Chicago Fire Fall Again MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 WEEK 12

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Marylou Lane
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1 Chicago Fire Fall Again MAGAZINE MARCH 2018 WEEK 12

3 Chicago Fire Fall 2-1 To Minnesota United FC The Chicago Fire (0-2-0, 0 points) fell 2-1 to Minnesota United FC (2-1-0, 6 points) on Saturday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. 3 After a scoreless first half the hosts opened scoring in the 55th minute when Miguel Ibarra played a ball into the box from the right flank. Fire goalkeeper Richard Sanchez made the initial save on Ibson s header but the Brazilian followed up on the rebound to get on the board. The Fire equalized four minutes later after Nemanja Nikolic collected a loose ball in the box. United s Matt Lampson dove to punch away the reigning MLS Golden Boot winner s shot but rookie Elliot Collier pounced on the rebound with a right-footed volley into net for his first professional goal. The Loons regained the lead in the 65th minute. Ethan Finlay whipped in a cross on the right and found an open Sam Nicholson, who rose up and redirected his header past Sanchez for the final goal of the game. The Fire return to MLS action when they host the Portland Timbers on March 31 at 5 p.m. CT (MLS Live/Univision Chicago 1200AM). Tickets for the match are available by calling 888-MLS-FIRE or visiting tickets. QUOTE SHEET Chicago Fire 1:2 Minnesota United FC March 17, 2018 TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Attendance: 23,138 Scoring Summary: MIN Ibson (unassisted) 55 CHI Elliot Collier (unassisted) 59 MIN Sam Nicholson (Ethan Finlay, Miguel Ibarra) 65 Misconduct Summary: CHI Kevin Ellis (caution) 60 CHI Tony Tchani (caution) 67 MIN Mayson Toye (caution) 90+2 Chicago Fire: Richard Sanchez; Rafael Ramos (Drew Conner 84 ), Johan Kappelhof, Brandon Vincent, Kevin Ellis; Dax McCarty, Tony Tchani; Aleksandar Katai (Daniel Johnson 73 ), Elliot Collier, Luis Solignac (Alan Gordon 80 ), Nemanja Nikolic Subs not used: Patrick McLain, Mo Adams, Brandt Bronico, Christian Dean Shots: 11; Shots On-Goal: 5; Fouls: 17; Saves: 3; Offsides: 2; Corners: 2. Minnesota United FC: Matt Lampson; Jerome Thiesson, Francisco Calvo, Michael Boxall, Tyrone Mears (Marc Burch 83 ); Ibson, Rasmus Schuller, Ethan Finlay, Sam Nicholson; Miguel Ibarra (Brent Kallman 90+4 ), Christian Ramirez (Mason Toye 82 ) Subs not used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Collin Martin, Harrison Heath, Collen Warner Shots: 11; Shots On-Goal: 5; Fouls: 8; Saves: 4; Offsides: 1; Corners: 5. CREDIT: CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB

possibilities when they took on the Portland Thorns during the Portland Spring Invitational this past Sunday (they ll be kicking off against the Houston Dash at the time of this posting).

