SOCCER Fire sizzles; Beat, Power play to tie

Chicago keeper Zach Thornton earned his 40th career shutout.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Evan Whitfield and Justin Mapp scored Saturday as the Chicago Fire defeated the Kansas City Wizards, 2-0.
Chicago (8-4-4) maintained its perfect home record against the Wizards (7-4-6), who lost for the first time in three games.
Whitfield capitalized on a breakdown between goalkeeper Tony Meola and defender Nick Garcia to tally his first goal in the 12th minute.
Jim Curtin sent a long ball into the Wizards zone, and Whitfield was first to the ball after Meola and Garcia allowed it to bounce between them.
Mapp's 30-yard shot slipped through Meola's hands to give Chicago a two-goal lead in the 53rd minute.
Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton earned his 40th career shutout.
WUSA
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Charmaine Hooper scored for the Atlanta Beat as they tied the New York Power, 1-1.
Atlanta (9-3-6) remains in first place in the WUSA, but would have clinched a playoff berth with a win.
Hooper put the Beat on top in the 51st minute. Cindy Parlow hit the post and the rebound went directly to Hooper. It was her eighth goal of the season.
Shannon Boxx tied it in the 61st minute with her first goal of the year after Margaret Tietjen hit a perfect cross on a free kick.
The Power (7-9-4) is tied with San Diego in fourth place.
Courage 3, Charge 1
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Venus James scored two goals and Birgit Prinz had one to lead Carolina.
Tiffany Roberts added two assists for Carolina (7-7-3), which has won three of its last four. Goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill made three saves and won her first game against Philadelphia in six career matches.
Emily Burt scored the only goal for Philadelphia (3-11-4), which was officially eliminated from the playoff race.
Freedom 2, Spirit 0
WASHINGTON -- Abby Wambach, bolstering her bid for a spot on the World Cup team, scored her sixth goal in six games, and Mia Hamm had a goal and an assist as the Washington Freedom beat the San Diego Spirit.
Wambach scored on a breakaway in the 40th minute off an assist from Hamm. It was Wambach's 11th goal of the season and Hamm's 11th assist.
Hamm scored with a thrilling 20-yard free kick that went past the wall and just inside the right post in second-half injury time. It was her eighth goal of the season.
The teams entered tied for third in the eight-team league. The victory vaulted the Freedom (8-6-4) ahead of second-place Boston, which plays today at San Jose. The top four teams make the playoffs.
The Spirit (6-6-7) played without top scorer Julie Fleeting, recovering from a concussion suffered Thursday against Boston. The team's other major scoring threat, Shannon MacMillan, is out for the season with a knee injury.