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First salvo Fire takes opener against Revs
CHICAGO (AP) -- Dema Kovalenko scored in the 73rd minute as the Chicago Fire opened the MLS playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Friday night. Chicago earned three points in the quarterfinal series, which resumes Tuesday night in Foxboro, Mass. Game 3, if necessary, will be next Friday night in Chicago. Chicago tied it at 1 in the 53rd minute when New England's Mauricio Wright inadvertently headed the ball past Revolution goalkeeper Jeff Causey. "It was a good comeback," said Fire coach Bob Bradley. "We knew coming in that these kind of games are always very hard fought, and this game was just that." New England opened the scoring in the 50th minute when Wolde Harris' shot glanced off Chicago's Tom Soehn, redirecting the ball and putting goalkeeper Zach Thornton out of position. "We got a little frustrated in the first half because we had a couple of chances in the first five minutes and we weren't able to put them away," Bradley said. "We seemed to lose our concentration. In the second half, after the goals, we put all that behind us and put together a strong effort." Asked if his team would make it back to Chicago for game three, Revolution coach Fernando Clavijo responded, "You can bet your life on it." "I'm very proud of my team. We played hard; we played well," Clavijo said. "We haven't had any breaks for the last 32 games. And I was told that sooner or later the breaks would even up, but I don't remember if they told me it would be in this lifetime." New England rookie defender Rusty Pierce left the game in the 30th minute because of an apparent hamstring injury.
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