FIRE ONE STEP FROM CHECKMATE

Chicago offense is attacking, but not tallying on final touch

The Chicago Fire (2-0-6) are making teams work. They’re possessing the ball. They’re controlling the rock so much that you would never know that this team is in the midst of five straight draws. Just look at the numbers.

During this stretch, Chicago holds a 69-41 advantage in total shots and a 35-20 lead in shots on goal. The prime focus, though, is on Chicago’s past two home matches, both 1-all draws to the Seattle Sounders and New England Revolution. In those matches, the Fire generated a combined 27-9 edge in shots and a 12-4 margin in shots on goal.

Outside of the Columbus match, the Fire have dominated offensively during this five-draw stretch - just not on the scoreboard, where it matters most. And if they want to stay around the top of the Eastern Conference, they will need to figure things out quickly when they travel to Toronto FC (3-2-4) this Saturday.

So what is the answer to turning some of these draws into victories? Well, the isolated defensive lapses in the past two matches are definitely a big target. Those are a given. But some necessary focus has to be attributed to the team’s inability to finish some added chances on the offensive end.

Something needs to be fixed, but Chicago is in a predicament because the team is completing most of the battle, other than the final tally.

One thing that has changed since the start of the season is the way the Fire have attacked. It is a bit surprising that this team isn’t pushing their opponents’ defensive back line a bit more. Forward Brian McBride has gotten drawn back closer to the midfield on plenty of occasions. So has Patrick Nyarko at times.

Early on this 2009 season, Chicago’s defenders were posting some lengthy assists, and some of those can be accredited to the Fire’s forwards pushing up to the defensive back line. On the flip side, teams quickly took notice of that attacking scheme and have decided to bunker down in their own zone. That is why you don’t see Chicago’s offense occasionally finding itself offside, and that is why you see most of Chicago’s attack coming from the flanks.

“As a result, we do get balls in the middle, and we have had good chances from guys coming from the deep spot out of the midfield,” Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. “That’s where the space was going to be. (New England) came in and sat in and made it very difficult for us. We moved the ball well, but we just have to finish our chances.”

The saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Fire are not necessarily playing a broken record, but it’s constantly skipping, and they need to dust off a few shortcomings to turn the tide.

SUPERLIGA SCHEDULE RELEASED

Major League Soccer and the Federacion Mexicana de Futbol unveiled its schedule and participating teams for the 2009 SuperLiga. SuperLiga begins play on Saturday, June 20, and the title match will be held on Aug. 5.

MLS participants include the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA in Group A, and the New England Revolution and Kansas City Wizards in Group B. From Mexico's Primera Division, in Group A are San Luis and Tigres UANL, and in Group B are Santos Laguna and Atlas.

Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com/mls, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

CLICK HERE for the full SuperLiga schedule and pairings.

EXAMINER.COM MLS POWER RANKINGS

Chivas USA voted No. 1; Chicago Fire slip from 3rd to 4th spot

Check out a joint effort among eight of us Major League Soccer writers for Examiner.com's MLS Power Rankings. Chivas USA remains No. 1, while the Chicago Fire drop down slightly to the No. 4 spot. CLICK HERE for the full rankings. I contributed my own ballot, as did Chicago Fire Examiner Roman Kashuba.

~ Charlie Corr
MLS Examiner

CAST YOUR MLS ALL-STAR VOTE

On Wednesday, Major League Soccer opened its online voting for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game, which takes place July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Vote for your favorite Chicago Fire players as the MLS stars take on English Premier League club Everton FC.

CLICK HERE to vote now, and often!

WNT, CANADA ADD FRIENDLY FOR MAY 25

With Japan's women's team pulling out of a two-game set against the U.S. Women's National Team and a friendly against Canada, the two remaining parties decided to piece together their own matchup.

The WNT and Canada will play each other at 6 p.m. (CST) on May 25. The two teams also face each other on July 19 in Rochester, N.Y., and July 22 in Charleston, S.C.

FIRE, UNO TEAM UP FOR LATINO COMMUNITY

Blanco, Segares make surprise visit at Rufino Tamayo on SW side

On Tuesday, the Chicago Fire and the United Neighborhood Organization announced a partnership to raise funds for UNO, which has served the Latino community since 1984.

More than 650 students at Rufino Tamayo School, 5135 S. California Ave., in Chicago, were treated to a surprise visit from Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco and defender Gonzalo Segares on Tuesday.

"Soccer is at the heart of our community, and having Cuauhtemoc and Gonzalo come to our Rufino Tamayo campus only serves as an inspiration for our kids to achieve great things," UNO CEO Juan Rangel said in a release.

The Fire-UNO community partnership includes more than 3,000 students and teachers from the UNO network of schools selling tickets to the Fire's May 31 game against FC Dallas. The proceeds benefit UNO, and tickets can be purchased from UNO network representatives through May 22.

For more information about the United Neighborhood Organization, visit UNO-Online.org or call (312) 432-6301. And for information about UNO charter schools, visit UNOCharterSchools.org.

