The Fire will renew acquaintances with one of their former stars Sunday in their lone meeting of the season with the Houston Dynamo.
Striker DaMarcus Beasley, 32, who played for the Fire from 2000-2004 before departing on an international career, joined the Dynamo over the summer as a Designated Player. He has made six starts with no goals or assists.
While the host Dynamo showcase their new star, the Fire will be missing half of their back line.
Defender Bakary Soumare will serve a one-game suspension after a play that “endangered the safety of an opponent” last Saturday against DC United, the league said in a statement. Lovel Palmer also is out with yellow-card accumulation.
“It will give some other players a chance to play,” Fire coach Frank Yallop said Thursday. “We’ll miss Lovel and Baky but we’re still going to try to get results.”
The eighth-place Dynamo and ninth-place Fire are scrambling for a playoff berth, but time is running short. Each will have five games to play after Sunday.
The Fire open a critical run of three games in seven days that takes them to Philadelphia on Wednesday before they play host to Montreal on Saturday.
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They have the fewest victories in MLS but also the third-fewest losses and have remained in playoff contention with the 16 ties, matching a league record.