Behind a 14th minute goal from Chris Rolfe, the Chicago Fire continued their postseason dominance over DC United by recording a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on MLS Primetime Thursday at Toyota Park.

The physical match included four yellow cards - two for each team - and 41 fouls.

Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno, two of the biggest reasons DC United was MLS's best team the last seven months, were sidelined by ankle injuries suffered in Saturday's season finale against Columbus. They entered in the second half, but by then United had conceded Rolfe's goal.

Rolfe scored in the 14th minute when he sent a loose ball into the net for his first career playoff goal. The Fire only had five shots on goal for the game. Goalie Matt Pickens was barely tested, stopping two shots for Chicago.

With a strong wind at their backs, the Fire quickly put United on the back foot, gaining two consecutive corner kick opportunities in the sixth minute, but Chicago was unable to generate a shot on United goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

In the 14th minute, Rolfe made the winning play after a long ball was sent to midfield, where two DC United defenders failed to gain control. The ball bounced back toward the DC half of the field. Rolfe gained control and blasted a shot that ended into the left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later. Cuauhtémoc Blanco took a pass outside the right corner of the area and quickly fired a hooking shot that Perkins was able to deflect away.

In the second half, Moreno's entrance produced as United won a free kick in a dangerous position in the 49th minute, but Gomez saw his shot deflected by the Fire defense.

DC continued to attack and had a great opportunity in the 67th minute with a cross from the left flank. Gomez was wide open in the center of the area, but he put his header right into Pickens' chest.

United was steamed that a penalty kick was not awarded early in the second half on Gomez's free kick driven into the defensive wall and blocked by a Fire player's arms.

Emilio finally appeared in the 78th minute, but United continued to labor around the penalty area and a chaotic second half that included several heated exchanges came to a close.

With the victory, the Fire continued its remarkable run of postseason success against United. Starting with an MLS Cup upset in 1998, Chicago has built a 5-0-1 record against DC and has not permitted a goal.

The result was not crippling to United, but it does mean that the four-time champions will need to win the finale of the two-game total goals series next Thursday at RFK Stadium. If the series is tied on goals after Game 2, overtime and possibly penalty kicks would decide the winner.

Scoring
CHI - Chris Rolfe 1 14'

Line-ups
DCU - Troy Perkins; Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch, Ben Olsen, Brian Carroll (Luciano Emilio 78'), Clyde Simms, Fred, Guy-Roland Kpene (Jaime Moreno 46'), Christian Gomez

CHI - Matt Pickens; Dasan Robinson, C.J. Brown, Wilman Conde, Gonzalo Segares, Logan Pause, Chris Rolfe, Chris Armas, Diego Gutierrez, Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 63'), Cuauhtémoc Blanco (John Thorrington 85')