MEN IN RED CONCLUDE 2014 SEASON AT HOME UNDER FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The Chicago Fire (5-10-18, 33 points) welcome the Houston Dynamo (11-16-6, 39 points) to Toyota Park for the final match of the 2014 season on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network/107.9 FM La Ley).
Tickets for the match, presented by The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, are available via Ticketmaster, www.Chicago-Fire.com or by calling 888-MLS-FIRE. The first 5,000 fans in the stadium will receive a free pink foam finger.
CHICAGO FIRE TRAINING SCHEDULE: Oct. 21 – Oct. 24
Tuesday, Oct. 21 Off
Wednesday, Oct. 22 Training 10:30 a.m. CT* - Entire session open to media. Media availability will take place immediately following training
Thursday, Oct. 23 Training 10:30 a.m. CT^
Friday, Oct. 24 MLS Regular Season – Chicago Fire vs. Houston Dynamo – Toyota Park – 7 p.m. CT – NBC Sports Network/La Ley 107.9 FM
Saturday, Oct. 25 Off
Sunday, Oct. 26 Off
Training will take place on the Toyota Park Practice Field unless otherwise noted.
^Media availability will be held in the Toyota Park Media Room one hour prior to the listed start time of training and will run for approximately 45 minutes, typically from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Training will be open to media for the first 15 minutes of the session.
Media members interested in attending training are asked to RSVP to Eunice Kim at ekim@chicago-fire.comthe evening before each session with the names of the players they are requesting to speak with to ensure that players are notified and available for interviews. Training times and locations are subject to change. If you plan on attending training, please contact the Chicago Fire Communications Department for updated times and locations.
CHICAGO FIRE vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO
- The Fire are 4-8-7 all-time against the Dynamo in regular season play, with a 2-3-4 record in matches played at Toyota Park.
- Fire head coach Frank Yallop will face his former protégé in Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. In his first season as the head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes in 2001, Yallop appointed Kinnear as his assistant coach. With Kinnear on his coaching staff, Yallop and the Earthquakes won the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003.
- Fire defenders Patrick Ianni and Lovel Palmer began their MLS careers with the Dynamo.
- After a standout collegiate career at UCLA where he was nominated for the MAC Hermann Trophy Award in his junior season, Ianni was selected eighth overall by the Houston Dynamo in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. Ianni made 35 MLS appearances, scored one goal and added one assist while in Houston before he was traded to the Sounders prior to the start of the 2009 season.
- Palmer joined MLS in March 2010 when he was signed by the Houston Dynamo. In one-and-a-half seasons with the Dynamo, Palmer scored three goals and tallied one assist across 45 appearances before he was traded to the Portland Timbers on July 21, 2011.
- In 2000, the Fire acquired current Dynamo defender DaMarcus Beasley from the LA Galaxy. Beasley made 98 regular season appearances for the Men in Red, scoring 14 goals and adding 20 assists. Beasley was a three-time MLS All-Star and won MLS Best XI honors in 2003 before transferring to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in July 2004.
CHICAGO FIRE TO HONOR MIDFIELDER LOGAN PAUSE ON FRIDAY, OCT. 24
Fans are encouraged to enter the stadium early on Friday, Oct. 24 as the Chicago Fire will honor midfielder Logan Pause with both pre and post-game ceremonies.
Friday marks the final match of Pause’s professional career. Selected in the third round (24th overall) of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, Pause spent all 12 seasons as a professional soccer player with the Men in Red.
Pause’s 12 seasons with the Fire tie him with Cobi Jones (LA Galaxy) and Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids) for second longest continuous tenure with one MLS club behind only Fire Original and current assistant coach C.J. Brown, who played 13 years for the Men in Red.
In 336 competitive matches to date, Pause scored three goals and tallied 12 assists, accumulating only 29 yellow card and was ejected just twice in regular season play.
Pause made 14 post season appearances as the Fire have qualified for the playoffs seven times, reached the conference finals four times and the MLS Cup final once during his tenure.
With six international caps to his name, Pause made his senior national team debut for the United States on July 4, 2009 in a 4-0 win over Grenada in the opening match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Pause featured for the full 90 minutes and notched an assist on Robbie Rogers’ goal in the 60th minute of the match.
A member of the Chicago Fire Foundation Board of Directors since 2009, Pause was named the winner of the 2009 MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year for his work in the community.
