BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chris Rolfe and Cuauhtemoc Blanco came up big for the Chicago Fire Thursday night at Toyota Park. Rolfe tallied two goals, while Blanco had a goal and an assist. And defensively, the team got back into the swing of things, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1.
"In big games we put big players on the field," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "We stepped up tonight. We created great chances and finished them. We believed in ourselves. And we put it together in front of a great crowd."
It's the first time the Fire tallied more than one goal since August 9 -- a 2-1 win at New England. It's also the first time the Fire scored three goals since May 25, a 5-1 win at New York. For Rolfe, it's the first time he's scored since July 12, a 2-1 win vs. Toronto FC. Rolfe now has five goals for the season.
"He found some good spots tonight," Hamlett said. "He never lost confidence."
Last week, Rolfe did not start the match. But it wasn't due to an injury -- it was a coaching decision. He's started in 19 of the 22 matches he's played in this season.
"A few weeks ago, I took a step back and re-analyzed my play," Rolfe said. "I made sure I was in the right frame of mind. Any time you're not in the starting 11, you're disappointed. You just want to help the team. Tonight I had a chance to help the team and I did."
Blanco leads the team with five goals and eight assists. He scored his first goal since May 25. Blanco went down in the 45th minute and looked as if he would not return. Instead, he marched back out on to the field and played 44 more minutes until Diego Gutierrez came in for him in the 89th minute as Blanco went off in a curtain call for the Toyota Park faithful.
"Cuauhtemoc is such a competitor," Hamlett said. "There was no way he was going to come out of the game of the game early tonight."
On the defensive side of things, the Fire returned to form, defending as a team. Los Angeles had 11 shots, sending four on goal. Goalkeeper Jon Busch saved three attempts, while the rest of the team cleared the box on separate occasions.
"Sunday's game was a wake up call for us," Fire defender Bakary Soumare said. "We regrouped, had a few meetings. Then we came out tonight and got the points. The Galaxy is a tough team to defend against because they're one of the best attacking teams in the league.
"We worked all week on how to defend Landon [Donovan] and Beckham. We did a great job as a team tonight. At the end of the day, that's what mattered."
Fellow defender Gonzalo Segares agreed.
"We're pretty ashamed of our performance on Sunday," Segares said. "We put in the extra effort tonight and everyone defended from the front to the back. We had a great performance."
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