Chicago (11-7-5) at Colorado (8-12-3), 3 p.m.

Commerce City, CO (Sports Network) - Before a 1-0 win over FC Dallas in Major League Soccer action a week ago, Colorado Rapids captain Mike Petke called out his team in the press.

Then backed up his words by going out and scoring the game's only goal.

"The captain has got the heart of the lion," Rapids interim coach Gary Smith said. "He came off 10 days ago with a hamstring injury and has worked incredibly hard to get fit. We only got 50 minutes out of him [last week]. Fortunately, he's still in one piece and will live to fight another day. What we got in that 50 minutes gave us a tremendous foundation to go on and win the game."

The Rapids (8-12-3) will need a similar effort in order to get three points when they host Eastern Conference power Chicago at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sunday.

"This is a close to a must-win game as I've been part of in 11 years in this league," Petke said after the game. "If we didn't win, it's still going to be an uphill climb but if we didn't, it was dire,. My goal, I was just fortunate enough to lose my mark. Anyone could have done it and the ball was put right on my head. That's one of the easiest scores I've had in my career. I didn't do anything special. I just got open and was able to put it away."

The Rapids currently sit third from the bottom in the Western Conference table, but only three points out of the last guaranteed playoff spot with seven games to go in the regular season.

Chicago (11-7-5) is in a completely different situation, sitting in third in the East, comfortably ahead of a cluster of teams behind it. The Fire still have their sites set on the Eastern Conference crown and the Supporters' Shield, however. They are currently six point back of league-leading Columbus with a game in hand.

"This is fun stuff. We got a playoff race now," Fire goalkeeper John Busch said. "I think we'll be flip-flopping with Columbus and New England until the end."

The Fire earned a hard fought 1-0 victory at home vs. New York a week ago and will look to continue the same form on the road at Colorado this week.

"We played with a playoff mentality [against New York]," Chicago coach Denis Hamlett said. "I think our guys did well as far as keeping their concentration for the full 90 minutes. It was 1-0 but I think the second half we had some good looks. Our group feels we can definitely win games with a single goal in a match the way we're playing."