D.C. UNITED v CHICAGO FIRE
Thurs., Nov. 1, RFK Memorial Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2)
REFEREE: Jair Marrufo.
SAR (bench): Fabio Tovar; JAR (opposite): Thomas Supple;
4th: Alex Prus
INJURY REPORT: CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: DF Jeff Curtin (R groin strain); DF Osei Telesford (L groin strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Justin Mapp (R ankle sprain); PROBABLE: DF Ivan Guerrero (L ankle sprain) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); GK Shawn Crowe (meniscus tear); MF Josh Gros (wrist surgery)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS (suspended if team advances): DC: Brian Carroll, Jaime Moreno ... CHI: C.J. Brown, Diego Gutierrez
LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD: DC 12 wins, 48 goals scored... CHI 12 wins, 47 goals scored ... 7 ties
2007 HEAD-TO-HEAD: DC 1 win, 4 goals scored; CHI 0 wins, 2 goals scored; 2 ties
AT RFK STADIUM (2007): 6/16: DC 3, CHI 1 (Dyachenko 6; Emilio 25, 51 - Monteiro 54) 10/13: DC 0, CHI 0
MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: DC 0 wins, 0 goals scored ... CHI 5 wins, 11 goals scored ... 1 tie
UNITED: Of course, the biggest question out of D.C. United is the availability of strike partnership Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno. Emilio, the MLS Golden Boot winner with 20 goals, was limited to 12 minutes in the first leg, while Moreno came on at halftime. The two have been eased back into training during the week, but could be ready to start in the second leg. "We've managed it well," United boss Tom Soehn said to The Washington Post. "We've built it up this week to where I think Thursday they are both going to be where we need them to be to play. ... The qualities [Moreno and Emilio] bring and the talents they bring make us a better team. We're excited to get them back on the field." Said goalkeeper Troy Perkins: "It helps us out a lot to have those two up there. They understand the style we want to play. They are big strong guys who hold the ball up for us well and have done the job all year. It's nice to have them back." ... The biggest task facing United will be overcoming a stingy Fire defense that has definitely improved since Juan Carlos Osorio took over. "They are probably going to defend with eight players. In the second half [in the first leg], they didn't want to know anything about the game; they are just comfortable, they dump it, defend with five or six guys. For me, that's not soccer. But if they are happy with that, they can go ahead and do that." ... History is well on the side of the Fire, as United have yet to score a goal against Chicago in five all-time postseason matches. But this season, United lost just twice in home games at RFK Stadium, while the Fire scored 15 goals on the road, the fewest of the eight playoff teams. "They're coming to our place to play," said Soehn, "A place we're very good at, and a place we're very dangerous at, a place we've scored a lot of goals at. So it's going to be difficult for them."
FIRE: Dating back to the final three matches of the regular season, the Chicago Fire have now not allowed a goal in 336 minutes, posting clean sheets in their last three games. "We have the best defense in the league, by far," Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens said. "We haven't given other teams many scoring chances lately." ... The Fire come into the second leg in the same scenario as a year ago. With the third seed in the Eastern Conference in 2006, the Fire defeated the New England Revolution 1-0 at Toyota Park in the first leg of the semifinals, only to fall 2-1 in extra time in Foxborough and lose the series on penalty kicks. "Last year was tough," Pickens said to The Daily Southtown. "We went in there and couldn't hold the lead we had, and we thought about it for a while. You always want to get as many goals as you can before playing that second game on the road." ... The last time the two teams played at RFK Stadium in the postseason, the Fire won 4-0 (in the second leg of the 2005 semifinals). And while United won 3-1 in their first meeting in Washington this year, they played to a scoreless draw there on Oct. 13. "Especially in the last month, we've matched up well enough to beat them both times we've seen them," Pickens said. "They're a good team and we know that, but we just have to keep doing what we're doing, whether it's at home or at their place." Said Rolfe of the '05 playoff matchup: "It probably gives us confidence. We have experience in beating them - and beating them handily." ... The Fire's goal in the first leg came somewhat by design, as head coach Juan Carlos Osorio was trying to stretch United's defense. "I wanted to play Chris Rolfe farther up the pitch, hoping that we could get him in the same position we had been having with Paulo (Wanchope) and Chad (Barrett)," Osorio said. "Without taking anything from those two, Chris Rolfe is the best finisher we have."
