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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER GAME SUMMARY

APRIL 20, 2002 - CHICAGO FIRE 2, METROSTARS 0

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - Paced by the first career goal from rookie defender Kelly Gray and an insurance tally from DaMarcus Beasley, the visiting Chicago Fire (2-2-0, 6 points) registered a 2-0 win over the MetroStars (3-2-0, 9 points) to pull within one victory of the Eastern

Conference front-runners at Giants Stadium Saturday night. Gray, the U.S. Under-23 Olympic captain and a rookie from the University of Portland who was drafted by the Fire in the fifth round of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, one-timed the deciding goal past MetroStars 'keeper Tim Howard in the 26th minute.

A looping ball by Chicago and U.S. National Team defensive midfielder Chris Armas caught the Metro defense flat-footed in an attempted offside trap.

Fire forward Ante Razov centered the ball with his head from the right edge of the box to an onrushing Gray, whose shot deflected off Howard's fingertips and into the goal.

Just eight minutes later, the Fire's one-goal lead became more comfortable with the ejection of MetroStars midfielder Tab Ramos. Ramos' ejection represented the second MetroStars veteran to leave the game unexpectedly, as defender Steve Jolley was forced from the match when he suffered a right hamstring strain in the game's 9th minute.

Jolley, who had started his 58th consecutive game for the MetroStars after beginning his MLS career with Los Angeles, saw his team-record consecutive minutes played streak end at 5,238.

Playing his 100th career MLS game, U.S. National Team star Clint Mathis had the opportunity to equalize for the MetroStars in the 40th minute.

Lining up a free kick from 25 yards out, Mathis sent a hard swerving shot towards the upper right corner of the goal. Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton punched the ball way with an acrobatic save, slamming into the post with his follow-through.

The MetroStars' Rodrigo Faria nearly tallied two goals in the first two minutes of the game. In the first minute, Faria ran on to a long ball out of the back but sent the ball just high over the crossbar. Only one minute later, he got deep into the penalty area with a ball from Diego Serna but was stymied by a sliding save from Thornton.

The MetroStars managed to test Thornton with just one more targeted opportunity the remainder of the night as the Fire outshot their opponent 18-13, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal. Thornton, who notched his league-leading 48th career win and tallied his 31st career clean sheet, now has two shutouts this season.

In the 80th minute, Fire midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, a candidate for the U.S. World Cup team, notched the Fire's insurance goal during a play created by teammate Dema Kovalenko. The former University of Indiana standout brought the ball into the MetroStars penalty box on the left side, lost and then regained possession before centering a low ball to Beasley, who slotted home his first goal of the season past a diving Howard.

Tonight's game also marked the 2002 MLS debut for Fire forward Hristo Stoitchkov, who entered the game in the 87th minute after being activated for first time this season. Winner of the Golden Boot during the World Cup USA 1994 for Bulgaria, Stoitchkov has spent the preseason and the Fire's first two contests recovering from a hernia operation.

With the win, Fire Head Coach Bob Bradley moved past MetroStars Head Coach Octavio Zambrano to take sole possession of third place on the League's career regular season wins chart. Bradley now has 73 career regular season victories in MLS.

The MetroStars return to action next week at Giants Stadium against the defending MLS Cup Champion San Jose Earthquakes, with the kickoff slated at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring Summary:

CHI--Gray (Razov, Armas) 26

CHI--D. Beasley (Kovalenko) 80

CHICAGO FIRE--Zach Thornton, Jim Curtin, Carlos Bocanegra, Kelly Gray,

DaMarcus Beasley, Peter Nowak (Billy Sleeth 46), Chris Armas, Jesse

Marsch, Dema Kovalenko (Hristo Stoitchkov 87), Ante Razov, Josh Wolff

(Sergi Daniv 46). TOTAL SHOTS: 18 (Razov 8); SHOTS ON GOAL: 11 (Razov 4);

FOULS: 17 (Armas 4); OFFSIDE: 4; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: Thornton 3;

CAUTIONS: Curtin 11, Marsch 49, Armas 83; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION

PERCENTAGE: 55%.

METROSTARS--Tim Howard, Joe Addo, Mike Petke, Steve Jolley (Sam Forko 9,

Byron Alvarez 65), Daniel Hernandez, Orlando Perez, Tab Ramos, Petter

Villegas, Clint Mathis, Rodrigo Faria, Diego Serna (Brad Davis 74). TOTAL

SHOTS: 13 (Faria 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Mathis 2); FOULS: 21(Hernandez

4); OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: Howard 9; CAUTIONS: Villegas P. 3,

Addo 57, Alvarez 74, Petke 82; EJECTIONS: Ramos 34; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE:

45%

Referee: Kevin Stott; Assistant Referees: Nathan Clement, Jorge Bandera

Attendance: 20,047; Weather: Partly Cloudy, 57.

www.MetroStars.com