Chicago Red Stars vs Gotham FC: As Expected

After a good run, the Chicago Red Stars have been tossed back down to earth in a 2-1 loss. This was sort of expected, with the over-reliance on Own Goal bound to fail and a matchup against a top NWSL team like Gotham FC. But, the game itself actually held a lot of positives for the Red Stars, so let’s take a look.

Ifeoma Onumonu kicked things off in the 2nd minute with a clean shot on the edge of a scrum, but Cassie Miller was able to keep things from getting out of hand too quickly. This would be a similar look in the 7th minute when Midge Purce found a free space behind Tatumn Milazzo and played in a cross, only for it to be stopped. After that, the game tilted a bit more towards Chicago, although there weren’t very many major chances in this time. Kealia Watt had a shot saved in the 12th minute and Rachel Hill took a Morgan Gautrat pass and sent it wide in the 39th minute. Kayla Sharples found her way into the game with a goal-saving tackle on Midge Purce in the 40th, but she would also be in the poster for the Gotham goal in added time of the first half. With the Red Stars short-handed due to injury, Caprice Dydasco found Allie Long in the box as she run in front of and around Sharples to get a clear shot.

In the second half, things were exciting and tense. It’s just that there weren’t very many clear-cut chances. Both teams would keep flowing from half-chance to half-chance in rapid succession, but never quite finding the right spot to do anything. It was in this space where Bianca St Georges caught Purce from behind in the box. Purce stepped up to convert her own penalty, sending Gotham up 2-0 in the 70th minute. St. Georges would complete that performance with a red card in injury time after pushing an opponent down as they were breaking away into space. Makenzy Doniak would pick up a consolation goal in the 95th minute on a bit of a scrambled attempt at ball-handling, but that would only cut the deficit in half. The game ended 2-1 for Gotham.

Here’s what we’ve taken away from this one.

I Am Inevitable

Before the game, something interesting to point out was that, even though they did have some players away for international duty, there was no longer anyone on the injury list. Emily Boyd, Bianca St Georges, and Alyssa Mautz have all returned from long term injuries and no one was even nursing any sort of small injury. But, if there’s one thing in sports that will always happen, it’s injuries.

This game, there were two notable moments for the Red Stars. First was the one that might’ve led to the goal in the first half. As the 4th official was setting up the board to announce added time, Tatumn Milazzo was preparing for a throw-in. When the camera got a close-up on her, you could tell that she looked to be in some distress, so it was concerning when she dropped the ball and took a knee right in front of the bench. While I have not found any confirmation on her condition, it appears that this was related to the excessive heat on the day, with a heat index going up to around 94°F in Harrison, NJ according to the National Weather Service. The other notable moment was Danielle Colaprico staying down after a tackle, appearing to have some sort of issue with her left ankle. She finished the game, but it’s unclear if this might affect her in the near future.

Not Quite a Saint

Bianca St Georges has played a little less than 200 minutes this season. That means that she’s averaging a little over one red card per 100 minutes. That’s a bit of a problem. Not to mention, it was her foul that led to the penalty that gave Gotham FC the second goal. Also, she just hasn’t really had the same sort of control over the game that she had before.

Back in the 2020 Challenge Cup, she was one of the stand-out players for the Chicago Red Stars. In the Cup, she got a goal and an assist and proved to be one of the most threatening attackers for Chicago, despite being a defender. Then, in the offseason between the Fall Series and the 2021 Challenge Cup, St Georges picked up an injury that kept her out for a while. And when she came back, well… all this happened.

To call this a disappointment is an understatement. It could be an issue of match sharpness or just not quite vibing with a new strategy, but something has been off about her since coming back and her frustration is being taken out in a way that damages the team.

More Than Before

Something positive to take from this game is that the Chicago Red Stars looked like a team in control for a strong part of that second half. While I glossed over it in the actual match report, the Red Stars had an advantage for a large part of the game. There were some issues with finishing and developing actual chances, but Chicago found constant opportunities for pressuring the strong Gotham defense and eventually picked up a goal at the end of the game.

It’s not three points, but it’s something to build on. There are still issues with how those half-chances never really became full chances and possible issues with what was supposed to be a rock-solid midfield, but there’s a lot more out there than the team that was relying on Own Goal to win them the games against Washington and Houston.