WPS Archives

The Chicago Red Stars ended in a 1-1 tie for their home opener this past saturday night. An amazing 5,134 fans showed up to support the team as they took on Saint Louis Athletica. Casey Nogueira netted the only goal to tie the game in the 59th minute of play. The Red Stars dominated in the amount of shots they took but couldn't seem to find the back of the net. It took a rookie to step on the field to get it done! Props to Casey!

Casey Nogueira (Photo Credit - James Smith)

Alright enough of the chit chat, lets get to the good stuff.....

I had the privilege of sitting with the L134 for the majority of the first half,until I was pulled down to the field to do my interview with Coach Hayes, but we will get to that later. If you have never sat with this group before I suggest doing so in the near future! A very entergetic and wild group we have sitting over there! Definitely the life of the party!

This just in via @Kibby56: Emma Hayes fined $300 & given 4hrs of community service for comments (public criticism of game officials) made on April 11 2010 (via #wps)

I was really hoping to watch a victorious Chicago soccer match on Sunday, especially after being on hand to witness the Fire lose their first ever home opener at Toyota Park the night before. Not only was I looking forward to a Red Stars win because I needed my soccer spirits to be lifted after the Fire's disappointing results, but also to prove all the Red Stars haters wrong. Last week I read countless reviews on just how awful everyone seems to think the Red Stars will be this year, and it got old quick.

It turns out that the Fire weren't the only pro soccer team in Chicago to end their weekend in a disappoint, as the Red Stars lost to Sky Blue FC 1-0 with an early goal in the 6th minute from Natasha Kai.

I may be biased, but I'm really excited for the changes that Emma Hayes has made to the roster this season. Sure, we lost USWNT players, Carli Lloyd and Lindsay Tarpley. We lost a standout goalie from Sweden in Caroline Jonsson. We're all unhappy about these loses. (Well, I am mostly sad for the loss of Jonsson, but countless others are heartbroken over USWNT heroes, Lloyd and Tarpley.) But overall, I'm genuinely excited to see what our new Red Stars' players will produce this year - maybe it is the lack of familiarity that has me on the edge of my seat, maybe it's the energy I've seen in Hayes when she talks about new additions to the team such as: Kosovare Asllani, Katie Chapman, Whitney Engen, Jessica McDonald, and countless others, or maybe I'm just genuinely looking forward to a fresh start, a new season.

Oh the anticipation!

Sadly, the first game has come and gone. The Red Stars fought until the final minutes of game that I thought they clearly should have one. In my eyes, they dominated the majority of the game. Of course, not without a challenge, Sky Blue FC is a force to be reckoned with, there is no question in that. But the RS did everything they were supposed to, except... put the ball in the goal, even after collectively taking 20 shots (4 on goal) against Sky Blue.

Game Highlights:

Other thoughts on the game:

On Wednesday the Red Stars played two 45 minute preseason games.  The first match was played against Northwestern, followed by a 45 minute game again the DePaul Blue Demons. 

Katie Q and I caught the matches at the Wildcats' lakeside field in Evanston.  The weather was gorgeous, and we were excited to be enjoying some quality local soccer.  Check out a recap of the game below, including some random observations of mine. And stay tuned to hear what Katie Q thought of the game with an entry that will be coming soon, as well as a recap of the Red Stars vs DePaul game.

Red Stars starting 11:

Masar - Cristiane

Vandenbergh - Santacaterina - Klein - Sitch

Weissenhofer - Markgraf - Spilger - Dalmy

Burke

Brittany Klein sporting the captain's arm band for the 45 minute preseason friendly against Northwestern. 

It takes us a few minutes to get our bearings, as we settle in our seats near the Red Stars' right winger - 

who is that?

that's Rapinoe...

is that Rapinoe? 

No, that's not Rapinoe. 

Who the hell is that?

Whoa, it's Julianne - she cut her hair!

Oh yeah, that makes sense, Rapinoe is with the national team today. 

