By John Kuhn / MLSnet.com Staff

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Chicago Fire shut out the Columbus Crew 2-0 behind the strong play of Justin Mapp Saturday at Columbus Crew Stadium. The fourth year pro from Mississippi scored his first goal of the season, and rookie forward Chris Rolfe added the insurance.

The Crew controlled much of the possession in the early moments of the match. Despite several good crosses from Frankie Hejduk, the home side was unable to get any early shots. Chris Armas got the first shot of the match in the 10th minute, but hit the ball well over the bar from 22 yards.

The visitors were more successful four minutes later as Mapp scored the first away goal at Crew Stadium this season. C.J. Brown played an innocent looking ball to Mapp and the attacker approached the goal from the right sideline. The Crew were slow to close down the open space and Mapp sent a left-footed shot to the near post that appeared to have surprised goalkeeper Jon Busch.

Mapp nearly doubled his goal total for match just minutes later. He took a left-footed shot across the face of the goal and Busch was again beat, but the 'keeper was saved this time by the post and recovered to cover up the loose ball.

Chicago continued the attack in the 20th minute as Thiago delicately worked his way through a porous Crew defense. Thiago went in alone against Busch, who this time answered the challenge. Busch quickly went to the turf to make a lovely kick save on Thiago's shot to keep his side's deficit at one goal.

After the flurry of chances for the Fire, the Crew gained some momentum and were able to put some pressure on Zach Thornton's goal. Kyle Martino boomed a high cross into the box that was mishandled by the Fire's netminder. After nearly punching the ball into his own goal, Thornton was able to gain possession before Ante Razov pounced on the loose ball.

Razov would have two more chances to gain redemption against his former club in the proceeding minutes. Hejduk served a low ball into Razov in the 28th minute, and the striker corralled the ball near the 6-yard box and poked a shot with his right foot just wide of the target. On a feed from Martino six minutes later, Razov headed onto the goal frame, but Thornton was able to catch the ball as he dove to his left.

Mapp was at it again in the 44th minute beating Mark Schulte and Danny Szetela near the end line. Amazingly, Mapp was able to keep the ball in the field of play, but he fired the ball into Busch's chest due to the poor angle.

Columbus began the second half with a reorganized squad on the field. Cornell Glen, acquired midweek from FC Dallas, made his debut for the Crew. Glen replaced Mark Schulte and Chris Wingert shifted to the backline.

The second half started with sloppy play by both teams. Referee Andrew Chapin took center stage as he entered Robin Fraser, Simon Elliott, and Mapp into his book for professional fouls during the opening minutes.

Mapp singlehandedly searched for another goal in the 65th minute. He intercepted a pass by Razov near midfield and challenged Chad Marshall, but he could not beat the young defender and his shot from 30 yards hardly tested Busch.

However, another Crew turnover minutes later deepened the hole. Jim Curtin forced Robin Fraser into coughing up the ball near his own goal. Unluckily for the Crew captain, the ball fell directly into the path of Rolfe. The University of Dayton product made no mistake in beating Busch and doubling Chicago's lead.

The Crew increasingly pushed forward as the match progressed, though they managed to ruin every chance by being offside or with poor execution in the final third. Among those ruined chances, Marcus Storey nearly scored on his first MLS touch, but was offside.

Chicago looked much more dangerous on the counterattack than Columbus did with the bulk of possession. Nate Jaqua and Mapp both came close to scoring in injury time, but were unable to apply the finishing touch as the match eased to its 2-0 conclusion.

Both teams continue their seasons on the road against Eastern Conference rivals next Saturday. The Fire travel to Foxboro to play the New England Revolution (7:30 p.m. ET), while the Crew take on D.C. United (7:30 p.m. ET).

MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire)

Scoring Summary:
CHI -- Justin Mapp 1 (C.J. Brown 1) 14
CHI -- Chris Rolfe 2 (unassisted) 69

MLSNet Article