Fire Kicks Off Busy Week With First-Place Clash Wednesday Against New England
After vaulting into a share of first-place in the Eastern Conference with a win at the MetroStars last Friday, the Chicago Fire (2-1-1, 7 pts.) will kick off a busy week this Wednesday, Apr. 27 when it plays host to its fellow co-leader, the New England Revolution (2-0-1, 7 pts.), in the first match of an MLS-International soccer doubleheader at Soldier Field. The Fire and Revolution will begin the night's festivities at 6:00 p.m. CT and will be followed by a friendly contest featuring the national teams of Mexico and Poland at 8:30 p.m. CT. The Fire-Revs contest will be broadcast live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and can also be heard live by tuning into WRTO-AM 1200 (Spanish) and WNVR-AM 1030 (Polish). A live English language audio webcast, in addition to links to the Spanish and Polish audio calls, will be available online at www.Chicago-Fire.com. The Mexico-Poland friendly can also be seen live on Telemundo. NOTE TO MEDIA: Fire 2005 season credentials will be honored for admittance to both matches at Soldier Field on Wednesday. Media members should use parking pass #2 for Wednesday's doubleheader.
Tickets to the doubleheader, which will range in price from $30 to $75, can be purchased via Ticketmaster by calling 312-559-1212 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Executive Suites are also available and can be purchased by calling the Fire's Premium Seating Department at 312-705-7239. The doubleheader is included in the Fire's full season ticket package, but is not included in the seven-game package.
The Fire will be looking to even up its all-time series against the Revolution - and might also be looking for revenge after New England finished Chicago's 2004 campaign. The Fire trails New England 7-8-5 in their all-time regular season series, but has registered a 4-2-4 mark in games contested in Chicagoland, including a 3-1-2 record in six contests at Soldier Field. The Fire posted a 1-2-1 record against the Revolution last season, with the all-important tiebreaker in the regular season finale on Oct. 16 in Foxboro going to New England via a 2-1 result, a loss that pushed the Revs into the Eastern Conference's fourth and final playoff spot and left the Fire out of the postseason for the first time in club history.
Weekend Sees Fire Travel to Ohio for Double Dip Against Crew
There will be no rest this week for a busy Fire squad, who will follow Wednesday's match by traveling to Columbus, OH for its first of four meetings in 2005 against former striker Ante Razov and his Columbus Crew (2-2-0, 6 pts.) this Saturday, Apr. 30. Kick-off from Columbus Crew Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the contest can be seen live nationwide via high-definition channel HDNet. Live audio broadcasts will also be available on WRTO-AM 1200 (Spanish) and WNVR-AM 1030 (Polish), with links to both broadcasts available on www.Chicago-Fire.com. The Fire and Crew will wind up the weekend with an MLS Reserve Division contest on Sunday, May 1 at the Crew's training facility in suburban Obetz, OH at 9:00 a.m. CT.
Chicago has a 12-8-4 lead in the all-time regular season series against the Crew, which includes a respectable 4-5-3 mark in contests played in Columbus. The Fire hopes to improve upon its results in last year's series, which Columbus nearly swept with a 3-0-1 record against Chicago. The "Men in Red" went 1-1-1 in three games at Crew Stadium in 2004, with a 2-1 overtime win in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fourth round on July 20 sandwiched between a 2-0 Crew win on July 3 and a 3-3 draw on Oct. 2.
Chicago Fire AthletiCo Injury Report
Capano, Craig - L torn ACL surgery - Out
Sanneh, Tony - R hip and hamstring strain - Doubtful
Thorrington, John - L hamstring strain - Doubtful
Mexico Makes Five Changes to Roster in Advance of Wednesday Friendly
The Mexican National Team has announced five changes from the preliminary roster issued last week in advance of Wednesday's international friendly contest against Poland at Soldier Field. Both goalkeepers for Ricardo LaVolpe's side were switched, as Club America's Guillermo Ochoa and Tecos' Jose de Jesús Corona were called in to replace Oscar Perez (Cruz Azul) and Moises Muñoz (Morelia). Muñoz's teammate from Morelia, midfielder Omar Trujillo, was added to the roster along with Toluca midfielders Mario Mendez and Antonio Naelson. Meanwhile, Poland arrived in Chicago this afternoon with its 18-man roster intact, which includes five members from Polish First Division leaders Wisla Kraków. Below are the finalized 18-man rosters for both the Mexican and Polish National Teams.