Julianne Sitch (formerly of Sky Blue FC)

Okay, back to the ongoing game... (keep in mind that clocks at college games count from 45 minutes down to zero. Oy, confusing!)

33' - Sitch crosses from the right to Klein who misses low 

31' - Markgraf still composed as ever, not to mention as fit as ever - making a speedy run down the left wing

30' - Good movement from Sitch

27' - Sitch passes a through ball to Masar - NW keeper slides out for the save

26' - Cross in from Cristiane, Masar unable to capitalize

23' - Good distribution from Klein

15' - Dalmy passes to Cristiane from the back - beautiful turn from Cristiane, who slides it through to Masar, who is able to put this one in the net. GOAL!

Ella Masar scored both goals against Northwestern in the Red Stars 2-0 win.

This weekend while I was spending time with some of my soccer loving friends a question came up regarding the placement of Marta now that the LA Sol have folded. It's not a matter of who wants Marta because who wouldn't want her on their team? She has been the women's FIFA Player of the Year since 2006, so there's obviously no denying her talent. If it were 1991 would you turn down Michael Jordan if he had the opportunity to shoot hoops for your team? I highly doubt it. 

Wow, draft day is finally here, only two short days away. To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure what to expect or think, as I am not all that familiar with many collegiate players.  

Friends of the Red Stars

Red Stars look to regroup in 2010 - Red Stars GM Marcia McDermott reflects back on the ups and downs of the Red Stars inaugural season in an interview with Soccer Hype blogger Giovanni Albanese Jr.  She also expresses hopefulness for the 2010 team with players like Katie Chapman and Kate Markgraf, who will likely join the starting eleven. [Soccer Hype]

Lindsay Tarpley

WPS Chicago Red Stars' Tarpley Is Female Soccer Player of the Decade -  Lindsday Tarpley and Heather O'Reilly were finalists for the Girl Soccer Player of the Year award from ESPN Rise.  Tarpley edged out O'Reilly not only because of her commitment and hard work on the field but because of her dedication to the game off the field. During her junior and senior seasons, she served three-game suspensions for violating a state association out-of-school participation rule while playing for the U.S. youth national team. She petitioned the state, which ultimately changed its stance on the issue for her and future players in her state. [Bleacher Report]

No down time for the Red Eleven: Team busy during offseason preparing for second summer at Benedictine - The Red Eleven, who are a part of the developemental W-league, hope to improve in the 2010 season after a disappointing loss in first round of the playoffs this year (the Red Eleven were 10-2-1 in 2009).  They've already scored a new head coach David Nikolic and a new assistant coach Greg Muhr. [Naperville Sun] 

Chicago Red Stars Home Opener- Saturday, April 17. 

The Chicago Red Stars have signed Arsenal and England National Team midfielder Katie Chapman to their roster for the upcoming 2010 season.  Chapman will bring leadership to the squad, as she has accumulated 73 international caps since joining the team in 2000.  Read more about Chapman's signing with the Stars here. 

The Chicago Red Stars announced Monday that they are picking up the 2010 contract options for nine players for the organization's second Women's Professional Soccer season.

This returning Red Stars group includes defender Marian Dalmy, defender Ifeoma Dieke, midfielder Chioma Igwe, goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson, midfielder Brittany Klein, forward Ella Masar, defender Jill Oakes, midfielder Megan Rapinoe and defender Natalie Spilger. Per team policy, terms of their contracts are not released.

Midfielder Karen Carney, defender Kate Markgraf and midfielder Lindsay Tarpley also are under contract with the Red Stars for the 2010 season.

Chicago returns more than half of last season's squad, including Klein and Rapinoe who were voted to the first-ever WPS All-Star Game, and Jonsson who established WPS records with the most saves in a game (13) and a season (89).  (Red Stars Exercise 2010 Options for Nine Players :: Chicago Red Stars - WPS)

I wonder what's in store for the rest of the Stars.  Cristiane? Carli Lloyd?  Will we see either of these ladies on the field for the Red Stars next season?  

As for the returning Stars- welcome back, we're glad to have ya!

