By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
The Chicago Red Stars are miles ahead of where they were last year.
The team secured its 16th point on May 12. In 2023, it had to wait until July 7 to hit its 16th point during a season in which it finished in last place in the NWSL.
Despite that, a recent two-game losing streak continued a pattern of the team getting off to slow starts.
That was a case again in a 1-0 loss to Louisville on May 25 in front of an announced crowd of 3,872 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview
Emma Sears scored in the 26th minute for Louisville (2-2-6) for all the scoring in the match.
The Red Stars (5-5-1) were stagnant on offense most of the game before coming to life in the final 15 minutes. Still, they could not put the ball into the net.
The Stars’ Penelope Hocking had her streak of three straight games with a goal halted.
Late subs Jameese Joseph, Bea Franklin, Hannah Anderson and Shea Groom helped energize the team.
“There were players who were hungry to come in,” Red Stars coach Lorne Donaldson said of the late surge. “They came in an did well, obviously. Those are some younger players who got a chance and it’s always nice when a player comes in and does well.
“It gives you some future options. You don’t want a player to come and drag the game down. They came in and gave us a little bit of lift and energy.”
The Red Stars’ Sam Staab (left) tries to prevent Louisville’s Elixa Bahr from getting to the ball on May 25 at SeatGeek Stadium. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Four called up for duty
Natalia Kuikka, Sydney Schneider, Sam Staab and Mallory Swanson have been called to duty to represent their respective countries during the May/June international window.
Goalkeeper Schneider returns to Jamaica’s roster, defender Staab receives her first call up to the U.S. women’s team, and veteran international stars Kuikka and Swanson return to the rosters of Finland and the United States, respectively.
Three-time NWSL Ironwoman Staab will join the U.S. squad for the first time in her decorated career, and is one of two players to do so for the May/June international window. Staab has previous international experience at the youth level, most recently for the U.S. under-23 team in 2018.
Swanson joins the USWNT for the third time in 2024, most recently as a part of the 2024 SheBelieves Cup roster. Swanson started in the SheBelieves Cup match against Japan on April 6 and came on as a substitute in the 46th minute against Canada on April 9.
Swanson has appeared in nine of 10 Red Stars matches this season and has scored three goals. Swanson and Staab lead the Red Stars in assists with two each.
The USWNT will face off with Korea Republic in a pair of friendlies June 1 and June 4. The first will be played in Swanson’s home state of Colorado at 4 p.m., while the other will be in Minnesota at 7 p.m.
Red Stars goalie Alyssa Naeher was left off the team, as she is nursing a thigh injury suffered against Utah in an NWSL match on May 12
Up Next
The Red Stars play Bay FC (3-8-0) at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 8. Team officials claim 23,000 tickets have been sold for the match, will be the first NWSL game to be played at the Friendly Confines.
The Red Stars met Bay FC on the road on May 5 and pulled off a come-from-behind 2-1 victory, with Hocking and Ally Schlegel scoring goals.
Fire II triumphs
The Chicago Fire II (4-2-3) gave up a goal early, but Peter Soudan and David Poreba took care of business in a 2-1 MLS NEXT Pro game over Columbus II (4-4-2) May 24 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
The match featured 12 yellow cards.
The Fire II visit Toronto at 6 p.m. May 31.
Chicago’s Ally Schlegel gets ready for a shot against Louisville on May 25. Photo by Jeff Vorva