Feeding off the thrill of John Thorrington’s stoppage time chip to beat the Galaxy on the final day of the regular season, the Fire entered the 2007 MLS Cup playoffs as the fourth seed going up against Supporters Shield winners D.C. United in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
#1 D.C. United vs. #4 Chicago Fire – Conference Semifinals (two legs)
Chicago Fire 1, D.C. United 0 (leg one)
Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.
October 25, 2007
Despite winning the Supporters Shield, United sputtered into the playoffs, going 0-2-1 in their final three matches. In contrast, the Fire had gone 2-0-1 in their final three, rallying from poor early-season form to make the playoffs on the final day.
Despite being outshot 9-8 by United, the Fire fed off their late season form, the Fire would benefit from a D.C. misplay in the back for the only goal of the first leg.
WATCH: 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals
A high bouncing ball allowed United defender Devon MacTavish only a piece of the ball, instead heading it into the path of Chris Rolfe. The third-year Fire veteran caught the ball on the bounce and smashed his half volley past Troy Perkins, taking the Fire to RFK Stadium with a 1-0 lead.
#1 D.C. United vs. #4 Chicago Fire – Conference Semifinals (two legs)
Chicago Fire 2, D.C. United 2 (leg two)
RFK Stadium; Washington, D.C.
November 1, 2007
The Fire kept with the momentum gained in leg one, taking a 2-0 aggregate advantage in the 31st minute. From the right, Calen Carr’s ball over the United back line found Chad Barrett in stride who took one touch to settle before blasting past a helpless Perkins.
The series looked as good as done two minutes later when Carr headed down a bouncing ball for Blanco, who in turn headed into the box. All of the United defenders seemed caught in no-man’s land before Chris Rolfe popped up to volley past Perkins in the 33rd minute.
Going into the break down 3-0 on aggregate, United finally broke through in the 69th minute when Rod Dyachenko laid off a simple pass for Clyde Simms who ripped a low shot inside the left post.
Dyachenko would help on the game’s equalizer slotting a pass to Christian Gomez on the right before the Argentine fired a low effort that Matt Pickens got two hands to but was overpowered in the end.
Despite tying the match, United couldn’t connect another shot on goal, leaving the fourth seeded Fire with a huge upset and another appearance in the Eastern Conference final.
#2 New England Revolution 1, #4 Chicago Fire 0 – Conference Final
Gillette Stadium; Foxboro, Mass.
November 8, 2007
For the third straight year, the Chicago Fire would take on New England in the MLS postseason and went behind in the 38th minute when current Fire player Wells Thompson crossed to the middle for Taylor Twellman. The Revolution striker would out jump Dasan Robinson to nod the ball up in the air before finishing with a stunning bicycle kick to give New England the 1-0 lead.
In the 74th minute, Gonzalo Segares would run on to a bouncing ball outside the area, striking a long-distance effort that forced Reis into a diving save to his left.
In the 90th minute, Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s cross from left picked out the head of Calen Carr but the Fire forward’s low header was well corralled by Reis to send the Fire home one step away from MLS Cup again.
