Chicago have made the playoffs three years in a row now and anything but a shot at the championship will be a disappointment. They’ve certainly got their work cut out for them, facing first place North Carolina Courage in the semi-final on Sunday 6 October at 2:30pm CDT. This matchup may be a blessing in disguise for the Red Stars. Despite NC’s season-long league dominance, Chicago have had their number, sweeping the season series 3-0.
Chicago head coach, Rory Dames praised his squad’s efforts, “Qualifying three years in a row is no easy task and it’s a credit to the players and the staff and the hard work they’ve all put in this year.”
Red Stars captain, Christen Press is quite optimistic going into the semi-final and echoed Dames’ sentiment about the close competition in the league,
“I think this is the best Chicago Red Stars team that we’ve ever had going into a playoff, so the overall sentiment is just excitement. … It’s always exciting when you make it. It’s very difficult to be in the top four. … This is a very tough league. There are no easy games. Every single game we played this year was close.”
The captain also noted a change in the team’s perspective this time around.
“I think there’s a big difference in the feeling and the mentality going into this game than we’ve had in the past, which is a good thing. I believe that our team will really embrace the opportunity in front of us and use our experience and our passion to kind of propel us to where we want to go which is ultimately the championship and hoisting the trophy.”
This will be the fourth meeting between the Red Stars and the Courage of the season and Chicago’s second trip to North Carolina. When asked the secret to beating North Carolina, Dames chuckled and said, “Well, if I told you the secret before we played them that wouldn’t be very sporting of us! I don’t think there’s any magical formula.” He went on to say that a series record of 1-1-1 and would have been fair, but things simply went Chicago’s way. He credited his team’s love for playing top competition and tenacity for hanging in the tough moments to earn the 3-0 record against the Courage.
By the third match of the series, North Carolina had clearly started to unlock Chicago. The Red Stars will need all the tenacity and heart they can muster to beat the Courage a fourth time and get their shot at the title. If the match is anything like the other three, there’s no reason to doubt it will be, it will be a very open, fast-paced contest with plenty of exciting chances for both sides.
The Red Stars will, of course, look to Christen Press and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher in the big moments, but the heart of their midfield will need to fire on all cylinders throughout the match. When asked about Vanessa DiBernardo and Danielle Colaprico’s chances with the US National Team, Press agreed they would be “fantastic players at the international level” and also commented on what the two central midfielders mean to Chicago. “Vanessa and Danny are awesome players. I think, having played with them for three years I’ve been able to see the grow into bigger roles and develop into more of a leadership kind of central midfield workers for us. They’re different players in a lot of ways. Danny is very rhythmic in how she plays. She’s very consistent. She kind of calms us down as a team and is essential. We’ve seen with both of them that it’s very hard for our team to do what we do without either them. Vanessa has, this year, more than ever become a ten and become more creative and become more sophisticated in how she’s finding space and finding herself in front of the goal and putting other people in front of the goal. They’re players that we couldn’t have any success without at the Chicago Red Stars.”
Sofia Huerta and Casey Short will also have large roles to play if Chicago are to have success. Huerta has come into her own over the course of the season, taking on more of the mantel of offensive responsibility from Press and scoring beautiful goals in big moments. Dames highlighted Huerta’s burgeoning confidence, “I think the biggest thing with Sof is just Sof’s confidence. I don’t think we’ve played anybody who’s been able to contain Sof this year. The only person who can contain Sof is Sof. I think the biggest growth for her in the course of the last 6-8 months is that she’s grown to actually understand that and realize that and she doesn’t contain herself very often.” Casey Short will be tasked with helping shut down the Courage’s pointy arsenal of forwards. Dames notes she is more than up to the task, “Her 1v1 defending is exceptional. I don’t know if there’s a better 1v1 defender in the league out in wide spaces. Because she’s so good defending in those spaces, we’re able to do some different things on her side.” Short has been very involved in Chicago’s attack all season. Dames highlighted her efforts in one particular match against Houston. She was involved in every goal Chicago scored in that match to finally clinch their spot in the playoffs. The coach said, “The game that we actually finally got ourselves into the playoffs this year, in Houston game, she scored a goal, she set up a goal, and she drew a PK for the other goal. So I know seh was overlooked for all the player of the week awards that week, but I don’t know if there are a lot of left backs creating three goals for their team. Especially in a game with that amount of significance in it.” Look for Short to do more of the same in the semi-final, defending fiercely and creating scoring chances.
As for injuries, the Red Stars are no worse for the wear than any of the other teams. Morgan Brian is unlikely to play this weekend, but could make an appearance if the Red Stars win and move on to the grand final on 14 October.
Finally, Press summed up what it means for this group to be back in the finals for a third straight year, “This year we’ve really built our team from the ground up from day one. We’ve all been in this together. It’s probably the most deep and team oriented, not an individual player, group that Chicago Red Stars have ever had and I think that’s why it will be so meaningful for us to get that extra game in the semi final, play together, enjoy it, and ultimately be successful and win ourselves another chance to play.”
