Fire drawn to ties in record numbers

The Chicago Fire finally broke the MLS record it couldn’t avoid and really wanted no part of.

With Thursday’s 1-1 draw against D.C. United, the Fire set the record for ties in a season with its 15th. The Fire still has 10 games in which to build on its record.

“It’s frustrating because every team that we’ve talked about, other than the Vancouver game, that sometimes you guys write about, you look at mistakes that we’ve made,” Fire interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas said after the game. “That happens with a young team. Every other game you look at all of the games that we should have won. That’s soccer.

“The good thing is the team is working till the end. I felt that we were very organized. We took some risk in the end, but you have to keep going. We’re not very far off.”

Once again the Fire dominated play, only to give up the tying goal on United’s only shot on goal of the game. Adding to the frustration were TV replays that showed United forward Josh Wolff just a little offsides on the play.

“It’s frustrating when you dominate a game you should win and it comes down to an offside goal that the referees miss and they tie the game,” Klopas said. “I’m proud of the players. They put a lot into it. We played some good soccer. We created chances. We deserved to win this game, and unfortunately that’s how it happens.”

The Fire will get a chance to end its 10-game winless streak when it hosts Toronto FC at 6 p.m. Sunday at Toyota Park.

The ins and outs of soccer:With his first substitution Thursday and a 1-0 lead at the time, Klopas brought on defensive midfielder Daniel Paladini for playmaker Sebastian Grazzini. That made for three defensive midfielders on the field at the same time, including Pavel Pardo and captain Logan Pause.After D.C. United evened the score, Klopas sent forwards Orr Barouch and Diego Chaves onto the pitch for attacking players Patrick Nyarko and Marco Pappa, leaving the three defensive midfielders on the field.#147;The offensive players had worked their butts off,#148; Klopas said. #147;They were tired. We still needed to be solid in the back and midfield, Pavel provides a lot of stability in the back and he#146;s a very experienced player. Sometimes when you go 75 minutes and your forwards haven#146;t scored you have other guys that need to be in there. #147;Maybe I should have brought them in sooner. But Patrick and Dominic (Oduro) worked really hard. It#146;s a bit of a risk to put the three up top, but we needed to win the game. The guys put a lot into it. When you look at the stat sheet, it#146;s amazing how sometimes you don#146;t win games like this. But you got to keep working hard till the end. I feel good.#148;Striking out:Fire striker Dominic Oduro had four good scoring chances Thursday but couldn#146;t convert any of them.#147;As you guys can see, I#146;m not really happy right now,#148; Oduro said in the postgame locker room. #147;Those are chances I should have put away. ... I just have to keep my head up.#148;No Sales33212655Coach Frank Klopas barks out orders during a practice at Toyota Park.Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.comNo Sales