A Chris Rolfe goal in the 56th minute and a stout defensive effort gave the Chicago Fire belief that they might leave Texas with their first win in nine tries. But those hopes were dashed when Carlos Ruiz scored a goal three minutes into stoppage time for an FC Dallas equalizer that left the sides with a 1-1 draw Thursday evening at Pizza Hut Park.
Rolfe's long-distance strike was the only thing to get past FCD 'keeper Dario Sala, who had a stellar night. But he was equally matched by Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens, until more late heroics from Ruiz leveled the score.
As well, the goal had a huge impact on the MLS Cup Playoffs picture. The Fire are still in eighth place in the overall table, but now lead ninth-place Colorado and 10th-place Columbus by just two points heading into the weekend. Both teams have five games remaining.
FCD head coach Steve Morrow made several changes to the lineup for the match. In the back, Chris Gbandi returned to the left side after sitting the last two league matches for a loss of form. Center back Adrian Serioux also made his return after missing last Saturday's match at New England.
But the big story for the Hoops was the return of all-star midfielder Juan Toja to the field. The Colombian international missed last weekend's match and has missed three of FCD's last five games with a high ankle sprain.
FCD outshot the Fire by a 7-2 margin in the opening stanza but still headed to the break without a goal. Ruiz had three of those attempts. The first came in the 17th after Abe Thompson rushed up the left flank and found him in the heart of the opposing box but his effort went high, and a chance a minute later was wide.
But in the 38th, he nearly scored on one of his trademark moves. Right back Drew Moor's cross was dead-on and Ruiz attempted a half bicycle kick from the middle of the box, but it went wide right.
For the Fire, Rolfe was playing in a wide midfield role again, instead of his usual striking role, but had some dangerous opportunities. In the 17th minute he hit a blast from well outside the area that Sala tipped onto the crossbar before it bounced away to safety.
The Hoops' best chance of the first half came in the 19th half. Arturo Alvarez attempted to slip one inside the right post but Pickens was there for the stop. The rebound popped loose and with Thompson rushing at full speed toward the ball, Pickens got a hand in first and swatted the ball away from the goal.
Toja gave the home crowd a scare in the 31st minute when Segares tackled him hard right in front of the FCD bench. The Hoops all-star looked to have injured his ankle but walked it off with no ill effects. Segares received a yellow card.
After heading to the break 0-0, Morrow was forced to make his first change of the evening to begin the second half. Starting defensive midfielder Pablo Ricchetti suffered a strained right hamstring, and Aaron Pitchkolan entered the match, taking Serioux's place at center back with the Canadian international moving up to the midfield to take Ricchetti's spot.
In the 50th minute, Goodson was shown yellow after pushing Chicago forward Paulo Wanchope in front of the FCD goal and then offering a brief diatribe after the infraction. It put Goodson over the caution limit and he will miss FCD's next game at Los Angeles on Sunday.
While FC Dallas had the better of play in the first half, the Fire started more strongly in the second, and Bruno Menezes nearly beat Sala with a shot from outside the box that the 'keeper just tipped around the post.
From the ensuing corner kick, Rolfe got the ball from a deflection and blasted one into the upper right corner from all of 25 yards away, just above a diving Sala to open the scoring. For Rolfe, it was his fifth goal of 2007, but his first since May 12, when he scored goals in four consecutive games to begin the season.
Goodson nearly redeemed himself in the 78th when he almost converted a diving header off a great ball from Alvarez for the equalizer. The big center back was pushed forward by Morrow as FCD chased the tying goal but Pickens played Goodson's bid from the penalty spot perfectly, making the save and sending the ball over the crossbar.
Pickens, who finished the night with six saves, was up to the challenge again for the Fire in the 83rd. That was when Denilson offered a bid to level the match but Pickens was there to muffle the ball. However, no other FCD players were in the vicinity for a shot at converting the rebound into their first goal of the evening. He also stopped a Ruiz effort in the 88th, just tipping it wide before C.J. Brown came sliding in to knock it away from Goodson with the open goal gaping.
But the combination finally worked well into added time. A long ball was played from the right flank at the halfway stripe, and Goodson got up to flick it on with his head. Ruiz then dashed through the box, drawing out Pickens before slipping it into the left side of the net just before two Chicago defenders were able to close on the ball.
It gave the Guatemalan international nine goals in his last 12 matches covering all competitions and five goals in his last seven league tilts, after scoring twice n a 4-2 loss at New England last Saturday. The FCD captain looks to be hitting his stride as the Hoops begin their stretch run heading into the playoffs.
While it wasn't a victory for Chicago, it was the first time since July 4, 1999 they had not lost in Dallas, when they prevailed 2-1 at the Cotton Bowl.
The draw makes the Men in Red 4-2-3 since Blanco joined the team. Chicago will head back to the Windy City for their next match, Sunday afternoon against Eastern-Conference leading D.C. United at Toyota Park.
FCD, which has won three of its last four and has scored just three goals in those losses, falls to 1-2-1 in September. The Hoops will also play again on Sunday when they face the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
