SUNRISE, Fla. - The Chicago Fire dropped a 2-1 decision to the Honduran National Team (HNT) on a late second half goal Wednesday evening. The Fire took the field without key midfielders Justin Mapp, who has been called to a U.S. Men's National Team training camp, and Ivan Guerrero, who suited up for the opposing Hondurans. Guerrero has been training with the HNT while the side gears up for its international friendlies later this month.
The Fire put the first goal on the board with a penalty kick from Chad Barrett in the 28th minute. Forwards Calen Carr and Barrett worked a promising give-and-go, which left Carr one-on-one with Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladores. A burst of speed put Carr a step ahead of the 'keeper who fouled the sophomore Fire attacker giving Chicago its penalty kick opportunity.
Honduran attacker David Suazo answered in the 41st minute as he slipped through two defenders and put a shot past netminder Matt Pickens.
Despite good ball movement throughout the game, the Fire was unable score the go-ahead goal. With two minutes left in regulation, Pickens deflected a hard shot on goal, which was quickly collected by Honduran forward Walter Martinez. The Honduran attacker hammered the ball into the back of the net to score the game-winning goal.
"The results haven't favored us this preseason" said Sarachan, whose team is now 4-6-1 in preseason play, "today again we gave up a goal late but, we inserted some new players and it's still trial and error for us. I think we got a lot of good minutes out of our core group today and playing a national team you don't get that opportunity too often. Overall there were a lot more positives than negatives today."
The Fire will continue their stay in Fort Lauderdale, training at Lynn University through Sunday. The Fire returns to preseason action on Saturday, March 24 at 4 p.m. CT when the team takes on USL side Miami FC at Tropical Park Stadium in Miami, Fla. Guerrero will remain with the Honduran National Team through next week and rejoin the Fire for the last leg of its preseason, in Jackson, Mississippi.
Scoring Summary:
CHI - Chad Barrett 3 (UA) 28'
HON - David Suazo (UA) 41'
HON - Walter Martinez (UA) 88'
Fire Lineup (3-5-2): Matt Pickens,Gonzalo Segares (Daniel Woolard 87), Jim Curtin, C.J. Brown; Logan Pause (Jerson Monteiro 69), Chris Armas (Captain) (Erik Hort 83), Thiago, Diego Gutierrez (Bakary Soumare 76), Brian Plotkin (Jordan Russolillo 67); Calen Carr (Floyd Franks 77), Chad Barrett (Nate Norman 77).
Subs not used: Mike Banner, Jeff Curtin, Nick Noble, Chris Rolfe, Dasan Robinson.
Honduran Lineup (4-3-3): Noel Valladores; Maynor Figueroa (Erick Vallecillo 45), Samuel Caballero (Sergio Mendoza 45), Boniek Garcia (Emilio Izaguirre 45), Carlos Oliva; Ivan Guerrero (Yermi Hernandez 45), Jorge Cloros, Wilson Palacios (Walter Martinez 45); Emil Martinez (Melvin Valladares 45), Amado Guevara (Orlin Vallecillo 45), David Suazo (Jairo Martinez 45).
Discipline Summary:
HON - Sergio Mendoza (caution) 13'
FCD - Yermi Hernandez (caution) 66''
Referees: Reggie Rutty, Carlos Sandoval, Mark Cahen
