Chicago Red Stars grab the points again against Orlando Pride
Another 1-0 win for the Chicago Red Stars saw them grab the three points against the Orlando Pride at Orlando City Soccer Stadium on Saturday afternoon. In the three games between the sides since the Pride were established last season, Chicago has now won each encounter by the same scoreline.
Both Orlando and Chicago were coming off of midweek matches, where both clubs conceded two penalty kicks, to Sky Blue FC and the Seattle Reign respectively, and it was another penalty that would decide the fate of this game.
A Christen Press penalty kick was the difference between the teams that saw the home side enjoy 62% of the possession without ever having the cutting edge needed to win the game. The match kicked off late after an hour delay due to inclement weather, eventually getting underway at 6 p.m. ET.
“[I’m] a little bit disappointed, a little bit frustrated. We knew it was going to be a tight game when we talked at halftime. I think we had enough possession to win the game. Whether we created enough with that possession, I’m not too sure,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “[I] can’t fault the effort of the players, we had enough chances to win the game, had enough possession to win the game but one moment of indecision or discipline, whatever you want to call it, ended up costing us the game. I would like to say it hasn’t happened often this season, but unfortunately it has.”
The key moment came in the 68th minute when Orlando defender brought down Casey Short and the match referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Press stepped up and sent Pride goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe the wrong way to record the match winning goal.
Moments before the penalty, Jasmyne Spencer came inches away from her second goal of the season as she turned quickly and fired a shot from outside the box but her effort was denied by the upper corner of the goalpost.
Pushing for the equalizer late in the game, the Pride created a flurry of chances after Camila took a stoppage time corner kick. The second-half substitute drove the ball to the far post and Bledsoe, in an unfamiliar role as a last ditch attacker, manged to head goalwards only for Chicago midfielder Danielle Colaprico to clear it off the line. The ball scattered around the box before defender Ali Krieger smashed a left-footed volley off the crossbar and with it, the Pride’s last chance of the game.
Forward Alex Morgan (pictured above) made her first appearance of the 2017 season for the Pride, coming off the bench in the 65th minute and bringing the home crowd to their feet. It was the first time Marta and Morgan had been paired together but strangely, Morgan spent most of her time wide on the left hand side of the field instead of her more customary position as center forward. After the game she said “I think it was difficult having three games in seven days so that was a challenge to begin with. We knew Chicago had the same [three-game week] as us, and [traveled] more miles. But I think we possessed well but I think we dropped off a little as the game went on. And as I came in, probably five minutes later we got so stretched. We had the ball in our court probably for 65 minutes of the game. Once the goal was scored I felt like we were chasing the game. I felt like we were trying to claw our way back, after we had the game in our hands for the taking for that amount of time. It was difficult to come in and get scored on after only two minutes of my first showing with the Pride this year. But, personally, I feel happy that I’m coming out of this game feeling good and healthy and confident and excited to get more minutes next game.”
The Pride will return to national television next weekend as Orlando travels to the Washington Spirit for Krieger’s first match against her former team. The match will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Lifetime.
Orlando hosts its next home match on July 15, welcoming two-time NWSL champion FC Kansas City for a 5 p.m. ET kick. Tickets are available at orlando-pride.com/tickets or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
Lineups:
Orlando Pride: Aubrey Bledsoe; Kristen Edmonds, Ali Krieger ©, Toni Pressley, Steph Catley; Maddy Evans (Camila 56’), Monica, Alanna Kennedy; Rachel Hill (Alex Morgan 65’), Marta, Jasmyne Spencer (Chioma Ubogagu 79’)
Substitutes Not Used: Caroline Stanley; Nickolette Driesse, Dani Weatherholt; Jamia Fields, Chioma Ubogagu
Chicago: Alyssa Naeher; Sarah Gorden (Casey Short 66’), Sam Johnson, Katie Naughton, Taylor Comeau; Danielle Colaprico, Alyssa Mautz (Arin Gilliland 89’), Vanessa DiBernardo (Morgan Proffitt 86’), Julie Ertz; Sofia Huerta, Christen Press ©
Substitutes Not Used: Michelle Dalton; Jen Hoy, Lauren Kaskie; Stephanie McCaffrey
Attendance: 5,476
More photos at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
