It has been a bittersweet week but Fire midfielder Logan Pause has no regrets as he prepares for the final game of his career.
“There’s definitely a lot of emotion,” Pause said as the Fire practiced for Friday’s 2014 regular-season finale against Houston. “But I’m excited to celebrate with all my friends and family that played a pivotal role in getting here and celebrate with the fans on our home field.”
In turn, fans and the organization will salute the 33-year-old mainstay who embodied the Fire through a 12-year professional career.
Pause’s dozen Fire seasons are tied with Los Angeles’ Cobi Jones and Colorado’s Pablo Mastroeni for second-longest MLS run with the same team.
Current assistant C.J. Brown owns the MLS record with 13 — also all with the Fire.
“He plays the game the right way,” said Brown, whose career overlapped with Pause’s. “He treated the game the right way, whether the game was going great for us or bad, he was always fighting for you.”
Drafted out of North Carolina in the third round of the 2003 MLS draft, Pause started 252 of 285 league games with three goals and 11 assists.
A notably clean player, Pause had only 22 career yellow cards and just two ejections in regular-season play.
Pause played on one Fire championship team — the 2006 U.S. Open Cup winners — and was part of the Fire’s 2004 MLS Cup runner-up club. He also made six appearances with the U.S. National team and earned an assist in his 2009 debut against Grenada.
Minutes diminished this season with five starts in 11 appearances, but not Pause’s commitment.
“(The Fire) always brought players in to be in his position and he would always outwork them, always outplay them,” Brown said. “(Yet) he also would try to help them. …
“You don’t find that from a lot of players. You want 11 guys like that.”
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Pause expects to continue in some capacity in the sport.
“I’m joyful and content with the decision (to retire) and ready and excited for the next chapter and new challenges,” he said. “I definitely have experience and am going to use that. … Of course, I’ll be in the game for sure.”