The Chicago Fire saw its three-game unbeaten streak halted with a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer (MLS) action at Arrowhead Stadium. The Eastern Conference rivals will meet again this Saturday at TOYOTA PARK (7:30 p.m. CT).
K.C. defender Jose Burciaga Jr. factored in all three tallies, registering a goal and two assists. Burciaga sparked the Wizards' second-half comeback, setting up Sasha Victorine's chip shot in the 54th minute, followed by Scott Sealy's marker in the 68th minute. The Wizards (8-7-5, 29 points) scored twice while the Fire were a man down as Gonzalo Segares was ejected after receiving his second yellow card in the 66th minute.
The Fire (6-8-5, 23 points) opened a 1-0 first half lead when Cuauhtémoc Blanco sent a through pass to Chad Barrett, who finished a left-footed shot from 10 yards out to notch his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
Earlier in the half, Blanco was foiled on a penalty kick by goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. The PK occurred when Justin Mapp was fouled in the box in the 12th minute.
The teams exchanged late goals as Burciaga struck in the 82nd minute, which was answered by a goal from Dasan Robinson a minute later. Robinson's first goal of the season came about when Blanco delivered a cross in the box that was punched out by Hartman. With his back to the goal, Robinson whirled and placed a low shot into the middle of the net.
"I think we created enough chances to be up 2-0 in the first half, but we lacked the final touch," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "The game went end-to-end in the second half. I have to credit our players with their effort tonight, but we didn't get the result we wanted."
Notes:
• The Fire saw its shutout streak - which spanned three-plus games -- snapped at 324 minutes
• Captain Chris Armas and goalkeeper Matt Pickens were healthy scratches for the game.
• Segares, who has started every game this season, will miss Saturday's rematch due to his red card
Scoring Summary:
CHI: Chad Barrett (Cuauhtemoc Blanco) 46+
KC: Sasha Victorine (Jose Burciaga Jr., Davy Arnaud) 54
KC: Scott Sealy (Jose Burciaga Jr.) 68
KC: Jose Burciaga Jr. (Eddie Johnson, Ryan Raybould) 82
CHI: Dasan Robinson (u/a) 83
Chicago Lineup (3-4-3): GK-Jon Busch, D-Gonzalo Segares, D-C.J. Brown, D-Dasan Robinson, MF-Logan Pause, MF-Diego Gutierrez, MF-Bakary Soumare, MF-Justin Mapp (Ivan Guerrero 75), F-Chad Barrett (Paulo Wanchope 45), F-Cuauhtemoc Blanco, F-Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 59)
Kansas City Lineup (4-4-2): GK-Kevin Hartman, D-Jimmy Conrad, D-Ryan Raybould (Jack Jewsbury 83), D-Jose Burciaga Jr., D-Nick Garcia, MF-Davy Arnaud, MF-Kurt Morsink, MF-Kerry Zavagnin, MF-Sasha Victorine (Michael Harrington 70), F-Eddie Johnson, F-Scott Sealy (Yura Movsisyan 75).
Discipline Summary
KC - Kurt Morsink (caution) 10
CHI - Gonzalo Segares (caution) 52
CHI - Cuauhtemoc Blanco (caution) 60
KC - Jose Burciaga Jr. (caution) 61
CHI - Gonzalo Segares (caution) 66
CHI - Gonzalo Segares (red) 66
KC - Scott Sealy (caution) 69
CHI - Diego Gutierrez (caution) 76
CHI - Dasan Robinson (caution) 81
CHI - C.J. Brown (caution) 83
Referee: Baldomero Toledo Referee Assistants: Anthony Vasoli, Kyle Borne
