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Orlando Pride Vs Chicago Red Stars: Week 10 Preview

By John Carollo III

Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars) of Australia lament a failed occasion during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Round Of 16 match between Norway and Australia at Stade de Nice on June 22, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars) of Australia lament a failed occasion during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Round Of 16 match between Norway and Australia at Stade de Nice on June 22, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Red Stars have gone from 1st to 7th in the span of just three games. This week, they square up against a team that has had even more issues in the Orlando Pride. Can the skid end?

The last game saw Savannah McCaskill’s first start for the team and while she seemed to have a few miscommunications, she should be fine after a full week of training with the side. One player who I don’t expect to return to the lineup this week in Orlando is Arin Wright, who needed to be helped off the pitch during the last game. While I have not seen the official injury list, I just don’t think she’ll be playing in this one.

The Orlando Pride is one of the saddest teams in the NWSL right now. Even when they had their massive stars on the team, names like Alex Morgan, Marta, and Ashlyn Harris, they couldn’t get anything done. Now, without those national teamers, the team is even worse off. However, they did win their first game of the season last week off of a penalty and an own goal. Not exactly convincing, but a welcome three points.

One bright spot that I will point out for the Orlando Pride is their goalkeeper: Haley Kopmeyer. While not exactly a big name, Kop is one of those NWSL goalkeepers that has a bit of a cult following from those who pay closer attention. After spending most of her career backing up Hope Solo in Seattle, she was able to become a starter and proved to be a pretty dang good keeper. Unfortunately, she was traded to become backup to another national team goalkeeper in Orlando, but she’s still one of the better keepers in the league.

That is definitely something for the Chicago Red Stars to worry about, since they already have their own struggles with scoring right now. The main issue seems to be that no one really knows when the proper time to shoot is. The Washington game and the Portland game showed flaws in the rest of the team, but against Seattle everything was much more solid. The attackers just need to shoot their shots and finish.

This Chicago Red Stars team is probably one of the greatest concentrations of talent in the women’s game and it would be a wasted opportunity to see them fall off completely. They have two games against a couple of the worst teams in the league and they need to start scoring soon.

Projected XI:

Chicago Red Stars (4-3-3): Emily Boyd; Brooke Elby, Sarah Gorden, Katie Naughton, Casey Short; Danielle Colaprico, Nikki Stanton, Vanessa DiBernardo; Yuki Nagasato, Katie Johnson, Savannah McCaskill

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1): Haley Kopmeyer; Carson Pickett, Toni Pressley, Morgan Reid, Erin Greening; Joanna Boyles, Dani Weatherholt; Chioma Ubogagu, Marissa Viggiano, Rachel Hill; Danica Evans

How To Watch:

Sunday, June 30th, 4:00 PM CDT; At Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, FL, on NBC Sportsnet Chicago, and online with the Yahoo Sports App

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