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Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire Weekly Update

October 17, 2005 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


RED ALERT! Fire Hosts D.C. United Friday in Eastern Conference Semifinal Series Opener at Soldier Field

With a grueling 32-game MLS regular season in the rear-view mirror, the Chicago Fire (15-13-4, 49 pts.) now has its sights set on a fourth trip to an MLS Cup Final, a journey that will begin at Soldier Field this Friday, Oct. 21, when the third-seeded Fire will play host to second-seed and defending MLS Cup champion D.C. United (16-10-6, 54 pts.) at 8:00 p.m. CT. Friday night's Fire-United match will be the first in a home-and-away series between the two archrivals that will conclude with the second leg on Sunday, Oct. 30 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC (3:30 p.m. CT, ESPN2). Fans that cannot make it to Friday's contest can follow the match live on Chicago radio stations WRTO-AM 1200 (Spanish) and WNVR-AM 1030 (Polish) and the Fire's official website, www.Chicago-Fire.com (English), where links for the Spanish and Polish radio broadcasts can also be found.

Tickets for both Leg One of the Fire-United Eastern Conference Semifinal Series and a possible home contest in the Eastern Conference Championship are now on sale, with every seat at Soldier Field during the 2005 MLS Cup Playoffs costing only $25. Group prices for 10 or more seats are available for $20. The Fire has also introduced its Special RED ALERT Playoff 4-Pack, which includes four playoff tickets and four RED ALERT playoff T-shirts for a cost of $96. Tickets are available by calling TicketMaster at 312-559-1212 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

RED ALERT! FIRE PLAYOFF FACT: The Fire will be kicking off a huge weekend of postseason sports in the Windy City on Friday night against D.C. United, a weekend that will continue on Saturday and Sunday nights on the city's South Side when MLB's Chicago White Sox play host to the first two games of the 2005 World Series. This should bode well for the "Men in Red," who have advanced to MLS Cup in each of the three seasons that have included postseason baseball in the Windy City - 1998 (Cubs), 2000 (White Sox) and 2003 (Cubs).

RED ALERT! 2006 Season Tickets at Bridgeview Stadium Now on Sale

The Fire kicked off its public on-sale for 2006 Season Tickets at Bridgeview Stadium earlier today, giving fans the opportunity to choose their seats for the club's inaugural season at the new, world-class facility, located on the corner of 71st Street and Harlem in Bridgeview. Fans can pick out their seats by checking out the Bridgeview seating chart in the Ticket section at www.Chicago-Fire.com. For more information on the public on-sale, please call 1-888-MLS-FIRE.

RED ALERT! Party Deck Seats for 2006 Bridgeview Stadium Opener Available Through 10:00 p.m. Tonight

In addition to its 2006 Season Ticket Public On-Sale, the Fire today announced that 400 tickets in Bridgeview Stadium's Party Deck section for the club's inaugural contest will be on sale today only through 10:00 p.m. CT. Fans are invited to take advantage of this chance to watch the first-ever Fire contest in its new home from a unique and memorable perspective, with seats costing only $25. To purchase Party Deck tickets to next year's Bridgeview Stadium opener during this limited time offer, please visit www.Chicago-Fire.com.

RED ALERT! Fire to Host Open House at Bridgeview Satellite Office this Wednesday, Oct. 19

In an effort to get to know its new neighbors, the Chicago Fire is inviting its supporters and local families and businesses to an Open House at its new Bridgeview office, located at 7773 S. Harlem Avenue inside the Bridgeview Court Shopping Center, this Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. CT. Those in attendance will be able to partake in food and beverages provided by sponsors Chelsea's BBQ Grill, Starbucks and Culvers, while also getting the chance to meet Fire players and the team's mascot and win Fire prizes and merchandise. The Fire will have front office staff on hand to answer any questions regarding the Fire and the Bridgeview Stadium project, as well as representatives to discuss the many ways individuals, businesses and organizations can become involved in the team's inaugural season in Bridgeview Stadium in 2006. For more information on Wednesday's Bridgeview Office Open House, please call 708-598-6666.

"The Fire organization is proud to open our doors to the Village of Bridgeview and the entire Southland for this special event on Wednesday night," said Fire President/CEO John Guppy. "The Open House at our Bridgeview office will provide the Fire with a unique opportunity to say thanks to our current fans and spend time with local residents and our future neighbors."

Series History vs. D.C. United

Soccer fans will be in for a treat if the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series between the Fire and United is anything like their wild 2005 regular season series, which United took via a slim 2-1-1 margin to even up the all-time regular season series at 10-10-4. Chicago got off on good footing against the Black-and-Red this season by coming back to earn a 1-1 draw at RFK Stadium on Apr. 9, a game in which rookie Chris Rolfe scored the first of his team-leading eight goals on the campaign.

