BRIDGEVIEW, IL–It started out hot, then it cooled after some rain, but the Red Stars remained hot as they strolled to a 2-0 win over the Washington Spirit.
The win, their third in their last four, vaulted the Red Stars (5-3-7) to 4th in the table and in a playoff position one point ahead of Utah. Meanwhile, Washington (2-9-4) is still winless on the road and still second from bottom.
Casey Short opened the scoring in the 36th minute after her shot deflected off the post and off the leg of Meghan Dougherty and into the net. The Red Stars doubled the score in the 65th minute after Yuki Nagasato headed in a cross from Sam Kerr whose crosses weren’t as good prior to that one.
“My crosses have been terrible up until that one,” said Kerr. “So, I was thinking get it in the box, get it past the first defender, and hopefully we had enough runners. [Coach] has been actually practicing those in training, so it’s no fluke.”
Washington struggled all game to get chances and had just two shots on target the entire match and could honestly have lost by more on this night. However, Spirit coach Jim Gabarra was not all that impressed with the Red Stars.
“I think they are no different than any other team in the league,” said Gabarra. “I didn’t think they were particularly sharp tonight. I thought we were flat and I think they took advantage of a couple of our mistakes to get goals. That’s been our M.O. for the last few weeks. We make mistakes and we don’t take our chances. There were a couple times in the box where if we get a call or we get a bounce and we’re right back in the game”
Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames (photo by Don Mac Gregor).
As for Rory Dames, he earned his 50th win as coach of the Red Stars in NWSL play. Dames is still the only coach in the league who has remained with his original team.
“I didn’t know that I got number 50. I feel good about getting number 50. Credit to the players that have come through the club. Credit to the owner for letting me stay this long and to all the staff that we had over the six years that we have been doing this.”
The Red Stars have won three of their last four matches and with players like Morgan Brian, Casey Short, and Vanessa DiBernardo returning to action, the future is looking bright.
“I think that when you start to put on a stretch, every win is a big win. We’re starting to get our players back. We start to figure out who we need to be in the here and now. The group has really grown together over the last two weeks. There’s definitely a different vibe and a different feel in the locker room. They are playing for each other and working for each other with a lot of heart. And when you do that with the talent that we have in the group. Hopefully, good things happen.”
The Red Stars travel to North Carolina for a match on 4th of July for a 6pm CT kickoff while Washington go to Orlando on Saturday at 6:30pm CT.
SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Casey Short (Colaprico) 36
CHI-Yuki Nagasato (Kerr) 60
BOOKING SUMMARY:
WAS-Estelle Johnson (caution, tactical foul) 30
CHI-Alyssa Mautz (caution, reckless foul) 65
WAS-Ashley Hatch (caution, tactical foul) 86
CHICAGO RED STARS (4-2-3-1): #1-Alyssa Naeher; #3-Arin Gilliand, #5-Katie Naughton, #8-Julie Ertz, #6-Casey Short (#23-Brooke Elby 67); #24-Danielle Colaprico, #2-Nikki Stanton (#10-Vanessa DiBernardo 58); #4-Alyssa Mautz, #12-Yuki Nagasato, #15-Michele Vasconcelos (#13-Morgan Brian 76); #20-Sam Kerr
Subs not used: #21-Emily Boyd, #14-Sarah Gorden, #19-Summer Green, #22-Rosie White
WASHINGTON SPIRIT (4-3-3): #1-Aubrey Bledsoe; #7-Taylor Smith, #24-Estelle Johnson, #5-Whitney Church (#88-Tiffany Weimer 67), #3-Caprice Dydasco; #6-Andy Sullivan (#9-Havana Solaun 90+2), #4-Rebecca Quinn, #8-Meggie Dougherty (#15-Joanna Lohman 78); #23-Tori Huster, #33-Ashley Hatch, #14-Francesca Ordega
Subs not used: #22-Mallory Eubanks, #21-Didi Haracic, #25-Maddie Huster, #16-Rose Lavelle
TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 17-15 WAS
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 7-2 WAS
FOULS: CHI 17-9 WAS
OFFSIDES: CHI 2-3 WAS
CORNER KICKS: CHI 4-10 WAS
SAVES: CHI 2-5 WAS
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
Assistant Referees: Trent van Haitsma, Deleana Quan
Fourth Official: Calin Radosav
Weather: Cloudy and 77º
Attendance: 2,858
Woman of the Match: Sam Kerr (CHI)
Chicago Red Stars
