The Fire’s objective Sunday couldn’t be simpler–win and it’s in.
But a loss to visiting Columbus in the regular-season finale at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville means the Fire will miss Major League Soccer’s playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s five-year history.
“We’re in a situation where it is a must win [and] everyone needs to step up and concentrate,” Fire general manager Peter Wilt said. “If we lose, we’re out.”
In the throes of a four-game losing streak, the Fire (10-13-4, 34 points) has managed only three goals in that span and was shut out 2-0 Sept. 14 in Columbus. Three of the losses were by 2-1.
“We’ve been in virtually every game,” Wilt said. “Our goals-against [total] is third in the league . . . but we haven’t put a team away when we had the chance.”
The Fire can’t be certain it will have leading scorer Ante Razov (13 goals), whose availability is day-to-day after he partly dislocated his shoulder against the Crew.
And the Fire won’t get any favors from Columbus (11-11-5, 38 points), which can nail down the MLS Eastern Conference title and the No. 2 playoff seed with a victory.
Sunday’s game marks the first Chicago area appearance of Crew forward Brian McBride, a high school standout at Buffalo Grove and a member of this year’s U.S. World Cup team.
“Chicago is a team that’s very organized,” said McBride, who has played for Columbus since 1996 yet still lives in Arlington Heights.
“We’ve got to keep mistakes to a minimum. We need to move the ball … and create a lot of chances.”
The league’s top eight teams make the playoffs. The Fire is currently ninth and could also advance with a tie against Columbus, depending on the results from other weekend games.
The Fire’s current losing streak matches a four-game skid in late June. It hasn’t lost five consecutive games since 1998.