Friends of the Red Stars

The WPS Expansion Draft is just around the corner (Tuesday, September 15th), as we welcome the Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat to the league.  Nick Hawkins and Katie I. picked their favorite ten Stars to protect in previous Red Stars Confidential entries (here & here), so I thought I'd share mine with you as well.  

Here are 7+ minutes of All-Star action. It's totally worth checking out for the 6 goals alone.

---

Peter Wilt, President/Ceo of the Chicago Red Stars has been contributing to my friend's blog, Pitch Invasion, on a weekly basis. If you haven't read Peter's contributions at Pitch Invasion yet, it's definitely worth checking out. This week Peter grades the WPS after a year of action comes to a close.

The WPS All-Star team faced Swedish side, Umea Ik yesterday. Umea netted two goals before the All-Star team knew it, but the All-Stars came back to score 4 goals in a row, defeating Umea 4-2. [This photo was borrowed from the Chicago Red Stars Fan Corner Profile // fans.womensprosoccer.com]

Most women's soccer fans expect Red Stars players such as Carli Lloyd, Lindsay Tarpley, Cristiane, and Megan Rapinoe to get called up to their perspective national team squads, as well as to the WPS All-Star game, but I think few would have expected to hear that Brittany Klein was one of three Red Stars players added to either of these team's rosters.  

Sky Blue FC shocked the league on Wednesday when they defeated St. Louis Athletica 1-0.  The lone goal came in the 31st minute of play when Yael Averbuch found defender, Keeley Dowling at the top of the box, who hit the ball low and wide as an outstretched Hope Solo was unable to get her hands to this ball.  

Highlights from the game, including Dowlings goal can be viewed here:

St. Louis Athletica and Sky Blue FC face off tonight in the WPS Super Semifinals. You can catch the match on FSC at 6PM CT. (The game can also be followed via Match Tracker or Webcast.) The winner of this match will take on LA SOL for the WPS Championship match this Saturday, August 22nd at 4PM CT. 

Sky Blue FC defeated the Freedom 2-1 in the First Round of playoffs on Saturday, August 15th. If you weren't able to watch the game, check out the highlights below, including goals from Natasha Kai and Francielle. Sky Blue FC will now come head to head with St. Louis Athletica tomorrow in the Super Seminfinal in Fenton, MO at 7PM ET. The game will be aired on FSC.

I knew I needed to come in and help the team out and give that extra fire, that spark. Natasha Kai

Check out this CBS News video highlight with an interview of Boston Breakers player, Kasey Moore. Moore expresses her experiences of the 1999 World Cup Championship and its influence on her as a young player, the fold of the WUSA, and how her dreams have come true with the rebirth of women's professional soccer via the WPS.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Since Chicago is out of the playoffs, who are we, Red Stars supporters, supposed to support during the WPS Playoffs?  We can support LA Sol home to Marta, St. Louis Athletica- who has national team standout- Hope Solo, or Washington Freedom with goal scoring sensation- Abby Wambach.  But what about Sky Blue FC?  

This bracket depicts how the WPS Playoffs work. The Freedom play Sky Blue FC this Sunday. The winner of the First Round plays St. Louis Athletica in the Super Semifinal. Finally, the LA Sol (winners of the regular season) will be playing against the the team that wins the Super Semifinal. [Image Credit: Women's Professional Soccer]

WPS First Round

Washington Freedom 

vs. Sky Blue FC

Date: Sat, Aug. 15

Location: Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.

Tune-In: 4pm ET - FSN 

[Image Credit: Women's Professional Soccer]

I'm rather heartbroken that the Chicago Red Stars didn't qualify for a spot in the inaugural WPS playoffs, but there are still four teams left to battle it out for the championship title.  Sky Blue FC is one of these teams, and I'm excited to announce that Chicago native (Oswego to be exact!), Julianne Sitch of Sky Blue FC has agreed to do an interview with me here at Red Stars Confidential.  

