Fresh off a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Impact on Saturday evening, the Chicago Fire (4-5-2, 14 points) face a quick turnaround and head to Washington, D.C. for a midweek clash against D.C. United at RFK Stadium on Wednesday, June 3 at 6 p.m. CT (CSN Plus/ESPN Deportes 97.5 FM) before returning home to host expansion side Orlando City SC in a match presented by Heineken at Toyota Park on Saturday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. CT (CSN Chicago/ESPN Deportes 97.5 FM).
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The Fire’s first midweek test of 2015 pits them against Ben Olsen’s Eastern Conference-leading side, one that will be without former Fire standout and D.C. United leading scorer Chris Rolfe. Rolfe, who spent seven-plus seasons in a Fire shirt and ranks second on the club’s career goals list (48), was suspended by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for a kick at Philadelphia’s Vincent Nogueira deemed to be violent conduct and worthy of a one-match ban.
Even without Rolfe’s goal-scoring prowess, DC boasts potent scoring threats throughout its midfield, with the likes of Perry Kitchen, Davy Arnaud and Chris Pontius driving the attack.
“They’re one of those gritty teams that, even if they’re not playing well, they get results,” Chicago Fire head coach Frank Yallop said of Wednesday's opponent. “That’s always a sign of a good team. It’s going to be tough. We’ve done OK this year against everybody, so we’re not afraid to go in there and play our game, and hopefully it’s enough to get something out of the match. It’ll be tough.”
Like DC, the Fire also will operate without one of their lead creators as Shaun Maloney fulfills his international duties in Scotland over the next 10 days, though Chicago is optimistic that its midfield depth is enough to account for the Scotsman’s absence. Michael Stephens appears a leading candidate to enter the side and rekindle the strong combination play he enjoyed with the likes of Harry Shipp, Matt Polster and others early in the season.
"We have to keep the same intensity as in the last game," said Razvan Cocis, who has capably paired with Polster in front of the Fire back line while also adding a goal and an assist over the last three matches. "We have to do the good stuff we've done lately. We talked before Montreal to keep the same intensity and the same spirit and we can do a great job."
CHICAGO FIRE at D.C. UNITED
• This is the first of three meetings this season between the long-time Eastern Conference. The Fire will host the second leg at Toyota Park on Wednesday, June 24 before traveling back to RFK Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 18.
• The Men in Red are 18-18-13 all-time in regular season matches played against D.C. United.
• The Fire are 8-12-5 in regular season matches at RFK Stadium.
• The Men in Red hold a slight edge in goals scored in the series with 75 to D.C. United's 70.
• The Fire are unbeaten in six matches this season against conference opponents.
REFEREE: Edvin Jurisevic. AR1 (bench): Peter Manikowski; AR2 (opposite): Eric Weisbrod; 4th: Daniel Fitzgerald
MLS Career: 86 games; FC/gm: 22.7; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 20; pens: 13
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Davy Arnaud, Bobby Boswell
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DC: Perry Kitchen, Taylor Kemp … CHI: Adailton, Matt Polster
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: DC: Jalen Robinson (U.S. U-23 national team) … CHI: Shaun Maloney (Scotland; 6/5
v Qatar)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (49 meetings): United 18 wins, 70 goals … Fire 18 wins, 75 goals … Ties 13
AT RFK STADIUM (25 meetings): United 12 wins, 41 goals … Fire 8 wins, 35 goals … Ties 5
FUTURE MATCHES: 6/24: Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. CT; 10/18: D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire, tbd
LAST YEAR (MLS)
3/29: DC 2, CHI 2 (Espindola 35; Kitchen 73 – Hurtado 27; Amarikwa 82)
9/20: CHI 3, DC 3 (Amarikwa 16; Larentowicz 32; Watson 78 – Silva 39, 54; Kitchen 68)
10/18: DC 2, CHI 1 (Pontius 31; Johnson 53 – Shipp 67)
• United won the last meeting between the teams last year – a 2-1 win at RFK Stadium on Oct. 18 – their first victory against the Fire in seven tries. The last previous United win in the series came Aug. 22, 2012 at RFK Stadium, a 4-2 triumph. The first two meetings a year ago ended in draws.
• The Fire have won on three of their last six trips to the nation’s capital, with one draw, over the last five seasons. United last won at Toyota Park on Aug. 29, 2009, a 1-0 victory.
• Coaches record: Ben Olsen vs. CHI: P11 W2 L4 D5 … Frank Yallop vs. DC: P23 W10 L6 D7
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United returned home and put an end to their three-game winless run, coming back for a 2-1 win against Philadelphia Union on Saturday evening at RFK Stadium. United are in first place in the Eastern Conference with 25 points from 14 matches.
LAST MATCH
• Union struck in just the fifth minute. Andrew Wenger quickly dispossessed a United defender in front of goal, took a couple touches and slipped the ball right to Sebastian Le Toux, who thumped a finish beyond Bill Hamid from just outside the six-yard box.
• United pulled level in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Chris Pontius rose to head home Taylor Kemp’s cross from the left wing, scoring from the center of the area.
• The eventual game-winner came with five minutes remaining in regulation time. Zach Pfeffer failed get his arm out of the way of a long looping ball across the penalty area, and referee Ted Unkel pointed to the spot. Chris Rolfe hammered home the spot kick, leaving a motionless Brian Sylvestre with no chance in the Union goal.
• United head coach Ben Olsen made seven changes to the team that fell 1-0 to the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Only Bill Hamid, Steve Birnbaum, Taylor Kemp and Conor Doyle kept their places, with Sean Franklin, Bobby Boswell, Nick DeLeon, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Chris Pontius and Chris Rolfe all coming back into the team.
• D.C. UNITED (4-4-2): Bill Hamid - Sean Franklin, Bobby Boswell, Steve Birnbaum, Taylor Kemp (Chris Korb 73) - Nick DeLeon, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Chris Pontius (Miguel Aguilar 75) - Conor Doyle (Jairo Arrieta 65), Chris Rolfe.