MEXICO
GOALKEEPERS: Guillermo Ochoa (America), Jose de Jesús Corona (UAG)
DEFENDERS: Rafael Medina (Guadalajara), Francisco Javier Rodríguez (Guadalajara), Ricardo Osorio (Cruz Azul), Aaron Galindo (Cruz Azul), Gonzalo Pineda (UNAM)
MIDFIELDERS: Ramon Morales (Guadalajara), Luis Ernesto Perez (Monterrey), Juan Pablo Rodríguez (UAG), Miguel Angel Zepeda (Cruz Azul), Antonio Naelson (Toluca), Mario Mendez (Toluca), Omar Trujillo (Morelia)
FORWARDS: Alberto Medina (Guadalajara), Oribe Peralta (Monterrey), Francisco Fonseca (Cruz Azul); Omar Bravo (Guadalajara)
MANAGER: Ricardo Lavolpe
POLAND
(* - indicates first call-up to National Team)
GOALKEEPERS: Artur Boruc (Legia Warszawa); Marcin Cabaj * (MKS Cracovia SSA)
DEFENDERS: Marcin Baszczynski (Wisla Kraków); Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Kraków); Tomasz Klos (Wisla Kraków); Tomasz Kielbowicz (Legia Warszawa); Dariusz Dudka (Amica Wronki Sport); Jaroslaw Bieniuk (Amica Wronki Sport)
MIDFIELDERS: Radoslaw Sobolewski (Wisla Kraków); Piotr Giza * (MKS Cracovia SSA); Konrad Golos * (KSP Polonia Warszawa); Przemyslaw Kazmierczak * (MKS Pogon Szczecin); Michal Golinski (Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski); Marcin Burkhardt (Amica Wronki Sport); Marcin Zajac (Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski)
FORWARDS: Bartosz Slusarski * (Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski); Ireneusz Jelen (Wisla Plock); Tomasz Frankowski (Wisla Kraków)
MANAGER: Pawel Janas
Tryouts for Chicago Fire Juniors to Begin This Weekend in Wheaton
The Chicago Fire Juniors will be conducting tryouts for the 2005/2006 season during the first week of May at two locations in west suburban Wheaton, IL. On Sunday, May 1, the Senior Girls (U15-U18) tryouts will begin at the Hubble Middle School Alumni Field, while on Monday, May 2, the U12-U14 Boys and Girls will tryout at Seven Gables Park. On Saturday, May 7, the tryouts for U8-U11 Boys and Girls will be held at the Hubble Middle School Alumni Field. For a schedule including dates (and rain-out dates) and times for specific age groups and further information on the CFJ tryouts, including directions to the tryout sites, visit www.ChicagoFireJuniors.com or call the CFJ office at 312-705-7250.
Barrett and John With U.S. U-20s for Exhibition Match Against Seattle Sounders
Fire forward Chad Barrett and midfielder Will John departed the Fire over the weekend to join the United States Under-20 Men's National Team, who will take on the Seattle Sounders of the United Soccer League First Division in an exhibition contest this evening. The U-20s and Sounders will square off at 9:00 p.m. CT at the Husky Soccer Field on the University of Washington campus. Barrett and John are two of seven MLS players that U.S. U-20 Head Coach Sigi Schmid called in for the match, which will serve as a tune-up for the FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland beginning in June. Barrett and John will return to Chicago on Tuesday and will be available for selection for Wednesday's contest against the New England Revolution at Soldier Field.
Road Sweet Road? Fire Breaks Yearlong Drought Away From Home
The Fire's 1-0 win over the MetroStars last Friday at Giants Stadium broke a nearly yearlong winless streak for the "Men in Red" in MLS regular season road contests. Prior to Friday's victory, Chicago hadn't won a road match in League play since a similar 1-0 win at D.C. United on Apr. 24, 2004, a 14-game stretch that lasted 363 days. The Fire will look to put together back-to-back wins on the road for the first time in nearly three seasons this Saturday when it travels to Columbus. The Fire's last winning streak on the road came during the 2002 campaign, when Chicago defeated D.C. United 3-0 at RFK Stadium on May 4 and followed that up with a 3-1 win against the New England Revolution in Foxboro, MA on May 19.
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