Chicago Red Stars Extend Unbeaten Streak Versus Seattle Reign FC
Chicago Red Stars traveled to Memorial Stadium on Sunday to take on a short-handed Seattle Reign side with Megan Rapinoe out due to injury and starting goalkeeper Hope Solo unavailable due to a family grievance. Jennifer Hoy scored both goals for Chicago as the club sits in second place behind the Washington Spirit on goal differential.
Soccer News: The Chicago Red Stars extended their unbeaten streak in National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) play to five games on Sunday evening, bagging a 2-1 away win over 2014 and 2015 regular season champs Seattle Reign FC. Seattle entered the match without three key players due to injury – Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock and Manon Melis – and was further weakened by the absence of goalkeeping giant Hope Solo, who was dealing with a death in the family. Meanwhile, the Red Stars turned in an all-around impressive performance that featured more disciplined team defending, Jen Hoy’s first two tallies of the campaign and the outstanding setup play by Vanessa DiBernardo.
Chicago’s Alyssa Naeher narrowly missed out on setting a new all-time NWSL record for consecutive shutouts, as Kim Little’s penalty kick in the closing stages of the match denied the U.S. netminder her fifth in a row.
After an uneventful opening twelve minutes, Red Stars left back Casey Short had the first dangerous look, as she pushed up her wing and released a wicked half-volley from the corner of the area that would have found its way inside the near post if not for a diving parry by goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer. The fans at Memorial Stadium subsequently had to wait until the 41st minute for another promising attempt, DiBernardo dispossessing a Seattle player just outside the box and releasing a rocket that forced an even more spectacular tip by Kopmeyer, who leaped to her right and scraped the ball out of the upper ninety.
The third time was not the charm for Chicago, as forward Christen Press saw her close-range effort two minutes from the end of the opening period deflected just over the frame by an opponent’s leg. Right back Arin Gilliland had joined the attack and produced a low centering ball that was hit first-time by the U.S. ace.
The Red Stars looked to have been denied again ten minutes into the second half, but this time Hoy followed the play and made sure the ball would find the back of the net. DiBernardo did well to pounce on a misplayed pass inside the center circle and threaded a beautiful feed through two defenders and into the path of a streaking Press, whose attempted one-one-one finish was brilliantly saved by Kopmeyer. However, the rebound fell right to the feet of Hoy, the former Princeton standout gently touching it inside the right post.
The striker would complete her brace a mere twelve minutes later, this time on an even better assist by DiBernardo, who once again found herself with the ball at her feet inside the center circle. The longest-tenured Chicago player did not hesitate for a second as she hit a perfectly timed ball over the top of the backline to release her third-year teammate on the right side of the area, the game-winner coming courtesy of a calm finish past the onrushing Kopmeyer and inside the far post.
In the 78th minute, Press came within inches of putting the game out of reach for the Red Stars, as she exploded toward the box before cutting to her right and smashing a powerful right-footed rocket off the underside of the crossbar from about 19 yards out.
Instead of extending their lead to three, the visitors saw it cut in half less than a minute from regulation, with Naeher coming agonizingly close to making history with what would have been her record-breaking firth straight clean sheet. On a nice attacking pass by Little, center back Samantha Johnson seemed to bring down Beverly Yanez inside the area and midfielder Little stepped up herself on the ensuing penalty kick to send the Chicago netminder the wrong way for a cool finish to Naeher’s left. However, it would only serve as consolation for the hosts, as the Red Stars held on for their fourth win in six NWSL games.
Head Coach Rory Dames’s squad looks to continue its unbeaten run when it returns home to take on Sky Blue FC on Sunday, May 29.
Source/Photo Credit: Chicago Red Stars
