Bridgeview, Ill. • Nemanja Nikolic scored two early goals, pushing his MLS-leading total to 16, and the Chicago Fire beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 on Saturday night to take the Eastern Conference lead.
The Fire (11-3-4) have won four straight and are 8-0-2 in their past 10.
Arturo Alvarez and Michael de Leeuw also scored. Matt Lampson made three saves for his sixth shutout, improving to 8-0-2 this season.
Vancouver (6-7-3) had its three-game unbeaten streak snapped.
FC DALLAS 3, TORONTO FC 1 • Roland Lamah scored two goals to lead FC Dallas past Toronto FC, knocking the Canadian club out of first place in the Eastern Conference.