Houston Dash Vs Chicago Red Stars: Week 6 Preview
The Chicago Red Stars face the Houston Dash this weekend as the World Cup absentees begin to take their toll. Here is a full Week 6 preview of the contest.
With official call-ups underway, it seems like the World Cup stretch is beginning for the NWSL. It is a time of year where all the stars are removed from the equation and all that is left are the true workers of the NWSL.
The Chicago Red Stars are entering their first match with none of their national team players after winning 3-1 against North Carolina on the back of a Sam Kerr brace, one individual who will now be absent due to the World Cup. This week, they face the Houston Dash, who will also be without their leading goalscorer due to a World Cup call-up (and a suspension).
Let’s talk about call-ups for a second. With Kerr finally on her way to meet up with the rest of the Australian National Team, it’s now up to Katie Johnson to lead the attack. Johnson is returning from a suspension after an admittedly terrible red card and will be looked upon as the World Cup replacement for Kerr.
Speaking of suspensions, the Dash’s Rachel Daly will miss the fixture after a well-earned red card in the previous game against the Utah Royals, irrespective of whether she is called up for England duty beforehand or not. Lastly on the injury report, Alyssa Mautz tore her ACL during a practice before the NC Courage game and is now ruled out for the rest of the season. Mautz has played 124 matches for the Red Stars in the NWSL and we all hope she can come back and play a 125th next season.
The Houston Dash have not had a very good start to the season. The first three games of the season each saw them concede a penalty, although Jane Campbell saved all three. The Dash have won three games so far, but all were by one goal and their wins against Sky Blue FC and the Orlando Pride should have been by more. This is a team that has underperformed, despite the positive results, and over a larger sample size, it is the performances, not the results, that play out.
The Dash’s victories are largely down to two players who arguably should’ve made the USWNT team: Kealia Ohai and Sofia Huerta. While Daly also played a major role in the Dash’s opening stanza of the season, we already know she will not be involved at the weekend. Other teams in the league have suffered a lot from the national team call-ups, but Houston has lucked out by having two of the best attackers in the league continue to help their effort during this upcoming period. Ohai is one of the hardest runners on the wing and Huerta is an accomplished goalscorer who has experience filling in for a national team striker while she’s away at a World Cup, doing so back in 2015 for the Red Stars, Christen Press the striker she replaced.
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When considering what weakness the Red Stars have, the only problem I see — a stacked squad that makes it difficult to field a consistently cohesive starting XI — is actually a good thing. The defense seems to have been solidified with Sarah Gorden and Katie Naughton gelling together and there is still great depth to deal with the World Cup absentees.
Michele Vasconcelos’ amazing performances of late have given her a ticket to the starting XI, while Maria Sánchez is pushing her hard. Then there are the usual suspects Danielle Colaprico, Vanessa DiBernardo, and Yuki Nagasato who all would still need places in this set-up. A great problem to have, but it’s still a problem.
Projected XI:
Chicago Red Stars (4-2-3-1): Emily Boyd; Arin Wright, Sarah Gorden, Katie Naughton, Casey Short; Danielle Colaprico, Nikki Stanton; Vanessa DiBernardo, Yuki Nagasato, Michele Vasconcelos; Katie Johnson
Houston Dash (4-2-3-1): Jane Campbell; Satara Murray, Amber Brooks, Jazmin Jackmon, Ari Romero; Haley Hanson, Kristie Mewis; Kealia Ohai, Christine Nairn, Kyah Simon; Sofia Huerta
Next. Chicago Red Stars Vs North Carolina Courage: 3 things we learned. dark
How To Watch:
Sunday, May 19th, 5:00 PM CDT; At BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX, on NBC Sportsnet Chicago, and online with the Yahoo Sports App