Fire Hosts Kansas City Wizards Saturday at TOYOTA PARK
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Fire (1-0-1, 4 pts.) takes on the Kansas City Wizards (1-0-0, 3 pts.) in an Eastern Conference battle this Saturday, April 21 (7:300 p.m. CT, HDNet) at TOYOTA PARK in Bridgeview. The "Men in Red" return after relying on an 85th minute goal from forward Chad Barrett to clinch a 1-1 result against the Colorado Rapids Sunday evening at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, while Kansas City enters the match with an emphatic 4-2 victory over D.C. United in Week 2 in the squad's first match of 2007.
Fire History vs. Wizards
Eastern Conference sides collide Saturday as the Fire hosts a Kansas City squad that saw Chicago take last year's regular season series with a 2-1-1 result. After 28 previous regular season meetings, the Fire now sits on a comfortable 17-7-4 series advantage, winning its previous first two contests (7/4/06, 8/16/06) played within the confines of TOYOTA PARK. Saturday's game is also a re-match of the Fire's 2006 U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round blanking of the Wizards 2-0 on August 14, 2006 to advance to the Quarterfinals. Chicago's overall mark against the Wizards is 19-9-3 in all competitions (MLS regular season, U.S. Open Cup & MLS Cup Playoffs), boasting a near-spotless 11-1-1 record in games contested in Chicagoland.
Chicago Fire/AthletiCo "Recovery Room" (as of April 13)
Curtin, Jeff - R adductor soreness - PROBABLE
Russolillo, Jordan - L eye hyphema - PROBABLE
Spring Youth Soccer Night on Saturday
When the Fire takes to the field against the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, April 21 (7:30 p.m. CT, HDNet) at TOYOTA PARK, at least 4,000 young fans will be able to don the same colors as their Chicago heroes. The evening match-up will mark the first Spring Youth Soccer Night, sponsored by V&V Supremo, with the first 4,000 Fire fans ages 14 and under receiving a complimentary Chicago Fire replica jersey tee. Pre-game festivities in FireFest will also reflect the Spring Youth Soccer Night theme, as Radio Disney AM 1300 will provide music, games, prizes, contests and more just inside the Gate B area on the stadium's northwest side. For more information on any of the day's events, visit the Fire's 2007 Gameday Experience web page, or call 1-888-MLS-FIRE.
Fire Plays UIC Flames in April 25 Charity Exhibition
In an effort to benefit the Chicago SCORES after-school program, the charitable arm of the Chicago Fire, the FireWorks for Kids Foundation (FWFK) and the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) will host the "Men in Red" in a charity exhibition versus the UIC Flames on Wednesday, April 25. Kick-off for the benefit game is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at the home for the UIC men's soccer team, Flames Field, located at 901 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Chicago. Tickets for the match are $10 in advance and $12 day of the game, with all seating sold as General Admission. Proceeds from the game will benefit Chicago SCORES and the UIC men's soccer program. Tickets can be purchased through Chicago Scores by calling 773-522-5500.
About Chicago SCORES
Chicago SCORES is an intensive after-school program which seeks to enrich the lives of urban youth through self and community exploration using soccer and poetry as tools. Chicago SCORES strives to help kids score goals on the field and achieve goals in the classroom.
Chicago Fire Reserves Drop 1-0 Decision to Colorado
The Chicago Fire Reserves began its third MLS Reserve Division (RD) campaign today with a 1-0 loss to the defending 2006 RD Champion Colorado Rapids Reserves at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park complex. Colorado's Jordan Harvey scored the game's lone goal in the 50th minute when he accepted a pass from Jacob Peterson in the left side of the box and finished on a low shot past Chicago's recent goalkeeper acquisition, Jon Busch. Chicago's reserve side will continue to train throughout the week as it works toward its next match-up at TOYOTA PARK against the Kansas City Wizards Reserves on Sunday, April 22 (10:00 a.m. CT).
