Stephanie McCaffrey got her first start and scored her first goal for the Chicago Red Stars in their 1-0 victory over FC Kansas city on Saturday, 30 July. Chicago goalkeeper Michele Dalton earned her second shut out of the season.
Despite Chicago controlling most of the first half, it was Kansas City that had the better chances. In the 11th minute, KC’s Erika Tymrak got the ball and ran at Chicago’s midfield forcing them to give ground. No one stepped to Tymrak as she stormed forward. Her pass to Frances Silva easily beat three Red Stars. Silva had a lot of space between Chicago’s lines to slot her pass to Tiffany McCarty making a diagonal run into Chicago’s final third. McCarty’s shot from the top of the penalty area was blocked by Red Stars goalkeeper, Michele Dalton.
The Blues had Chicago’s defense all turned inside out again in the 39th minute. Tymrak again drove through the Red Stars’ midfield. This time, she slotted her pass directly to McCarty, cutting through Chicago’s back line. As McCarty dribbled into the penalty area, Dalton met her at the penalty mark and forced McCarty to her left. McCarty’s subsequent shot when into the side netting.
Chicago came out strong in the second half. Vanessa DiBenardo had two chances early, but still could not convert. In the 51st minute, the Red Stars built their attack from the back, eventually finding Arin Gilliland on the right flank. She dribbled the ball into Kansas City’s penalty area. Her pass found Cara Walls, who dropped the ball back to DiBernardo near the penalty mark. DiBernardo’s strong shot was parried over the bar by KC goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. DiBernardo’s next chance was again the result of Chicago possessing the ball out of their defensive third. Walls slipped the ball through the Blues’ defense, hitting DiBernardo in stride as she sliced into KC’s penalty area. Unfortunately for Chicago, DiBernardo’s shot was blocked.
In the 54th minute, Chicago got their goal. Kansas City could not play out of the back and turned the ball over near midfield. Chicago’s Casey Short intercepted a pass and immediately played the ball to Vanessa DiBernardo. DiBernardo fought off a defender and passed to Sofia Huerta burning down the field. Huerta’s first shot was blocked by KC goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart at the top right corner of the penalty area. The rebound dribbled back to Huerta, whose second shot was again valiantly blocked by Barnhart. This time, the rebound bounced across the face of goal to new Red Star Stephanie McCaffrey. McCaffrey struck the ball home past three KC defenders for her first goal for Chicago.
As a whole, the Red Stars’ attack was more dynamic than it has been in weeks past. They did a great job possessing the ball through the midfield, making quick passes rather than give-away long balls. Chicago caught their opponent in transition far more this week and created some nice chances because of it. On the defensive side, Kansas City was able to exploit the space between the Red Star’s midfield and backline and create a couple dangerous chances in the first half. Chicago did well to close this gap in the second half and stop KC running through their midfield.
Next Match:
The NWSL is on break for the Olympics for the next three weeks. Matches resume on Friday, 26 August.
Chicago (7-4-4, 25 pts) travels to new Jersey to face Sky Blue FC (6-5-4, 22 pts) on Saturday, 27 Aug at 7pm EDT.
FC Kansas CIty (4-7-4, 16 pts) host the Boston Breakers (2-11-1, 7 pts) on Sunday, 28 August at 5pm CDT.
Lineups:
Chicago Red Stars 4-4-2
Dalton; Gilliland, Naughton, Johnson, Short; Colaprico, DiBernardo (C), Huerta , Comeau; Walls, Hoy
Substitutes:
67’ Mautz for Huerta
75’ Hoy for McCaffrey
92’ Raetzman for Comeau
FC Kansas City
Barnhart; Menchel, Averbuch, Taylor, Reed; LaBonta, Laddish; Silva, Tymrak; McCarty, Groom
Substitutes:
70’ Kastor for McCarty
84’ Weimar for Menchel
Goals:
54’ CHI – McCaffrey
Misconduct:
None.