4 4 Red Stars Preseason Travails Continue With their 2018 regular season debut rapidly approaching, the Chicago Red Stars gave their first public look at their roster depth and formational possibilities when they took on the Portland Thorns during the Portland Spring Invitational this past Sunday (they ll be kicking off against the Houston Dash at the time of this posting). In addition to coming out on top 1-0 thanks to a second half strike from Arin Gilliland, the Red Stars showed a willingness to rotate as many players as possible during the match, and break in some new faces. The most interesting look in the starting lineup was rookie Emily Boyd getting the start in goal. While no one was anticipating starting keeper Alyssa Naeher seeing any time coming off her three full-90 s during the recent SheBelieves Cup, one has to wonder if this was an indication of Boyd s spot on the depth chart in regard to her competition with long-time Red Star Michelle Dalton. Dalton will surely see some time as preseason continues, but Boyd posting the shutout against the Thorns (and keeping Portland off the scoresheet, from the way the first half of the contest sounded) could have long-term implications as Chicago whittles their way down to their final roster. While Chicago s lineup didn t have too many surprises versus what one might expect from this squad, there were also a few wrinkles that might become relevant as the season progresses. Taylor Comeau started in the right-back position, a role that she took on occasionally in 2017 when needed, and she got a good look considering the ankle knock Casey Short picked up during her USWNT appearance earlier this month. And in the second half, when typical outside-back Gilliland came on for some late minutes, she relieved Summer Green, who had been playing in the midfield. It was from this midfield position that Gilliland broke free to break the scoreless stalemate, (a position she s familiar with from her time in Australia s W-League), and one has to wonder if Rory Dames has some interesting ideas as to how to slot players into this roster in different match-time scenarios that could help the Red Stars with their final killer instinct to close out games. Finally, the match ended with the first appearance from Sam Kerr in a Chicago uniform! It sounds like there were still issues to be ironed out, getting Kerr integrated early (considering how long she s going to be out for Australia s Asian Cup campaign) could prove to be very important as the Red Stars scrap for points in a stacked NWSL table. CREDIT:

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7 7 BALTIMORE BLAST ADVANCE TO THE RON NEWMAN CUP FINALS The Baltimore Blast advanced to their fourth straight Ron Newman Cup Finals by defeating the Milwaukee Wave 10-6 in front of 3,173 fans at the SECU Arena. The Blast's Jonatos Melo led all players with five points (two goals and three assists), while Vini Dantas led the scorers with three goals. Much of the pregame anticipation centered around each team's goalkeepers. Milwaukee's Josh Lemos and Baltimore's William Vanzela have each spent time recovering from injuries and made their first postseason appearance in tonight's match. Each goalkeeper was tested early as the teams combined for 18 shots in the first quarter alone. Baltimore was the first to convert a goal. The Blast were pressuring deep towards the Wave's goal, but the ball popped out past the top of the arc where Juan Pereira jumped onto it and tucked it into the left upper 90 corner of the goal. Jonatas Melo put the home team up 2-0 midway through the quarter. Melo's goal started a flurry of five goals scored in the final five minutes of the period. Vini Dantas added two goals to Melo's while Daniel Mattos and Max Ferdinand each scored for the Wave. The second quarter was dominated by the Blast. Leading 4-2 at the beginning of the period, The Blast got goals from Tony Donatelli, Daniel Peruzzi and Adriano Dos Santos to take a 7-3 lead into halftime. Marcio Leite provided the only highlight of the quarter for Milwaukeee with an absolute rocket of a goal sandwiched in the middle of Baltimore's scoring. Determined to get themselves back into the game, the Milwaukee Wave went on the attack to start the second half. 1st Team All-MASL midfielder Ian Bennett bookended the period with two goals, with an Angel Curiel score in between. Max Ferdinand, Bennett's teammate on the field and on the MASL's Best VI, provided assists for two of the goals. As the teams went into the final period, the Baltimore Blast's lead had been whittled down to 7-6 and the Milwaukee Wave had momentum on their side. That all changed though when Dantas jumped in front of a Wave clearance attempt and headed a ball past a surprised Josh Lemos into an open goal a minute into the fourth quarter. Daniel Peruzzi got the Blast's lead back up to two goals midway through the quarter and then Melo scored his second of the night against the Wave's sixth attacker to seal their victory and clinch their berth in the MASL's final game. Baltimore will now await the winner of the Western Conference Championship game on Sunday. The Monterrey Flash host the San Diego Sockers at Arena Monterrey at 5:05 p.m. CST Sunday in a match that can be seen live on MASLtv, the streaming home of the Major Arena Soccer League. CREDIT:

JULY 2018 WEEK

FIRE FALL TO TORONTO MAGAZINE WWW.LMDMAG.COM JULY 2018 WEEK 30 WWW.LMDMAG.COM Chicago Fire Fall 2-1 at Home to Toronto FC The Chicago Fire fell 2-1 to defending MLS Cup champion Toronto FC Saturday at