Fire beats San Luis 1-0 in SuperLiga

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) - Brian McBride scored on a pass from Cuauhtemoc Blanco in the 69th minute to give the Chicago Fire a 1-0 win over San Luis in the opening game of the SuperLiga on Saturday night.

Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch saved a shot from Marvin de la Cruz in the 87th minute.

McBride, who scored in the United States' 2-0 win over Blanco and Mexico in the 2002 World Cup, fired Blanco's pass into the upper left corner of the net after the midfielder was marked by Michael Orozco.

"It was a great finish. Credit Cuauhatemoc on a play," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "He chased a guy down, which he normally doesn't do, and made a play out of that. He hit a left-footed shot. It was a great finish."

Gladiadores midfielder Braulio Luna had two quality shots for the visitors, sending the ball wide right in the 36th minute and into Busch's grasp in the 49th.

Midfielder Marco Pappa attempted to double Chicago's margin in the 74th minute, shooting toward an open goal, but Orozco ran and caught up with the attempt.

"It was a well-disputed match for us. It took a little bit for us to get started," San Luis technical director Juan Antonio Luna said. "One personal mistake cost us the goal. Games are won by scoring goals, and we didn't score tonight."

The top MLS teams from last year's regular season who weren't in the CONCACAF Champions League were invited to the SuperLiga along with the top four Mexican clubs who weren't in the region's top club tournament.