Associated Press
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Diego Chaves scored on a rebound in the 81st minute to lift the Chicago Fire to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night in the regular season finale for both teams.
Rookie defender Jalil Anibaba scored his first two career goals - both in the first half - for the Fire (9-9-16), who won for the seventh time in their last 10 games but still missed the postseason.
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Emilio Renteria got his eighth goal in the 73rd minute and Dilly Duka tied the score in the 79th for the Crew (13-13-8), who missed out on securing the Eastern Conference title and homefield advantage. Columbus, now third in the East, could fall into a wild-card spot pending results of Sunday's games.
Anibaba's first goal came in the 11th minute as he skipped a shot off his head past Crew goalie William Hesmer. He scored again in the 29th on a similar play following a long feed from defender Cory Gibbs.
The goals broke a seasonlong drought for Anibaba, who last scored in a U.S. Open Cup tournament game in March.
Chicago goalie Sean Johnson turned shots three shots while Hesmer had five saves for Columbus.
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