Chris Rolfe

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Citizenship:    USA
College:    University of Dayton
Last Club:    Aalborg BK (DEN)
How Acquired:    Signed as a free agent April 16, 2012

Long-time fan favorite Chris Rolfe made his return to the Fire after three seasons with Danish Superliga side Aalborg BK and led the Fire to their first post-season appearance since 2009. After overcoming an ankle injury that delayed his 2012 debut, Rolfe was named the club’s 2012 Most Valuable Player and won the club’s Golden Boot for his eight goals and three assists.

2013: Started 26 of the 31 matches in which he appeared, scored four goals and added one assist. LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Started all four matches as the Fire reached the semifinal round… Scored in the 57^th minute of a 2-0 victory over the Charlotte Eagles 5/29…Assisted on Patrick Nyarko’s game-winning goal in the 77^th minute of a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Crew 6/13…Scored two goals in the 5-1 victory over Orlando City SC on 6/26. 

2012: Started in 19 of his 22 matches with the Fire scoring 8 goals and 3 assists….Scored in the 81st minute in his second match in the Fire’s 3-1 win over NY on 6/17…Assisted in Marco Pappa’s 58th minute game winning goal vs. SKC on 6/29…Opened the Fire’s winning match on 8/18 vs. NE with an unassisted goal in the 5th minute…Scored back to back goals 3 minutes apart (23’ and 26’) in the Fire’s 3-1 win over CLB on 9/22…Assisted in Sherjil MacDonald’s 65th minute goal in a 2-0 win over NY on 10/6…Named the Fire’s Most Valuable Player by members of the media…Earned the Fire’s Golden Boot for most goals in the 2012 season…MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: Started and played all 90 minutes in the Fire’s 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Playoffs knockout match on 10/31.

2009: Recorded six goals and one assist in 28 regular season games (20 starts)…MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: Started all three of the Fire’s post-season matches…Scored in the 17th minute of a 2-1 loss at NE in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal 11/1…LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Played 14 minutes …INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES: Scored in the 73rd minute of a 2-1 loss to Club America 4/29.

2008: Made 26 appearances starting 23…Scored nine goals and added eight assists over 1960 minutes…Scored two goals in a 3-1 win vs. LA 9/25…Scored a hat trick in a 5-2 win over NY 10/23…MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: Started three matches for the Fire…Scored the first goal and assisted on the third of a 3-0 victory over NE in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal…LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Started two matches for the Fire…INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES: Scored the first goal of a 2-0 victory over English Premier League side Everton FC 7/30.

2007: Recorded six goals and three assists in 19 regular season games (18 starts) … Held the longest points earned streak from the beginning of the season on April 7, until his injury on May 12 … Recorded four goals and three assists in April and May … Suffered a left ankle sprain on 5-12 which held him out for 11 games … Returned to action on 9-08 against CLB, coming off the bench for 19 min. … Scored against DAL in 1-1 tie on 9-20 … Scored against NE on 10-06 in 2-1 win … Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: Did not play due to injury … MLS Cup Playoffs: Started in all three playoff matches … Scored in both legs of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against DC on 10-25 and 11-01 … Started and played 90 min. in 1-0 loss to NE on 11-08.

2006: Finished his second season in Chicago with seven goals and one assist in 21 games – all starts … Seven goals were good for the third-most on the squad in 2006 … Led Fire with three goals and one assist in early June before suffering a concussion on 6-03 @ RSL … Declared medically unfit for nearly two months, missing nine total contests in that time … Returned to first team duty on 7-22 vs. DC, registering 68 minutes in a 1-1 draw … Scored four goals in 10 appearances following the All-Star Break, including tallies in home wins over NY (9-03) and L.A. (9-23) … Scored lone goal (fifth all-time) against CLB in a 4-1 loss on 10-07 … MLS Cup Playoffs: Started in both the first and second legs of the Fire’s 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against NE, logging 159 total minutes of postseason play … Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: Started and played 89 minutes in a 3-1 win in the U.S. Open Cup Final over L.A. on 9-27, helping the Fire clinch its fourth title in the tournament.

