Chris Armas recently named “Gonna Fly Now” from the “Rocky” movies as his theme song, and Saturday he resembled a boxer after an elbow to the face left him with a swollen right eye and blood dripping down his face.
Armas received the elbow from Revolution midfielder Avery John while going for a header in the 19th minute. The Fire captain left the game so trainers could attend to the cut but returned minutes later to help his team secure its 1-0 victory in its Major League Soccer season opener at Toyota Park before a crowd of 15,353.
Fire midfielder Logan Pause scored his team’s lone goal in the fourth minute when he one-timed a cross by Justin Mapp past Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis, who could only watch as the ball bounced into the left side of the net.
The goal was Pause’s first in his five-year career.
With the victory, the Fire snapped a four-game winless streak in its season openers. The game was the Fire’s first since the Revolution eliminated it on penalty kicks in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
Like most Fire-Revolution games, Saturday’s match involved the usual shoving and physical play found in MLS’ newest rivalry. Even the notoriously calm Mapp got involved when he shoved a Revolution player who had bumped him purposely.
The Fire’s Chad Barrett and Calen Carr and the Revolution’s Andy Dorman and Jeff Larentowicz all earned yellow cards during the match.
The Fire defense allowed the Revolution several scoring opportunities, but the Revolution was unable to capitalize on them against goalkeeper Matt Pickens. The closest scoring chance came when Taylor Twellman’s blast from outside the box in the 52nd minute hit the cross bar.
Twellman struggled on the night, misdirecting one open header to the left of the goal in the 16th minute and another one directly to Pickens in the 31st minute.
Pickens stopped another Revolution shot with an impressive diving save on Dorman’s shot in the 58th minute.
Mapp was brilliant all night. Fire general manager John Guppy has called Mapp the greatest dribbler in U.S. soccer, and Mapp more than once dribbled the ball from sideline to sideline this game in exhausting Revolution defenders.
Earlier this week, Armas announced that this season likely would be his last. Before the match, he said wasn’t thinking that Saturday could be the last season opener in his 12-year career.
“Maybe I’ll think about it when I get out there,” he said. “I’ve always cherished every game and felt honored to be part of this league, so every game is significant for me.”
Armas said he made the decision during the preseason because of a nagging hip injury.
“Your body gives you signs,” Armas said. “I could probably play a few more years and take a few games off during the season, but I can’t do this halfway. There’s only one way I know how to do it.
“I want to be healthy enough to enjoy my family 10 years from now. I don’t want to cheat them.”
Will Armas be more motivated this season in case it is his last?
“On a 1 to 10 scale, I’m a 10 every game in terms of motivation regardless,” Armas said.
Should Armas feel better physically at the end of the season, he admits he would consider coming back.
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larroyave@tribune.com