That match was followed by a pair of back-and-forth affairs that saw the home side win 4-3 on both occasions - United taking the June 15 battle at RFK and the Fire holding off D.C. in their first meeting at Soldier Field two weeks later. The series ended with United taking three points away from Soldier Field courtesy of a 3-2 victory that saw the "Men in Red" score twice in the final seven minutes and nearly complete their desperate comeback in injury time.

The series is not as close when it comes to the MLS Cup Playoffs, as the Fire has proven to United's "kryptonite" by taking all three of its postseason meetings against the four-time League champs, all three matches ending in 2-0 scorelines. The most memorable of those results for the Fire came on Oct. 25, 1998 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, where Chicago upset the two-time defending champs to take MLS Cup '98 in the squad's inaugural season. Former Fire captain and current D.C. Head Coach Peter Nowak would assist on both Fire goals in the championship match to garner the game's MVP award. It would be another five years until the two sides met again in the playoffs, but the results in 2003 were the same as the Fire first traveled to RFK Stadium and took a 2-0 victory away from the Nation's Capital on Nov. 1 before repeating the feat on Nov. 8 at Soldier Field to easily continue out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Fire has handed United three of its four losses in postseason play and is the only team to knock the Black-and-Red out of the MLS Cup Playoffs in D.C.'s six postseason appearances.

AthletiCo Injury Report

Buete, Scott - R 5th metatarsal fracture - Out

Capano, Craig - L torn ACL surgery - Out

Griffin, Leonard - R knee surgery - Out

Jaqua, Nate - L ankle sprain - Questionable

Pickens, Matt - L ankle sprain - Questionable

Thorrington, John - L groin strain - Questionable

Chicago's Fire and Police Departments to Square Off for Charity in Sunday's "Call Box Cup"

The Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Fire Department have announced that the soccer teams representing the Windy City's police and firemen will face off in the annual "Call Box Cup" charity soccer match this Sunday, Oct. 23 at the St. Rita High School Stadium, located at 7740 S. Western Avenue in Chicago. Kick-off for the match is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, with tickets for adults costing $5 and children under 13 years of age admitted for free. All proceeds from the match will be donated to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. For more information on the "Call Box Cup" contest, please visit www.cpdsoccer.com.

RED ALERT! FIRE PLAYOFF FACT: While D.C. United will feature 16-year-old Freddy Adu when they invade Chicago this Friday for Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against the Fire, the "original" teenage phenom of MLS, DaMarcus Beasley, holds the record as the youngest player to score in the MLS Cup Playoffs. "Beas" was 19 years and 146 days old when he scored for the "Men in Red" in the 30th minute of the Fire's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy in Game Three of the MLS Cup Semifinals on Oct. 17, 2001.

Rookie Forward Chris Rolfe Becomes First-Ever Winner of the Fire/Budweiser Golden Boot

Fire forward Chris Rolfe capped off a stellar rookie campaign by becoming the team's first-ever recipient of the Fire/Budweiser Golden Boot, which replaced the Budweiser Scoring Champion award beginning with the 2005 season. Rolfe's eight goals in 29 games (21 starts) during the regular season were just enough to edge out fellow forward Nate Jaqua, who scored seven goals through June before seeing much of the second half of his campaign taken away due to left ankle and foot injuries. Rolfe's eight goals were the second most by a rookie in team history, tying him with Josh Wolff's effort in 1998 and placing only behind Damani Ralph's MLS-record 11 tallies in 2003. The Dayton of University and Chicago Fire Premier (PDL) product will be awarded with the 2005 Fire/Budweiser Golden Boot award prior Game One of the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against D.C. United this Friday, Oct. 21 at Soldier Field.

Etc.

- Two more members of the "Men in Red" will celebrate their birthdays this week. Midfielder John Thorrington turns 26 years old today, while Tuesday it will be Justin Mapp's turn to blowout the birthday candles on his 21st birthday.

- The struggles of the Fire's Mexican League sister club, Monarcas Morelia, continued over the weekend, as the "Monarchs" dropped a 2-1 result on the road to the league bottom dwellers Dorados in Guadalajara. Morelia dropped to 3-7-2 (11 pts.) with the loss, putting the squad in fifth-place in the six-team Group One standings with just five games remaining in the 2005 Apertura season. Monarcas will look to get back on track at home this Saturday, Oct. 22 when it hosts Santos Laguna (4-4-3, 15 pts.) at Morelos Stadium in Morelia at 5:00 p.m. CT.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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