Fire and Brimstone ... and FC Dallas Sunday at Soldier Field
After registering a commanding 5-2 victory over Chivas USA last Saturday, the Chicago Fire (6-5-1, 19 pts.) will go from worst to first in terms of Western Conference opponents when the squad hosts FC Dallas (7-1-3, 24 pts.) this Sunday, June 12 at 6:00 p.m. CT at Soldier Field. Fans that can't make it out to the Sunday night showdown can listen to the action live on Chicagoland radio stations WRTO-AM 1200 (Spanish) and WNVR-AM 1030 (Polish) and the Fire's official website, www.Chicago-Fire.com (English), where links for the Spanish and Polish radio broadcasts can also be found.
Brimstone Cup Series History
This Sunday's contest at Soldier Field will mark the 31st all-time meeting between the Fire and FC Dallas across MLS regular season, MLS Cup Playoffs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, and the even 14-14-2 record reflects why the Chicago-Dallas series makes for possibly the fiercest rivalry in all of MLS. The two clubs compete yearly for the Brimstone Cup, which is awarded to the team that gathers the most standings points (three points for a win, one each for a tie, zero for a loss) in a given year across the three competitions. FC Dallas has held the Brimstone Cup for the past three seasons after winning the Cup outright in 2002, retaining it with a series tie in 2003 and again sweeping the season series in 2004. While the actual Brimstone Cup has only been in existence since 2001, FC Dallas holds a slim 4-3 lead in the Brimstone Cup standings when figuring in the retroactive series results from 1998-2000.
The Fire and FC Dallas will conclude their 2005 regular season series on Sunday, with Chicago looking to tie up the Brimstone Cup standings after dropping the two sides' MLS season opener on Apr. 2 at the Cotton Bowl by a 2-1 margin. The "Men in Red" enter Sunday's contest having lost their last four to FC Dallas, a streak that has dropped the Fire's regular season record against the Texans to 9-12-1. However, the story has been different in Chicagoland, where the Fire holds a 7-3-1 advantage in regular season contests and an overall record of 11-3-1.
Jaqua's Nifty "Trick" Earns Him First-Ever MLS Player of the Week Honor
Fire M/F Nate Jaqua became the first member of the "Men in Red" to win the MLS Honda Player of the Week Award in 2005, with his three-goal effort in last Saturday's 5-2 victory against Chivas USA helping the third-year player earn the honor for Week 10. The award is the first such accolade for the University of Portland product in his MLS career. Jaqua became only the third different player in team history to record a hat trick in MLS regular season play during Chicago's 5-2 victory over Chivas USA on Saturday. Jaqua started his career day off quickly by scoring the second fastest goal in Fire history just 1:41 into the match, a goal that was bested only by Jamar Beasley's first minute tally in a 7-0 win at the Kansas City Wizards on July 4, 2001. Jaqua's insurance goals in the 60th and 74th minutes on Saturday completed just the fourth hat trick for the Fire in MLS play, linking him with Damani Ralph and Ante Razov, who twice performed the feat for the "Men in Red."
MLS Erases First Segares Assist
MLS has announced that it has rescinded the assist awarded to Fire defender Gonzalo Segares on Ivan Guerrero's game-winning goal in the 57th minute of Chicago's 5-2 victory over Chivas USA last Saturday. While that assist was originally ruled as Segares' first in MLS play, the rookie defender did not wait long to record what was his second - and now his first - helper as a professional, as the VCU product recorded an assist on Nate Jaqua's second goal of the contest just three minutes later in the 60th minute.
Marsch Marching Towards 200th Game With Scoring Streak
Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch is closing in on his 200th career regular season game in style, as the "Fire Original" has scored in back-to-back games against the MetroStars and Chivas USA. Marsch, who has now played in 198 League matches across his 10-year career, has had only one prior scoring streak, which occurred in the 2003 season when he scored at the Colorado Rapids on Oct. 1 and followed that up with a tally against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Oct. 4 in the Fire's finale at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville. Marsch is looking to become the second member of the "Men in Red" to cross the 200-games played threshold in the last month, as captain Chris Armas reached the mark in the Fire's 3-0 win at Real Salt Lake on May 28 - a game in which he scored the game-winning goal. Marsch could reach the landmark game in tandem with one of the League's other veterans, as both he and D.C. United striker Jaime Moreno will be scheduled to make their 200th appearances on June 18 at RFK Stadium should they appear in their respective teams' contests this weekend.