WNT MATCHES VS. JAPAN CANCELED

Red Stars will have full roster for May 23 vs. St. Louis

The Chicago Red Stars received some good news from their perspective. That’s not the case if you were hoping to watch the U.S. Women’s National Team later this month.

Japan decided to pull out of its two-game set against the U.S., citing concerns with the H1N1 virus. The games originally were scheduled for May 20 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, and May 23 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Japan also canceled its May 25 matchup against Canada at BMO Field in Toronto.

This announcement is disappointing from an international perspective. But the Red Stars of Women’s Professional Soccer now have the assurance of a full squad for their May 23 matchup against St. Louis Athletica at Toyota Park.

Four Red Stars were on their way to play for the U.S.: Marian Dalmy (defender), Carli Lloyd (midfielder), Megan Rapinoe (midfielder) and Lindsay Tarpley (midfielder). St. Louis goalkeeper Hope Solo and defender Lori Chalupny also had been called up for the two-game series.

In the Chicago area, Crystal Lake native Amy LePeilbet (defender) of the Boston Breakers and Naperville native Brittany Bock (defender) of the Los Angeles Sol were to join the U.S., as well.

The Red Stars hope to remedy a disappointing 2-0 loss to Sky Blue FC this past Sunday. They host FC Gold Pride at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at Toyota Park.

SKY BLUE FC 2, RED STARS 0

Chicago suffers first loss; New Jersey nets first win

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Coming off their best game of the season, the Chicago Red Stars clearly registered their worst performance of the 2009 season. Sky Blue FC held an advantage in virtually aspect of its game as New Jersey earned its first victory, 2-0, on Sunday in Women’s Professional Soccer play at Toyota Park.

The Red Stars’ performance was a complete 180 from their dominant 4-0 victory against the Boston Breakers two weeks ago.

“I don’t think any one of our players had a good game today,” Red Stars head coach Emma Hayes said. “You can’t win games if all your players are underperforming by their levels. This team will bounce back. Unfortunately we didn’t do some basic things well enough. We got exposed and punished.”

The Red Stars’ first loss puts them at 2-1-2 this season. Sky Blue earned its first victory to improve to 1-2-2.

“We came into this game knowing New Jersey didn’t have a win, and it’s always difficult when you’re playing against a team that has absolutely nothing to lose,” Hayes said. “I thought they were the better team from the very first whistle.”

If not the first whistle, Sky Blue definitely established its presence within the first 10 minutes and continually picked part the Red Stars’ defense. New Jersey’s first tally came in the 7th minute, when Collette McCallum set up Sarah Walsh, who made a strong run from the right side and struck the ball underneath the arms of Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson for a 1-0 lead.

“Collette McCallum and I know each other’s game inside and out, so the ball through was just perfect, on a platter. I just had to finish it,” Walsh said. “We’d had three or four games now without a goal, so it’s a huge relief to get a goal and to be up like that. To be honest, I was a little surprised that we were up. I’ve never been so relieved for my club, to actually win a game. We deserved it and we worked hard for it.”

New Jersey gave itself some breathing room in the 79th minute with a Natasha Kai open-net (perhaps already bound for the net) goal. Kelly Parker made a run through the Red Stars’ defense to set up Kai for the 2-0 lead.

Sky Blue held an 11-6 advantage in shots and a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Red Stars did not post a single shot on goal in the first half, and several offensive opportunities were negated by offside calls, particularly a solid ball in the 63rd minute from Cristiane, who was looking for either Carli Lloyd and Karen Carney up front.

“We didn’t get enough pressure up top. We were out-muscled and out-fought in the midfield. And the back four struggled at times in 1-v-1, 2-v-1 moments,” Hayes said. “Caroline Jonsson has had better kicking days. It was a poor team performance. But I know my team well enough. They will bounce back from this and learn from it. You will see a hungrier team come this time next week.”

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Next up: The Red Stars host FC Gold Pride at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at Toyota Park. No television or Web cast are available for the match.

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SlideTackles.net thoughts: The Red Stars were multiple levels below Sky Blue’s play on Saturday. From a tactical perspective, from an energy perspective, New Jersey dominated in every area. Chicago’s passing was certainly questionable. And the runs didn’t match the passing. There were multiple moments when Carney struck the ball from the wing and you could not tell if she was passing the ball or trying to hit the upper corner of the net.

Though the offense was held at bay, the Red Stars’ defense was the most troubling. Sky Blue probably should have had a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes and had more than a few other opportunities to pad the lead. New Jersey’s front line had plenty of space to work with. Though Heather O’Reilly didn’t score a goal, she had way too much freedom to move the ball. Certainly some credit goes to Sky Blue’s energy, their passing and their runs to the goal. They appeared to be twice as fast to the ball than the Red Stars.

Asked in the post-game if there will be any defensive changes, Hayes briefly acknowledged that there will be some adjustments.