Chicago Red Stars Vs Washington Spirit: Challenge Cup Preview
NWSL Soccer is back! And so are the Chicago Red Stars. After a last-minute schedule change, they start the Challenge Cup against the Washington Spirit.
After a long absence, sports are coming back to America. The NWSL Challenge Cup commences this weekend. All games will be played in Sandy, Utah over the course of the next month with a winner deemed after an eight-team knockout stage. However, there’s already been a massive bump in the road for everyone, especially the Chicago Red Stars.
When multiple players and staff members of the Orlando Pride tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, the team made the decision to pull out of the competition. While a following test came back negative, possibly signaling a false positive, this will not change what has already been done to the tournament.
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The Chicago Red Stars went from having seemingly the easiest draw, facing four of the worst five teams in the league last season, to having the toughest draw, now going up against three of the top five teams from last year as well as the hosting Utah Royals. This is a massive change that could massively affect the way coach Rory Dames will approach the first game, which comes against the Washington Spirit on Saturday evening.
Something that will greatly influence the squad going into the tournament is a late injury to winger Alyssa Mautz. Mautz has been a solid influence for a long time, but now she is facing her second major knee injury in a short period of time. Early last season she injured her ACL, requiring surgery, and was forced to sit out the entire season. This year, she is sidelined again for a similar issue. It’s highly concerning, especially at the age of 30.
The Chicago Red Stars will also be without Sam Kerr, who departed for Chelsea in the offseason. Chicago has made some great moves to try to fill the void, trading for Rachel Hill and Kealia Watt, but it is difficult to see how the team will piece itself together. Last year, the Red Stars saw their worst stretch of play when Kerr was playing in the World Cup, finding themselves unable to score a single goal. No one knows what this team is going to look like without her.
That could work in the Red Stars’ favor. The team’s entire attack revolved around Kerr. Hill and Watt are two incredible deals and the team already has Yuki Nagasato, Katie Johnson, Savannah McCaskill, and even Michele Vasconcelos who’s coming back from injury. No one knows how they will line up, no one knows who will be playing where. They have versatility thanks to different options and the element of the unknown.
But what about the Washington Spirit? They seem to be coming into this tournament at full strength, with all of their major players accounted for. That roster still does have some holes leftover from last season. The Spirit have been a solid club but their defensive shape and security was a little short of the required standard. Washington’s Aubrey Bledsoe was tied for the most saves last season with Sky Blue’s Kailen Sheridan. While it’s an admittedly limited metric, it says something that one of the biggest signings that the Spirit made this past offseason was West Ham defender Brooke Hendrix.
The other big signing for the Washington Spirit during the offseason was the acquisition of Japanese National Team striker Kumi Yokoyama. While not a major name, she may be the next big star in the NWSL. In 2010 she won the Puskas Award for a goal she scored for the Japanese U-17s. Spending most of her career in the L.League, she scored 93 goals in 83 league appearances at AC Nagano Parceiro. It remains to be seen whether she can emulate that scoring rate outside of Japan, as evidence by her four goals in 22 appearances at Frankfurt, but the talent is undeniable and the Spirit will be hoping she can rediscover her best form.
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, Rachel Hill, Kealia Watt
Washington Spirit (4-3-3): Aubrey Bledsoe; Paige Neilsen, Sam Staab, Brooke Hendrix, Tori Huster; Rose Lavelle, Andi Sullivan, Jordan DiBiasi; Kumi Yokoyama, Ashley Hatch, Ashley Sanchez
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How To Watch:
Saturday, June 27th, 9:00 PM CDT; At Zions Bank Stadium in Sandy, UT, online with CBS All-Access and Twitch (foreign markets only)