NORMAN, OK - The Chicago Fire witnessed its third-straight loss of the 2007 preseason Saturday evening, falling 4-3 in a hard-fought exhibition match against Brimstone Cup-rival FC Dallas in front of an energetic crowd of 2,226 at John Crain Field on the campus of University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. Goals from Fire forward Chad Barrett in the 11th and 51st minutes sandwiched goals from Dallas defender Clarence Goodson and forward Carlos Ruiz, respectively. A header from midfielder Ramon Nunez in the 53rd minute gave Dallas a 3-2 lead before Fire defender Jim Curtin answered back with a header of his own in minute 61. The final, game-winning goal in the 82nd minute came courtesy of Dallas substitute forward Dominic Oduro and handed Chicago a 4-3 loss in the 2007 Saturn Cup.
"I saw a lot of things out there that were good, and some things that were not so good," said Head Coach Dave Sarachan. "You never want to concede four goals. We had good structure and I thought our movement was good, but we still need to tighten up some things."
The "Men in Red" took the game to Dallas from the start of the match, as forward Chad Barrett passed by two FC Dallas defenders into from the left side of the 18-yard box and slotted home a strike from eight yards out into the right side netting for the early 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Mapp nearly doubled the lead eight minutes later with an open look from 15 yards out after working a give-and-go with Barrett, but the Fire midfielder's subsequent shot sailed high over the Dallas crossbar.
Dallas capitalized on a corner kick in the 29th minute, as midfielder Richard Mulrooney's service into the box bounced off the foot of forward Kenny Cooper and right to defender Clarence Goodson, whose one-time volley from point-blank range bested Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens to knot the score at 1-1. Momentum swung in favor of Dallas as forward Carlos Ruiz's cutback move in the Fire penalty box and shot from eight yards out notched the go-ahead goal for the Texan side in the 50th minute, but a mix-up in the Dallas box just a minute later saw Barrett pull Chicago back 2-2 with an equalizing header from two yards out.
A long cross from the left side found the head of unmarked Dallas midfielder Ramon Nunez for a point-blank goal to give Dallas a 3-2 advantage. In the 60th minute, Sarachan subbed in midfielder Thiago to add some offensive punch, and just a minute after entering the match the Brazilian struck a freekick from 30 yards out on the left side that found the head of defender Jim Curtin, whose redirect from 15 yards out found the upper right corner to knot the game at 3-3. The final, game-winning goal came in the 82nd minute as Dallas substitute forward Dominic Oduro broke away for a 50-yard run towards Pickens. Though Pickens came off his line to stop the streaking Oduro, he was unable to parry away the eventual game-winning goal.
Scoring Summary:
CHI - Chad Barrett 1 (unassisted) 11'
FCD - Clarence Goodson (Richard Mulrooney, Kenny Cooper) 29'
FCD - Carlos Ruiz (Arturo Alvarez) 50'
CHI - Chad Barrett 2 (unassisted) 51'
FCD - Ramon Nunez (Richard Mulrooney) 53'
CHI - Jim Curtin 1 (Thiago 3) 61'
FCD - Dominic Oduro (unassisted) 82'
Fire Lineup (3-5-2): GK-Matt Pickens, D-Gonzalo Segares (Daniel Woolard 87), D-Jim Curtin (Osei Telesford 76), D-C.J. Brown (Jerson Monteiro 74), M-Ivan Guerrero (Brian Plotkin 46), M-Justin Mapp (Jordan Russolillo 76), M-Chris Armas (Captain) (Thiago 60), M-Diego Gutierrez (Dasan Robinson 69), M-Logan Pause (Erik Hort 87), F-Floyd Franks (Calen Carr 60), F-Chad Barrett (Nate Norman 72).
Subs not used: Mike Banner, Jeff Curtin, Nick Noble, Chris Rolfe, Bakary Soumare.
Dallas Lineup (4-4-2): GK-Shaka Hislop, D-David Wagenfuhr, D-Clarence Goodson, D-Drew Moor, D-Alex Yi (Bobby Rhine 46), M-Richard Mulrooney (Aaron Pitchkolan 69), M-Marcelo Saragosa (Andy Wallace 84), M-Arturo Alvarez (Dominic Oduro 74), M-Ramon Nunez (Dax McCarty 74), F-Kenny Cooper (Roberto Mina 58), F-Carlos Ruiz (Abe Thompson 78).
Subs not used: Ray Burse Jr., Michael Dello-Russo, Sandy Gbandi Jr., Scott Jones, Tommy Krizanovic, Dario Sala, Blake Wager.
Discipline Summary
CHI - C.J. Brown (caution) 35'
FCD - Carlos Ruiz (caution) 36'
CHI - Diego Gutierrez (caution) 40'
FCD - Bobby Rhine (caution) 66'
Referee: Abbey Okulaja
Attendance: 2,226
Fire adds two more match-ups to preseason slate
The "Men in Red" will squeeze in two additional opponents as the squad rounds out its final two weeks of preseason training. The Fire will face midfielder Ivan Guerrero and the rest of the Honduran National Team in a closed-door scrimmage on March 21 at the Los Palmas Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. at 3:00 p.m. CT. Chicago has also added an extra contest in its final leg of preseason in Ridgeland, Miss., when it takes on the University of Alabama-Birmingham at M&F Bank Stadium on March 29 at 3:00 p.m. CT.
