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By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
It’s rare to see the Chicago Red Stars participate in shootouts because NWSL regular-season games end in regulation, so fans got a treat on July 20.
Gotham knocked off the Red Stars 5-4 on penalty kicks after regulation ended in a scoreless draw during the first round of the Summer Cup tournament at SeatGeek Stadium.
Ally Schlegel, Hannah Anderson, Jenna Bike and Julia Bianchi converted PKs for the Red Stars. Gotham’s Kristen Edmonds scored the game-winner.
Red Stars goalie Mackenzie Wood recorded the regulation shutout.
The Red Stars face Guadalajara at 7 p.m. on July 26 at SeatGeek Stadium in the second round and visit Washington in the third round on July 31.
This tournament is being staged during the NWSL’s monthlong hiatus prompted by the Summer Olympic Games. Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson and goalie Alyssa Naeher will miss the Summer Cup, as they are playing for the U.S. women’s team in Paris.
The Red Stars are taking the Cup seriously.
“Yeah, it’s a tournament where you want to compete to win, first and foremost, but you also want to look at more players and get them some playing time,” Red Stars coach Lorne Donaldson said. “It’s not just one game. The entire tournament, you can spread it out across the tournament who hasn’t been playing as much and, hopefully, they can show us something that we don’t know about them.
“But on the other hand, you’re also trying to compete. It’s a double-edged sword. So, you have to manage it that way.”
Donaldson is looking forward to see how some of the players react to an extended workload.
“When players get their numbers called, it comes down to one thing: performance,” he said. “That’s the only way you can judge it. They have to go out there and perform and they’re going to make mistakes. But it’s just going to come down to performance.”
Fire at SeatGeek
The Chicago Fire, which played its home schedule in Bridgeview from 2006-2019 until relocating to Soldier Field in Chicago, faces Toluca F.C. at 8 p.m. Aug. 1 at SeatGeek Stadium in the second round of the Leagues Cup tournament. The Fire open the tournament Sunday, July 28 at Kansas City.
The Leagues Cup features MLS and LIGA MX teams in the Concacaf-sanctioned tournament, which will qualify the top three finishers to the Concacaf Champions Cup 2025. In 2023, Miami of MLS was the inaugural Leagues Cup champion.
The Fire also have two MLS games scheduled at SeatGeek Stadium, versus D.C. United on Sept. 7 and against Toronto on Sept. 28.
