Milestone Watch: Johnson, Segares
A couple of appearance milestones to keep in mind for tonight’s game. Now returned from ankle surgery, should Gonzalo Segares play tonight, he’ll move past Zach Thornton and into sole possession of third place on the club’s MLS regular season appearance list at 216 matches.
Whenever Segares does this, it’ll mean the club will have its top three appearance leaders currently with the club. Assistant coach C.J. Brown leads the list with 296 matches while midfielder Logan Pause is second with 278.
Also of note, Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson will pass Ring of Fire member Piotr Nowak and moving into 13th on the club’s regular season appearance list if he plays tonight. The pair currently sit tied with 114 games played.
Larentowicz lays down the gauntlet
Fire midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was visibly frustrated with his team following a 3-2 defeat to Seattle in their last match before the World Cup break.
Larentowicz said this week he felt the team had taken steps to come back in force with the team’s return to league play.
“I think we’ve done okay, we’ve had two games and won both,” he told Chicago-Fire.com. “This is a difficult month where we have to take care of all our games. Now that other teams have played, we’re playing at the bottom of the table and we have to fight our way out. Taking care of home games is important but we have to take it one game at a time.
“Toronto is a good team, they’ve already played an MLS game and done alright but it’s always about us. It’s about the things we do. The effort is there, we have to take care of little things and Wednesday is the first chance.”
Larentowicz of course is trying to balance captain duties with real life.
Unbeaten run vs. TFC
With the Fire needing wins, perhaps it’s good to start out a busy month of July with Toronto FC. That’s because TFC is the MLS team the Fire have the longest unbeaten streak against, going 5-0-3 against the Reds in their last eight match.
Last time the Fire lost to TFC? A 4-1 defeat at BMO Field on May 8, 2010.
Commemorative Jerseys
In honor of Independence Day this week, the Fire will wear commemorative patriotic jerseys vs. Toronto. The special shirts are already up for auction online and via text and will be available for bid through the end of halftime at the Foundation Tent on the Northeast concourse.
All proceeds go to benefit the Chicago Fire Foundation.
What’s special tonight?
Along with patriotic jerseys, tonight is $2 hot dog night at Toyota Park, courtesy of Red Hot Chicago. Fans will be limited to five per transaction.
The Fire will also hold a post-game fireworks show following the match. Because of the show, parts of the north parking lot will be closed with fans being directed to the East parking lot (see map below).
