Fire draw with Atlas in Guadalajara finale

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CHICAGO - The Chicago Fire used second half goals from midfielder Logan Pause and forward Chad Barrett to salvage a 2-2 draw with Mexican First Division club Atlas in a 100-minute scrimmage this afternoon at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Fire's third consecutive draw ended the team's 10-day spring training camp in Guadalajara, during which Chicago went 0-1-3 in four exhibition contests.

"We challenged ourselves to make sure that by the end of this phase, our level of fitness, soccer and awareness got better, and we feel we've accomplished those goals," said Fire Head Coach Dave Sarachan. "The soccer got much better and made more sense in the second half today, and we got two pretty good goals out of that improvement. Today was a good challenge for us, and the opportunity to play in a venue like Jalisco Stadium, with the history it has, was a good way to finish out the camp."

While Atlas would enjoy the bulk of the chances in the first 50-minute half, the Fire's failure to move the scoreboard did not come from a lack of effort. Back-to-back chances would come in the 10th and 11th minutes, but defender C.J. Brown's header off a free kick from midfielder Justin Mapp and forward Calen Carr's shot that capped a long run from midfield both ended up wide of the frame. Carr did well to set up trialist Gustavo Napoles in the 21st minute, but his shot from 10 yards out sailed over the crossbar. Atlas would catch the Fire off guard on the restart with a quick goal kick, which ended in a goal for the hosts in the 22nd minute, putting the Fire down 1-0. Carr would nearly square the match just before the half in the 49th minute, but his shot off a pass from midfielder Ivan Guerrero would be pushed wide of the left post.

Atlas wouldn't take long to double its lead in the second stanza, scoring their second goal of the match in the 53rd minute to put Chicago down 2-0. The "Men in Red" would answer with a pair of goals of their own seven minutes apart to bring the match back to even. Both goals were created by the midfield tandem of Floyd Franks and John Thorrington, with Franks playing balls from the midfield into Thorrington towards the right side of the penalty area. In the 57th minute Thorrington would find Pause near the top of the 18-yard box, where he was able to beat a defender, work towards goal and fire a shot from eight yards out that beat the Atlas goalkeeper and brought Chicago back to within a goal at 2-1. Chicago struck again in the 64th minute, Thorrington crossing a ball to the far left post to Barrett, who capitalized on his shot from close range to bring the match to 2-2.

The Fire had found its offense, and the MLS side nearly made it three goals in a 10-minute span, but Guerrero's blast from 10 yards out in the 67th minute hit woodwork, keeping the match tied. From there on out the chances would dry up, but the Fire nearly gained an advantage in the 81st minute when Franks' effort from 10 yards missed wide right. Atlas had a pair of chances to go up three minutes from time in the 97th minute, but their first shot sailed wide and the post would come up big again, this time for the Fire, on the second opportunity.

With today's result, the Fire ended the first half of its spring training with a 4-1-4 record. The "Men in Red" will return to Chicago this evening and enjoy a weekend off before heading west to the warmer confines of Southern California on Monday. The Fire will conduct its third training camp of the spring at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA from Mar. 6-16. The Fire currently has three scrimmages scheduled for its West Coast invasion, all against fellow MLS opponents - MetroStars (Mar. 8), Chivas USA (Mar. 11) and Real Salt Lake (Mar. 16).

Scoring Summary:
Atlas - 22', 53' (scorers unavailable)
Fire - Logan Pause 1 (John Thorrington 1, Floyd Franks 2) 57'; Chad Barrett 2 (John Thorrington 2, Floyd Franks 3) 64'

Fire Lineup (3-5-2): Zach Thornton (Matt Pickens 51); Jack Stewart (Leonard Griffin 62), Jim Curtin (Jeff Curtin 78), C.J. Brown (Dasan Robinson 75); Justin Mapp (Floyd Franks 51) (Jim Curtin 93), Logan Pause (Terry Alvino 75), Tony Sanneh (Brian Plotkin 68), Gustavo Napoles (John Thorrington 51), Ivan Guerrero (Jack Stewart 85); Chad Barrett, Calen Carr (Isaac Moreno 74).