scoring in the 78th minute.
With the win, the Fire (9-8-8) remain in second place in the Eastern Conference with 35 points. The Red Bulls (6-8-11) keep their fifth-place standing, one point out of a playoff spot in the East.
Chicago head coach Dave Sarachan made some changes to the starting lineup that he had on the field Wednesday night in a draw with Houston Dynamo. Gone from the lineup were goalkeeper Zach Thornton and forward Andy Herron, who is on international duty with Costa Rica. Matt Pickens made his first start of the season in net, while Rolfe returned to the lineup after sitting out with an injury since Aug. 16.
With good possession by Chicago in the midfield, the Fire were able to string along enough passes to get some good looks at goal, but couldn't finish in the opening minutes of the match. Then in the 13th minute, the Fire got their opportunity and delivered.</p>
After a bad pass in the midfield, Rolfe stole the ball from New York midfielder Amado Guevara and immediately ran down the center of the field towards goal. With a Red Bulls defender between him and the net, Rolfe feinted left and then cut to his right giving him his chance to shoot. He sent a low roller at the far post and beat New York 'keeper Tony Meola to put the Fire up 1-0.</p>
Chicago forward Nate Jaqua got his chances to add to the Fire's lead soon after Rolfe's tally. With his 6-foot-3 frame, Jaqua was the target for corner kicks by Gonzalo Segares in the 15th minute and Thiago in the 17th after some great hustle and a quick throw-in by Fire midfielder Ivan Guerrero. The Red Bulls marked Jaqua well, though, and he was unable to send the ball on target.</p>
The Chicago defense looked determined to get the clean sheet on the night, making several key plays to prevent a Red Bulls goal. The best defensive play came in the 32nd minute when Guevara carried the ball into the box and was looking to score. Fire defender Dasan Robinson used his shoulder to push Guevara off the ball and prevent the shot on goal.
With the start of the second half, Chicago subbed Rolfe out in favor of midfielder Gutierrez. The move proved to be a game-changer for the Fire.</p>
In the 60th minute, Gutierrez made a steal from the Red Bull backline and ran the ball to the 18-yard line where he blasted a bending ball towards the far post to just beat Meola. The goal, Gutierrez's second of the season, put Chicago up 2-0.
The Red Bulls put pressure on the Fire backline after allowing the second goal, testing Pickens numerous times. Most notably, Pickens made a brutal tackle on former Fire player Dema Kovalenko in the 69th minute to break up the 1-on-1 chance on goal. With the loose ball between them, Pickens charged hard and slid to take out Kovalenko's legs and prevent the shot.
Kovalenko got back into the action in the 78th minute and made Pickens pay. Kovalenko took a nice shot at goal that Pickens saved, but Wolyniec pounced on the rebound, sending the ball into the back of the net to cut Chicago's lead to 2-1. The goal was Wolyniec's third in as many games.</p>
Jack Daniel Chavez is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