I'm really excited to share this post with everyone. It's written by my friend, Ted Harwood. He too, is a big footy (soccer) lover. You can check out other pieces by Ted & friends at their shared blog, Running Downhill (topics range from cinema to sports).
---------------------------------------------

On a global basis, no sport's uniforms have a larger financial or cultural impact than do soccer uniforms.  Just ask the giant piles of cash that Real Madrid raked in after the Zidane/Beckham/Kaká/Ronaldo signings, the numerous different blogs dedicated solely to kits current, future, and historical, and the goalscorers who kiss the badge sewn onto the front of their shirt as they wheel away in joy.  Uniforms mean a lot in soccer, but supporters often have to face the facts that their teams' kits are often somewhat questionable as fashion statements.

Thankfully, the WPS, and especially the Red Stars, have absolutely nailed the whole kit thing for their inaugural season.  The WPS Puma kits are all simple, uncluttered designs, well-tailored, and look sharp as heck.  Only the Chicago kits deviate significantly beyond the solid-color design, though, and they do it in a way that is more than just pleasing to the eye (which they are).

The flag of the City of Chicago is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city, but (and this bit is maybe crucial) only really to the citizens of the city itself.  Anyone living in the city has seen the sky blue and white flag with the four red stars hanging on the front of every building downtown, tattooed on their friend's arm, and flying in front of every courthouse and city building, but most people outside of the city probably have never seen it before (unless they're WPS fans!)  The Red Stars' kit manages to maintain the simple, not-busy design of all the WPS kits while simultaneously injecting a sharp, instantly recognizable symbol that has the power to catalyze home support in a way that, say, the Boston Breaker's plain blue shirts cannot, slick as they look.

The new England kits and the new Man City kits are bringing back a more tailored, simple look, which is most welcome after nearly two decades of baggy and nigh-horrifying kits (athletic uniforms for both men and women should be about underlining and reinforcing the idea that these folks are ATHLETES.  They are in shape, they are healthy; why are we putting them in size 60 garbage bags?).  The Red Stars' kits seem to be part of this growing trend in soccer towards sensible kit design, and for my money (probably literally, pretty soon), they are the best-looking uniforms in American sports right now.

In May of this year the original Sky Blue FC head coach and general manager, Ian Sawyers, was fired, while assistant coach, Kelly Lindsey stepped in as his replacement in an interim role before officially filling the role as head coach of this New Jersey WPS squad in June. (To read more on Sawyers' termination go here.)

I was just checking my twitter feed (@nikhak), and I came across a retweet from my friend @pitchinvasion, who reposted this tweet: @bdure_usat Shocker in #WPS: Sky Blue is on its third coach. Kelly Lindsey resigned yesterday; Christine Rampone will be player/interim coach.

Is it true- has Lindsey sent in her resignation already?  Why is player, Christine Rampone, stepping up to fill the position as head coach and not assistant coach, Joe Dorini?

Something doesn't seem quite right...

****

It should be noted that Chicago Red Stars assistant coach, Denise Reddy, was the assistant coach to Sky Blue FC before relocating to Chicago last fall.  

[Image Credit: www.womensprosoccer.com]

The Women's Professional Soccer All-Star game will be hosted by St. Louis.  It will take place on August 30, 2009 in the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo, versus elite Swedish club Umeå IK.

WPS All-Star Voting began on July 17th but will continue until July 31st. All-Star voting allows you to vote for (1) goalkeeper, (3) defenders, (5) midfielders, and (2) forwards.  The WPS ballot also gives a great option to write-in your favorite player.  This is especially helpful for those of you who have a favorite player that isn't originally listed on the ballot. 

The WPS All-Star team will be selected by late July in the following way:

11 players - Vote counting 25% fans, 25% media, 25% players, 25% coaches
7 players - At-Large Selections (WPS Commissioner and All-Star Head Coach)

In a unique twist for the first year of the WPS All-Star Game, the All-Star Team head coach will be voted on collectively by the players with the announcement coming in late July.(www.womensprosoccer.com)

More on All-Star voting...