Mallory Pugh, Rachel Hill and Morgan Gautrat score as Red Stars defeat the Washington Spirit
CHICAGO (BVM) — This past Sunday night, the Chicago Red Stars took on the Washington Spirit for the third time this season. On their home turf in Chicago, the Red Stars proved their worth and showed the Spirit that this is their series.听聽
Currently in third place, the Red Stars have won four out of their last five games with a record of 6-2-5, playing 13 games total. The Spirit fell to fourth place losing three out of their last five games with a record of 5-3-4 in 12 games played.听
The Red Stars took an early lead in the 19th minute when Mallory Pugh beat the Washington defense and nailed a right-footed shot, making it 1-0.听
鈥淚 think if you look at our midfield, they are very tactical players and I think on the attacking side of the ball, we need to get and give them the ball and have them play make,鈥� attacker Mallory Pugh stated. 鈥淭hat will lead to the forwards getting in, taking one v. one, creating chances. I think our backline has been solid, I feel like no one can get behind them. I feel very comfortable with them.鈥澛�
Hit that one on the sweet spot, 鈿撅笍 | |
— National Women鈥檚 Soccer League (@NWSL)
The Chicago Red Stars had an outstanding first half, unlike the Washington Spirit.听
The city of Chicago welcomed back Washington Spirit鈥檚 attacker Trinity Rodman, who is the daughter of Chicago legend, Dennis Rodman. Trinity wanted to continue that legacy by showing the Red Stars a good match, and she came out strong from the beginning.听
However, she almost came out too strong as she was shown a yellow card in the 30th minute. But that did not stop Trinity as she continued her hard work.听
While Pugh was a huge asset for how the Red Stars played, Chicago continued its hard work and hustle. Key player, Rachel Hill, fought and secured a goal in the 39th minute while inside the Washington Spirit鈥檚 box off of a corner kick, giving the Red Stars a 2-0 lead.
During halftime, both teams reflected on how they played. Washington came out strong to start the second half. The Spirit were hungry for a goal. Taylor Aylmer was determined in the 68th minute, which led to a bad foul towards a Red Stars player, resulting in a yellow card.听
Both teams held their own until the 71st minute when Rodman beat Chicago Red Stars鈥� goalie, Cassie Miller, and two other defenders to score for the Spirit, making it 2-1. The Spirit were amped up and remained hungry for another goal.
Round and round goes 馃巼 | |
— National Women鈥檚 Soccer League (@NWSL)
In the 79th minute, Washington鈥檚 Sam Staab had a handball in the team’s own penalty box, receiving a yellow card.听
There was a major opportunity for the Red Stars to gain a two-goal advantage. Morgan Gautrat was chosen to take the penalty kick and converted it in the back of the net to give the Red Stars a 3-1 lead.听
鈥淚 feel like we are very methodical in the way we defend and I feel like everyone is on the same page,鈥� defender Arin Wright said. 鈥淲e move as a unit and it makes it a lot easier as a team to know, okay this is where we will win it and we can set up our next set of plays from there because everyone is on the same page and we work pretty hard.鈥澛�
Chicago held its own during the second half and fought until the 90-minute mark. With an advantage of two-goals, it was clear who was going to win the match.听
鈥淚 thought we were good in the first half,鈥� explained Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames. 鈥淚 thought we got pushed a little bit in the second half. We struggled to get a hold of the ball or keep the ball at all. So, we were a little hard on ourselves. We fought around the 70-72 minute mark, where we actually got a hold of the ball again. From the 45th until 70th-72nd minute is a long time. But then once we settled towards the end, we were able to get ahold of it, connect passes and create some chances again.鈥�
Dames was very pleased with how his team played and is excited to take on the Orlando Pride next week. Dames isn鈥檛 just eager to finally take on the Pride this season, but he is very excited to reunite with his fellow friend and interim Orlando Pride head coach, Becky Burleigh.听
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen Becky in a while,鈥� Dames said. “It鈥檚 exciting to have her in the league. I dealt with her for years with the Eclipse kids and recruiting and that kind of stuff. I periodically talk to her. I鈥檓 looking forward to seeing her. They have a good team. The last time Sydney Leroux was here, she caused some problems for us. So, I鈥檓 certainly not looking forward to seeing the Orlando team, but I am excited to see Becky.鈥澛�
Coming up next for the Red Stars, they will host the Orlando Pride and Olympian Alex Morgan, Sunday, Aug. 8 at 5:00 p.m. CST.
