BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire took full advantage of all of their opportunities Thursday and defeated the New England Revolution 3-0, winning their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series by the same score.
After playing the Revolution to a 0-0 tie in the first game of the series last Thursday at Gillette Stadium, the Fire got a goal and an assist from midfielder Chris Rolfe and maintained their domination over the Revolution in the 2008 MLS season.
In three regular season meetings, the Fire won all three games by a total score of 9-1.
Defenders Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares also scored for the Fire, which advance to play either Columbus or Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Championship next Thursday.
Fire coach Denis Hamlett used his anticipated lineup, the same he used to start the game at Gillette Stadium last week. That lineup included MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Jon Busch, Most Valuable Player nominee Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Defender of the Year nominee Bakary Soumare.
The Revolution made one change to the team that played in the first leg. Defender Chris Tierney suffered a knee injury and did not even make the trip to Chicago. He was replaced by Amaechi Igwe.
The Fire had the first good scoring opportunity, coming in the fourth minute on a corner kick. Rolfe collected the service standing at the top right corner of the box and his one-time shot was stopped by defender Michael Parkhurst, standing on the line at the right post.
The Revolution earned the game's first yellow card in the seventh minute when defender Chris Albright pulled down midfielder Justin Mapp from behind before Mapp could release the ball on a two-on-one counter.
There were other scoring opportunities for the Fire in the first half, including a nice rolling cross by Mapp to Segares inside the box. Segares placed a soft redirect on the ball but it slid outside the right post.
In the 36th minute, Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was injured on a hard tackle by Fire midfielder John Thorrington, who earned a yellow card for his foul. He needed attention and had to leave the field, replaced by Pat Phelan.
The Revolution's best scoring chance came in the 43rd minute on a corner kick that midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who was battling a knee injury of his own, headed straight into Busch's chest from near the penalty mark.
In stoppage time, there was hard contact out wide left of the Revolution goal but referee Jair Marrufo let play continue, and the Fire took advantage. Blanco ended up with the ball outside the left side of the penalty area, dribbled between two defenders and fired a shot toward the far post, forcing Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis to extend himself.
Reis made the save at full stretch but could control the rebound, and the ball bounced out to the top right corner of the 6-yard box where Rolfe had an easy tap-in goal into the near corner.
The second half was immediately hard-fought, as the Revolution were called for tripping fouls twice in the first two minutes. The second one resulted in a free kick from 23 yards out, beyond the left corner of the area.
Mapp put in the outswinging service and defender Conde got inside Phelan for a header into the left corner of the net and the Fire's second goal.
At the 55-minute mark, Sainey Nyassi dribbled past Segares and had only Conde to beat, but his rocket of a shot bounced off Conde's face. Conde was down for a minute but stayed in the game.
Busch made a save in the 59th minute, then got the referee's attention and knelt down, requiring a new pair of shoes. After getting the new footwear, Busch was given a yellow card for delay of game by Marrufo.
Down 2-0, the Revolution got serious about starting a comeback, and had possession for much of the rest of the game. But they could not get through the Fire's defense, which finished second in the league in the MLS regular season.
The Fire scored its third goal in the 74th minute on a nice piece of work by Rolfe. Rolfe, who had two goals and two assists in the Fire's last regular season game against New York, danced with the ball outside the right edge of the 18-yard box, then sent a rolling cross past two Revolution defenders to the foot of Segares, who was breaking through the middle of the box for a first-time shot into the goal.
The Revolution finished a man down when, in the 83rd minute, Albright went through the back of Blanco's legs in the midfield as the former Mexican international was collecting a pass, earning his second yellow card from referee Marrufo and a red card explulsion from the game.
Rolfe leads inspired Fire effort
Player Ratings: Villarreal 6-3 AaB Aalborg
