The Chicago Red Stars enter the playoffs on a high note, beating the Washington Spirit 3-1 and spoiling the Spirit’s bid to clinch the Shield. Cara Walls scored her first professional goal for Chicago. Christen Press and Sofia Huerta added one each. Crystal Dunn had the lone tally for Washington.
Chicago took control of the match early, scoring in the sixth minute. Vanessa DiBernardo played a lovely diagonal ball to Christen Press streaking down the right flank. Press ran the ball down in Washington’s penalty area near the goal line and cut the it back to her left foot. She floated a shot into the far upper corner for the match’s first goal.
In the 26th minute, Sofia Huerta picked up the ball near midfield, drove through the center of the park, and fought her way through a sliding tackle. Meanwhile, Cara Walls made a sneaky diagonal run from the left flank into the space left by the Spirit defenders as they tried to stop Huerta. Walls found herself alone at the top of the 18 with the ball at her feet and her back to goal. She easily turned to face goal and placed her shot in the lower left corner, scoring her first professional goal and the second of the evening for the Red Stars.
The second half started out hot with a goal from each team. In the 46th minute, Huerta again did the work for Chicago, taking the ball to the right flank and working to get a cross off. She mis-hit the ball and her cross turned into more of a shot as it flew through the air. Luckily, it sailed into the goal to put Chicago up 3-0.
The Red Stars were barely done celebrating when Crystal Dunn took control in the 47th minute. She got loose in the Chicago midfield, destroying everyone, streaking toward goal. She finished her run with a well-placed shot to pull one back for the Spirit.
Washington pressed for the rest of the game, but couldn’t find the goals it needed. Spirit Captain Ali Krieger came agonizingly close to getting a second for Washington in the 93rd minute, but her back post header off a corner kick ricocheted off the crossbar.
The Red Stars undoubtedly carry the momentum into the teams’ semifinal match-up in Washington on Friday, 30 Sept. This time, a trip to the championship is on the line.
Next Match:
Chicago travels to Washington, DC to take on the Spirit in the semi-final match on Friday, 30 Sept at 7pm CDT.
Lineups:
Chicago Red Stars 4-4-2
Dalton; Gilliland, Johnston, Johnson, Short; Colaprico, DiBernardo, Huerta, Comeau, Press (C), Walls
Substitutes:
67′ Mautz for Comeau
80′ Hoy for Walls
89′ Naughton for DiBernardo
Washington Spirit
Wys; Dydasco, Johnson, Church, Krieger (C); Nairn, Huster, Lohman; Matheson, Stengel, Dunn
Substitutes:
60′ Williams for Matheson
60’ Ordega for Stengel
81′ Banini for Lohman
90’ Williams left the match due to a left knee injury.
Goals:
6’ CHI Press (DiBernardo)
26’ CHI Walls (Huerta)
46′ CHI Huerta
47′ WAS Dunn
Misconduct:
None
