Chicago Red Stars vs Houston Dash: Week 10 Preview
With a less-than-convincing win under their belt against the Washington Spirit, the Chicago Red Stars return to Bridgeview to face a much more convincing Houston Dash team. The Red Stars have struggled more at home than on the road and the Dash have won four of their last five games. But, squads are constantly changing throughout the season, so let’s take a look at what these squads will look like.
First of all, not only are the previously announced US Women’s National Team players getting called up to the Olympics, but Casey Krueger has recently been upgraded from an alternate to a full member of the squad. The Houston Dash will also be depleted for a similar reason, with most of their stars actually being called up by the Canadian team; but they will likely be getting back Maria Sanchez, who was with the Mexican National Team for the Olympic Warm-Up Tour. In terms of actual injuries, Emily Boyd, still recovering from a knee injury, made the bench against Washington and Bianca St Georges appears to have picked up a knock that kept her out last time. With the absence of any new information, I’d hope that she would be back for this one.
Here are three things to consider going into the match:
Is It Enough?
Something that’s been a constant theme for the Chicago Red Stars is the insecurity in where the next goal will come from. Early in the season, the Red Stars were shutout for their first two. But with at least one goal per game after that, things started feeling a bit more stable. After only getting a penalty as a goal in their first game against Washington, the Red Stars fell back down to 0 goals. This own goal against Washington feels very similarly in that it wasn’t exactly “earned”. Not to say that Kayla Sharples didn’t do well on that play, it’s more that the confidence of the team is still in question.
I’m past asking for a striker and at this point the team needs to look within to find goals from what they have. A penalty or an own goal isn’t really enough of an appetizer for goalscorers to start hunting. The only real hope is in the fact that the Chicago Red Stars, more specifically Kealia Watt, seemed to be owed a goal from the last game. Watt has a single goal in the regular season, but has had goals called back in questionable situations twice now already. You’ve gotta wonder what might’ve happened if either of those goals were counted and she got that confidence.
Sunrise in Houston
A team that does have confidence is the Houston Dash. Last season’s NWSL Challenge Cup winners had a fairly pedestrian start to the season with plenty of important players missing in their first meeting with the Red Stars in the 2021 Challenge Cup. They even started the season winless in their first three. Of course, that was until they reached the Red Stars again, somehow snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat. That kick-started their recent form, winning every game but one since then.
For a city that is rapidly catching up to the other in population, it’s almost fitting that the Houston Dash has seemed most energized when playing against the Chicago Red Stars. But for Chicago, this is a moment to put their foot down and stop the bleeding against a team that is much more impaired by international call-ups than they are.
Forecheck
My own favorite concept in soccer has been and always will be the gegenpress. But I understand that not every team will not utilize it. Some teams prefer playing around and out of the back. But there’s a certain level of pressing that every team needs to do in order to maintain a certain level of threat against the opposition. Allowing the opponent to press without response is going to hinder any sort of progress going forward.
Looking back at the game against Washington, the Chicago Red Stars were almost nonexistent on the press. While it’s hard to quantify a press, I use defensive actions as a way of showing where players are pressing, whether it’s successful or not. And looking at the map for the Red Stars, they just were not pressing in that crucial space in front of the box. Meanwhile, the Spirit were all over them, leading to what felt like a game that leaned towards them at times.
The Chicago Red Stars need to work on their pressing if they themselves don’t want to be pushed back the entire game.
Projected XI
Chicago Red Stars (4-3-3): Cassie Miller; Bianca St Georges, Sarah Gorden, Kayla Sharples, Arin Wright; Morgan Gautrat, Vanessa DiBernardo, Danielle Colaprico; Kealia Watt, Makenzy Doniak, Mallory Pugh
Houston Dash (4-3-3): Jane Campbell; Haley Hanson, Megan Oyster, Katie Naughton, Ally Prisock; Gabby Seiler, Sophie Schmidt, Shea Groom; Makamae Gomera-Stevens, Veronica Latsko, Jasmyne Spencer
How To Watch
Sunday, July 11th, 5:00 PM CDT; At SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL, online on Paramount+