Club America beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 in a competitive and fast-paced international friendly match Wednesday night in front of a colorful and boisterous crowd at Toyota Park. Matias Vuoso gave America an early lead, and after Chad Barrett leveled the score midway through the second half, Claudio Lopez hit for a late winner.
The small swatch of red-clad Fire fans assembled in famous Section 8 resembled visiting supporters amidst the sea of yellow that occupied the remainder of Toyota Park. Despite being 1,700 miles away from their true home in Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Club America benefited from overwhelming support in Chicagoland on Wednesday.
America began the match with an aggressive attacking flair, while the Fire looked tentative. The Aguilas needed only four minutes to take a 1-0 lead.
Fire defender Jordan Russolillo, who was selected in the second round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft and has yet to appear in an MLS match, misplayed a slotted ball that sent Salvador Cabanas free down the right flank. Cabanas carried to the edge of the penalty area and crossed to Vuoso, who one-timed past Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens from 12 yards for the early lead.
The ease in which Club America commandeered the opening minutes coupled with the defensive misplay that lead to the early goal, might have caused Fire head coach Dave Sarachan to temporarily wonder whether he had overextended his young players.
Sarachan's starting 11 had an average age of just over 23 years and included seven players that had started a cumulative total of only seven MLS matches in 2006.
The Fire were on edge after Club America's opening tally. With a clean look at goal, Club America's Salvador Cabanas shot barely high in the 22nd minute, and Cabanas almost netted again four minutes later, sending a hard shot wide from 18 yards.
The "Men in Red" settled into the match at the half hour mark, and Diego Gutierrez nearly leveled on 33 minutes. Gutierrez's free kick, from a poor angle near the endline, looked destined to curl inside the near post before Club America's 20-year-old starting 'keeper, Guillermo Ochoa, scrambled from his far post to parry the ball away. Floyd Franks earned the free kick from a gutsy run down the Fire's right wing, which ultimately forced the America defender to take Franks down as opposed to be beaten.
In the second half, Sarachan inserted Mapp and Ivan Guerrero shortly after the hour mark and the Fire's complexion changed dramatically. Mapp needed only minutes to create the Fire's tying goal in the 64th minute.
The 21-year-old midfielder beat two defenders off of the dribble and watched his through ball rebound off of a Club America player and into the path of fellow 21-year-old Chad Barrett. Barrett charged towards the penalty box and shot past the outstretched arms of 'keeper Guillermo Ochoa from 12 yards.
In sharp contrast to the first half in which Club America dictated the tempo, the Fire improved in the second half and controlled the play during the match's last half-hour.
But it was Club America that scored, against the run of play in the 80th minute, to seal their victory. Club America sent a free kick into the Fire penalty area and the ball bounced several times and through a series of players before finding the foot of Claudio Lopez, who was perfectly positioned at the back post.
The Fire ended the match with a flurry, earning three consecutive corner kicks towards the end of the three minutes of stoppage time. Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens sprinted 100 yards into the America penalty area to add offensive punch to the set pieces, and Nate Jaqua nearly tied the match with a shot that navigated through traffic but missed the goal barely wide.
Wednesday's match against the Fire was Club America's second of a brief two-game tour of the United States. The Aguilas beat the United Soccer League First Division's Seattle Sounders 2-0 in the Pacific Northwest last Saturday.
The Fire return to MLS play Saturday and will showcase Toyota Park to a national audience for the first time when the Fire host Western Conference leaders FC Dallas in a Brimstone Cup showdown that will be featured on ESPN2's Soccer Saturday (3 p.m. CT).
Ivaldo Basso is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
