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The victory was the second of the season as the Fire (2-1-2,
8 points) temporarily moved into second place in the MLS Eastern
Conference.
The conference-leading Crew (3-2-1, 10 points) saw a three-game
winning streak snapped with their first loss since March 11.
Chicago scored in the 22nd minute as midfielder Dax McCarty
launched a long feed to a sprinting Nikolic, who successfully
slipped a shot from just inside the box past Columbus goalkeeper
Zack Steffen.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Fire's new Designated Player, had
three shots and scored a goal while playing 90-plus minutes for
the second straight game.
Last week in his debut game against Montreal, Schweinsteiger
scored a goal in a 2-2 tie.
Nikolic was the most active on the attack with five shots,
including three on target, as the Fire managed six shots on
goal. He remains the Fire leader with two goals and 13 shots
through five games.
The Crew outshot the Fire 12-11 but had only three shots on goal
as Chicago goalkeeper Jorge Bava earned his second shutout of
the season.
Bava prevented a game-tying goal in the 70th minute when he made
a save on a point-blank attempt by Niko Hansen.
Saturday's meeting was the 60th all-time between the teams in
regular season play. The Fire has a 25-17-18 all-time lead and
are 15-6-10 at home against the Crew.
It was the season's second meeting between the teams. Chicago
opened its 20th season at MAPFRE Stadium on March 4 with a 1-1
tie with Columbus on David Accam's equalizing goal.
The teams will meet in a third and final regular-season game on
Aug. 12 at Columbus.
Next up for the Crew is a home match next Saturday against
Toronto FC. The Fire's homestead continues next Saturday against
New England.
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