TIED FOR FIRST
After their 5-1 win over the Red Bulls on Sunday, The Chicago Fire (6-2-1, 19 pts.) are now tied for first place in the Eastern Conference and in the league with Columbus (6-2-1, 19 pts.) and New England (6-3-1, 19 pts.). Chicago will have a game in hand over Columbus and two games in hand over New England after this weekend's results.
BYE WEEK
The Fire are entering a bye week from MLS play and due to the cancellation of the May 31 international friendly versus Jagiellonia, will not have a game this week. Chicago will return to action on Saturday, June 7, hosting D.C. United at TOYOTA PARK (7:30 p.m. CT, Fox Soccer Channel).
BLANCO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco was voted the MLS Player of the Week for Week 9 for his 1 goal, 3 assist effort in a 5-1 win over the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on Sunday. This is the first Player of the Week award for Blanco. Blanco helped Chicago get on the board early by sending a ball over the top to Chad Barrett for the game's first goal in the 8th minute, and assisted on a Chris Rolfe header to go up 2-0 in the 48th minute. Blanco then converted a 55th minute penalty kick and assisted on Barrett's second goal in the 60th minute to lead the team.
CHICAGO FIRE/ATHLETICO "RECOVERY ROOM" :: MAY 27
PROBABLE
John Thorrington - Back Spasms
QUESTIONABLE - none
DOUBTFUL - none
OUT
Patrick Nyarko - R Hip Strain
LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP OPPONENT TO BE DECIDED TUESDAY
The Fire will know their opponent for their June 10 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in game tonight, as they will face the winner of the Real Salt Lake - Columbus Crew play-in game this evening at Crew Stadium at 6:30 p.m. CT. Chicago will play the winner on Tuesday, June 10, at Bradley University's Shea Stadium in Peoria, Ill., with kick-off for the game set for 7:00 p.m. CT. The winner of the June 10 game advances into the round of 16.
NEXT UP: CHICAGO FIRE VS. D.C. UNITED
The Chicago Fire will face D.C. United for the second of three regular season meetings on Saturday, June 7, at TOYOTA PARK. Kickoff for the match is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel, and will be on Chicagoland radio station WRTO 1200-AM (Spanish).
The clubs will meet for the 33rd time in the regular season, with the Fire holding a slight lead over United in all-time series with a 13-12-7 mark. Chicago is 3-2-3 in their last 8 regular season games against United, with D.C. taking the 2007 series 1-0-2 (1-3 L @ DC 6/16/07, 1-1 T vs. DC 9/23/07, 0-0 T @ DC 10/13/07)
CHICAGO FIRE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY PROGRAM CONTINUES
The Chicago Fire School Assembly program, sponsored by Walgreens, continues for a final week as Brian Plotkin visits Owen Elementary, located at 1560 Westglen, in Naperville, Ill., on Tuesday, May 27, from 2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. CT. On Thursday, May 29, Chris Rolfe and Stephen King will attend the final school assembly of the season at John F. Eberhart, located at 3400 W. 65th Place, in Chicago, from 1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. CT.
