The Chicago Fire open their slate of 2015 home matches on Saturday, March 14, when the club welcomes Vancouver Whitecaps FC to Toyota Park for a 5 p.m. first kick. The match is the first to be carried regionally by CSN Chicago under the new multi-year partnership for the club and network, which features a half-hour pre-game show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will once again carry the broadcast of the match in Wisconsin, and a Spanish-language radio broadcast will air live on 97.5 FM ESPN Deportes in Chicago. (Click here for a Spanish-language preview of Saturday's match.)
CHICAGO FIRE MATCHDAY
As is the case each week, fans are invited to start their Saturday by tuning into ESPN1000 to catch this week's edition of "Chicago Fire Weekly" presented by The PrivateBank, and join the conversation with hosts Fred Huebner, Kevin Egan and Danielle Slaton by using the hashtag #FireWeekly on Twitter. A podcast of the episode will be available on Chicago-Fire.com later Saturday morning.
<img alt="" src="https://chicago-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/FIRE%20vs%20Whitecaps%20copy%202.jpeg" style="width: 200px; height: 307px; float: right;"> |
<b>Chicago Fire Matchday Poster</b> |
CSN Chicago will be kicking off its coverage of the Chicago Fire this season as the presenting sponsor of the club's home-opener, with the first 5,000 fans into the stadium receiving 2015 Chicago Fire Regular Season Schedule magnets courtesy of CSN Chicago. Stadium parking lots open at 2 p.m., Fire Fest begins at 3 p.m. at Toyota Park gates open at 4 p.m. For more information on Matchday amenities and services at Toyota Park, visit Chicago-Fire.com/Matchday.
FIRE LOOK FOR FIRST POINTS IN HOME DEBUT
The Fire kicked off the new campaign with a test against the defending champions, falling 2-0 to the LA Galaxy in the season opener at StubHub Center. Whitecaps FC began their new campaign at home, dropping a 3-1 decision to Canadian rival Toronto FC at BC Place. Although these two teams squared off just two weeks ago during the preseason Simple Invitational in Portland, Saturday's fixture represents the first and only meeting of the sides during the 2015 MLS regular season.
Chicago trails the all-time series with the fifth-year MLS franchise, 1-2-2, but is 1-0-2 and has not surrendered a goal in three home meetings with Vancouver.
• WATCH: Gehrig, Amarikwa Talk Home-Opener
Fire midfielder Matthew Watson began his MLS career with the Whitecaps. Acquired by the Fire in a trade with Vancouver on March 5, Watson started 25 of his 36 MLS regular season appearances and tallied one assist over 2,261 minutes in two seasons with the ‘Caps. Watson added an assist in Vancouver’s first-ever MLS Playoff match in a 2-1 loss on Nov. 1, 2012.
Listen below as CSN Chicago color analyst Kevin Egan chats with Chicago Fire head coach Frank Yallop about the matchup and the challenges presented by Vancouver's multi-faceted attack:
MORE ON VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC:
Carl Robinson's side opened their new season with a home defeat, getting an early goal before going down to a 3-1 defeat by Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon at BC Place. Whitecaps FC are one of two teams in the Western Conference without a point from their opening match. The home side opened the scoring when Octavio Rivero latched onto a perfectly-weighted through ball from Pa-Modou Kah, took a couple of touches and finished with aplomb in the 19th minute. But a Jozy Altidore equalizer in the first half and two more goals for the Reds after halftime stained Vancouver's 4-0 record in home-openers entering the match.
Whitecaps FC also saw their shutout streak come to an end after 424 minutes dating back to the end of last season, concluding the 2014 campaign with three consecutive clean sheets. The three goals conceded vs. Toronto FC matches the season-high from a year ago, which occurred five times.
