Chicago Red Stars Vs Washington Spirit: Week 23 Preview
With two games left to play, the Chicago Red Stars need every possible point to stay in the playoffs places. Their first opponent: the Washington Spirit. Here is a full Week 23 preview.
With the playoff race still highly competitive, this weekend, the Chicago Red Stars begin their final stretch of the season against the Washington Spirit. While the Red Stars are trying to maintain their playoff spot, the Spirit are also hoping to get back into the picture. Unlike the last couple of games for the Red Stars, both teams have everything to play for.
After the last game, Katie Johnson has served her suspension and will probably return to the Chicago Red Stars line-up. Question marks still hang over Arin Wright and Vanessa DiBernardo, who were last listed as out with an illness. At the time of writing, it is unsure whether this has passed or not.
For the Washington Spirit, their primary uncertainty is Rose Lavelle, who has been out for a month with a head injury. She was cleared to return to practice, but it’s not so clear on whether she will see much of the pitch. Given its importance, the Spirit might risk her.
Based purely on the scorelines, the Washington Spirit’s form does not look all that foreboding. With only a single win out of their last six games, five total points earned in that time, their playoff hopes might very well be dead if they continue in that vein. But scorelines can be deceiving. Washington have not been performing poorly. A lot of their results stemmed extraordinary efforts from opponents. They are still an extremely dangerous outfit.
The Spirit have one of the best midfield set-ups in the league. Just look at the names: Rose Lavelle, Mallory Pugh, Andi Sullivan, Chloe Logarzo, and Jordan DiBiasi. A relentless press from that midfield and their ability to maintain possession offers them more good chances than their opponents in almost every game they play in. Their issues lie in the two penalty areas, but control of matches is not something that they struggle with.
Meanwhile, for the Chicago Red Stars, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine which team is going to show up. Will it be the one that struggled to score against one the worst teams in the league or will it be the team that scored three goals in the first 20 minutes and ran riot from the very first whistle? Chicago have been incredibly inconsistent, especially offensively, even when they send out the same line-up.
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With Washington’s incredible talent in the midfield, the Red Stars must win the possession battle to get the most out of their attack. We saw earlier in the year, when they failed to secure a foothold in the central midfield, they struggled to work the ball forward to Sam Kerr, who grew increasingly isolated in advanced positions. It all depends on that connection between the midfield and the attack.
One huge positive from recent weeks is that the new Chicago Red Stars backline looks amazing and hasn’t conceded since being put together. Earlier in the season, I said that I preferred Sarah Gorden at center-back and Tierna Davidson at left-back; but with Julie Ertz at center-back next to Davidson, she has developed into a much more capable defender. Meanwhile, Gorden is a surprisingly nice complement to Casey Short at full-back and has shown her quality when pushing forwards. If the attack does not quite click, as it tends to do, at least the Red Stars can rely on this newly constructed defense. And that might just be enough.
Projected XI:
Chicago Red Stars (4-3-3): Alyssa Naeher; Sarah Gorden, Tierna Davidson, Julie Ertz, Casey Short; Morgan Brian, Vanessa DiBernardo, Danielle Colaprico; Yuki Nagasato, Sam Kerr, Savannah McCaskill
Washington Spirit (4-2-3-1): Aubrey Bledsoe; Dorian Bailey, Sam Staab, Paige Neilsen, Tori Huster; Chloe Logarzo, Andi Sullivan; Jordan DiBiasi, Rose Lavelle, Mallory Pugh; Ashley Hatch
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How To Watch:
Saturday, September 21st, 7:00 PM CDT; At SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL, on NBC Sportsnet Chicago, and online with the Yahoo Sports App