2005: Named one of three finalists for the Gatorade Rookie of the Year Award … Finished his impressive rookie campaign with eight goals and five assists in 29 appearances (21 starts) … Won the 2005 Fire/Budweiser Golden Boot Award with his team-best eight goals … Became first-ever rookie in team’s eight-year history to lead the Fire in scoring… Also led the Fire in shots (61), shots on goal (32) and games played (29 – tied w/ Mapp) and tied for 3rd with five assists (Guerrero) … Made MLS debut on 4-02 @ FCD … Scored first MLS goal in 50’ of 1-1 draw @ DC on 4-09 … Notched first career assist on 6-15 @ DC (Segares – 62’) … Scored first GWG of his career in the 69’ on 6-26 vs. RSL … Scored Fire’s lone goal on 7-27 vs. A.C. Milan in the 22’ of the 3-1 loss … Recorded first career multi-goal game on 9-17 @ CLB by scoring both goals in a 2-1 Fire win … MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: Started all three playoff contests for the Fire in 2005, registering one assist and 10 shots in 225 minutes of play … Helped Chicago clinch its Eastern Conference Semifinal Series victory in Game Two on 10-30 @ DC, his lay-off pass to Ivan Guerrero earning him an assist on the Fire’s third goal in the 50+’ of a 4-0 victory … LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Played in two Open Cup contests, starting both and logging 150 total minutes … MLS RESERVE DIVISION: Played two games with the Fire Reserves, starting one with a total of 56 minutes played.

Abroad: From 2009-2011 Rolfe played for Danish Superliga club Aalborg BK where he appeared in 32 matches and netted a total of 6 goals.

COLLEGE: Missed significant time due to injury yet posted big numbers throughout his career … Concluded his career sixth all-time at UD in goals with 31, third in total points with 87 and as the Flyers career leader in assists with 25 … 2004: NSCAA All-America Second Team … All-Atlantic-10 First Team … Racked up 24 points, the third-highest total in the Atlantic 10, despite playing in only 13 games … He scored seven goals and set a Dayton single-season assist record with 10, which lead the Atlantic-10 … 2003: A nagging groin injury limited him to just 10 games and nine starts, including a few cameo appearances, but he still finished tied for second on the team in goals (4), assists (5) and points (13) … Registered a point in seven of his nine starts … Tallied a point in his first five games for the Flyers … Dayton was 7-1-2 with Rolfe in the lineup and 5-4-0 without him … 2002: All-Atlantic-10 First Team … Finished fifth in the Atlantic-10 in goals (15) and points (33) … The Flyers’ leading scorer boasted five multi-goal games … 2001: Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team … Started in 19 of 20 games for the Flyers, finishing his rookie campaign with five goals and eight assists for 18 points … Led the Flyers in assists and finished third on the team in goals … Scored his first collegiate goal versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which started a streak of three straight games with a goal.

CLUB/PREP: Played two seasons with the Chicago Fire Premier (formerly Fire Reserves) of the Premier Development League … Finished fifth on the Fire Premier in scoring in 2004 with 17 points on six goals and five assists in only 11 games for a squad that saw eight players taken in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft … Helped the Fire Premier to an undefeated and PDL-best regular season record of 17-0-1, the Heartland Division championship and two wins in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2004 … Tallied a goal and an assist on 6-02-04 in a 5-1 victory over SAC Wisla in the First Round of the U.S. Open Cup … Was a member of the 2003 Fire Premier side that appeared in the PDL Championship game and garnered the Heartland Division regular season and Central Conference tournament titles … Played at Fairmont High School in Kettering, OH … Notched a school-record 30 goals and 72 points as a junior, leading his team to a District Championship and earning him First Team All-Area honors as well as a spot on the All-District Team … In his senior season, he was named Player of the Year and First Team in the League, Area, and District … Was also named to the All-Mideast First Team as his team won the district title … His 73 career goals (including 72 his final three years) are a school record.

INTERNATIONAL: Rolfe earned his first cap with the United States national team during a friendly in Scotland on November 12, 2005. Went on to appear 10 times, registering one assist for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

PERSONAL: Son of Ralph and Donna Rolfe…Enjoys listening to Country music…Majored in Finance while at Dayton…His goal celebration is an homage to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.