Reiter Sits Against Portugal, Could Suit Up Wednesday Against Luxembourg
Fire forward Lubos Reiter did not see the field for his native Slovakia last Saturday, when the squad lost 2-0 in a key road contest at Portugal in a UEFA region World Cup qualifying contest. Reiter, who has scored eight goals in 25 international contests, will look to crack the line-up this Wednesday, June 8 when Slovakia takes to the road again, this time to face Luxembourg at 8:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. CT). Reiter has been an integral part of the Slovakian side during the final round of UEFA region qualifying, scoring two goals in the first six Group 3 contests before sitting out of the Portugal match. With 14 points, Slovakia is currently tied with Russia for second place in a tough Group 3 that saw Portugal take a three-point lead with last weekend's result.
Barrett, John & Johnson Prepare for Weekend Openers in FIFA World Youth Championships
Beginning this weekend, three members of the Chicago Fire - forwards Chad Barrett and Will Johnson and M/F Will John - will represent their respective countries in the FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland. Barrett and John will suit up for the United States U-20s, who will begin round-robin play in a tough Group D against defending tournament runners-up Argentina this Saturday, June 11 at 5:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. CT). The U.S. will continue in this year's version of the "Group of Death" against Germany on June 14 (8:30 p.m. local, 1:30 p.m. CT) and round out pool play against Egypt on June 18 (1:30 p.m. local, 6:30 a.m. CT). The U.S. will play all three of their first round games at the 13,500-seat Arke Stadium in Enschede, Holland. Barrett helped the U.S. in its final tune-up against China on Sunday afternoon, with his 22nd minute tally counting as the game-winner in a 2-0 victory for the Red, White & Blue. Barrett started and played 68 minutes in the match, while John entered the match at the half and played the final 45 minutes for head coach Sigi Schmid's squad.
The competition is not much easier for Johnson's Canadian U-20 side, which will begin the tournament this Sunday, June 12 against surprise finalists Syria at Willem II Stadium in Tilberg, Holland at 8:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. CT). It gets tougher from there, as the Maple Leafs will face Colombia on June 15 in Tilberg (5:30 p.m. local, 10:30 a.m. CT) before finishing Group E play against Italy on June 18 at Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade at 1:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. CT).
Every U.S. match at the World Youth Championship can be followed live via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. In the United States, matches from the FIFA World Youth Championship will mostly be televised on Galavision, with selected games on Telefutura and Univision. Fans should check ussoccer.com for the latest television schedule information.
Fire's Senior Development Squad Plays Host to Croatian Olympic Team This Saturday
The Chicago Fire Youth Development Program has announced that its newly founded Senior Development Program (Under-23) squad will face off against the Croatian Olympic (Under-21) Team in an exhibition match this Saturday, June 11. The Fire Juniors-Croatia contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. CT kick-off at Winnemac Stadium, located at 5101 N. Leavitt Street, in Chicago. The visit will mark the first-ever trip to the United States for any Croatian National Team, and the European powers are expected to bring its full squad for the historic match. The Chicago Fire Senior Development squad is part of the MLS club's youth development program, the Chicago Fire Juniors. The Fire Juniors is the official youth club of the Fire and the only club of its kind in Major League Soccer, with a fully integrated pyramid of player development from U-8 to the professional level. For more information, or to purchase tickets for the match, fans should call the event hotline at 773-572-8870. Tickets to the match cost $25.
Fire Academy Camps Open Next Week in Bridgeview and Lake Forest
The Chicago Fire Youth Development Program has announced that its Fire Academy Soccer Camps will begin next week with stops in Bridgeview and Lake Forest. The Fire Academy Camps offer specialized training for individual players or teams, with the weeklong programs designed to accommodate players from ages 8 to 18. Both of next week's camps will run from Monday, June 13 through Friday, June 17 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. CT, with the Bridgeview camp being held at Commissioners Park (81st St. & Oketo Ave.) and the Lake Forest session taking place at South Park (150 S. Maywood Rd.). For more information on the Chicago Fire Academy Soccer Camps this summer, please contact the Fire Youth Development Program at 312-705-7212.
Fan Voting For 2005 MLS All-Star Game Now Live on MLSNet.com
Fans can now cast their votes for the MLS All-Stars who will take the field against English Premier League club Fulham FC in the 2005 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game. On July 30, "MLS All-Stars Take on the World" as Major League Soccer's best take on Fulham FC at Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH in a game televised nationally on ABC Sports (2:30 p.m. CT). Fans can vote for the starting XI by filling out the online ballot on the League's official website www.MLSnet.com until Friday, July 8, 2005. Fans can vote for 11 starting players from a pool of 144 total candidates via the online ballot - one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards. A maximum of 10 ballots may be submitted per person per day and there are no limits on how many days fans can vote. The online fan balloting will comprise 25 percent of the total, with MLS coaches and GMs (25 percent), media (25 percent) and players (25 percent) accounting for the remainder.
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