Windy City Soccer

Red Stars Finish 2010 with Victory

Sun, 5 Sep 2010 21:17:44 -0500

Chicago Red Stars 2-1 Washington Freedom

by John Schulz

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--The Chicago Red Stars may have finished out of the WPS playoffs, but they ended the regular season with a a two-game win streak thanks to a 2-1 win over the Washington Freedom on Sunday. The game was played before 4,067 at Toyota Park.

The win gives the Red Stars a 7-11-6 record for 27 points on the season. The Freedom are now 7-9-7 and have a one-point lead over Sky Blue FC for the fourth and final playoff spot in the WPS. The final regular season game for both teams will be this Saturday, September 11.

The first half started very slow as both teams mounted much of an attack. The Red Stars did start to look dangerous in the last ten minutes of the first half. They would up the pressure in the second half.

In the 50th minute, the Red Stars would score. Casey Nogueira would get a pass from Veronica Boquete. Nogueira would get past two defenders before shooting the ball to the far left post. The ball bounced off the post in to the goal for a 1-0 Red Stars lead. The Red Stars were 6-0-0 when scoring first this season going into the game.

The Red Stars kept the attack going through the rest of the game. They would end up outshooting Washington. 22-10. Eleven of those shots were on goal. Freedom goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris mad nine saves on the night. Red Stars goalkeeper Jillian Loyden only had to make one save in the game.

Washington went down a player in the 87th minute when Sarah Huffman was booked for her second yellow card and was given the red card ejection. The Red Stars took advantage with Megan Rapinoe getting a goal in second half stoppage time. Boquete got her second assist of the game on the goal.

"I think the ball was bouncing around the box a little bit, and [Veronica Boquete] took a nice touch past I think it was [Cat] Whitehill toward the end line. I think the keeper [Ashlyn Harris] got a little hand on it, popped up and I was standing right there basically." Rapinoe said.

That goal would end up being the game-winning goal as Washington scored a minute later. Second half sub Beverly Goebel scored to make the game 1-0. Washington threatened to tie the game in the four minutes of stoppage time but the Red Stars withstood and came away with the win.

"It was a great win. Washington is fighting for their playoff lives coming here, and they threw everything at us. We had a good team effort. Our effort's been great the last few weeks, and you can see it. We're playing good soccer, we're trying to keep it on the ground and move it around, and now we're scoring goals." said Red Stars head Coach Omid Nazami.

It's a little too late for this year, but as I said to the players on the field, we're building. These are the building blocks for next year. Going into the offseason, having won two games over teams that are fighting for playoffs and teams that are going to the playoffs most likely, gives us a lot of confidence. It gives us a head start for what we want next year." he added.

(Editor’s Note: John Schulz will have a Red Stars roundup for this their second season.)

SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Casey Nogueria (Boquete) 50
CHI-Megan Rapinoe (Boquete) 92+
WAS-Beverly Goebel (unassisted) 93+

BOOKING SUMMARY:
WAS-Sarah Huffman (caution, reckless foul) 66
WAS-Brittany Boch (caution, persistent infringement) 73
CHI-Formiga (caution, reckless foul) 85
WAS-Sarah Huffman (caution, reckless tackle) 87
WAS-Sarah Huffman (sent off, second caution) 87

CHICAGO RED STARS (4-4-2): #1-Jillian Loyden; #2-Marian Dalmy, #9-Whitney Engen, #15-Kate Markgrag (C), #13-Natalie Spilger; #8-Formiga, #7-Megan Rapinoe, #17-Katie Chapman, #14-Karen Carney (#11-Karen Carney 46+); #27-Casey Nogueira (#21-Lydia Vandenbergh 88), #19-Veronica Boquete

Subs not used: #31-Allison Whitworth, #16-Sophie Reiser

WASHINGTON FREEDOM (4-3-3): #24-Ashlyn Harris; #4-Cat Whitehill (C), #17-Nikki Marshall, #19-Rebecca Moros (#6-Beverly Goebel 85), #22-Becky Sauerbrunn; #8-Sonia Bompastor, #9-Allie Long, #10-Homare Sawa (#5-Brittany Boch 46), #14-Sarah Huffman; #15-Anita Asante, #20-Abby Wambach

Subs not used: #0-Megan McCray, #13-Christie Welsh, #23-Kristi Eveland

TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 22-10 WAS
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 11-3 WAS
FOULS: CHI 9-7 WAS
OFFSIDES: CHI 3-4 WAS
CORNER KICKS: CHI 7-4 WAS
SAVES: CHI 1-9 WAS

Referee: Ted Unkel
Referee’s Assistants: Christina Ibanez, Greg Dopka
Fourth Official: Victor Herrera
Attendance: 4,067

Preview: Red Stars vs. Freedom

Sat, 4 Sep 2010 21:56:21 -0500

Red Stars conclude their season on FSC.

by John Schulz

Chicago Red Stars (6-11-6, 6th place) vs. Washington Freedom (7-8-7, 4th place)

The Chicago Red Stars will conclude their second WPS season on Sunday when they take on the Washington Freedom at Toyota Park. Kickoff is set for 5 pm with the game being televised on Fox Soccer Channel.

The Red Stars are looking to beat Washington for the first time this season. Washington has won one game versus Chicago and the other two matches were draws. While the Red Stars are not going to the playoffs, Washington is looking to clinch a spot. The Freedom can clinch with a win and if Sky Blue FC tie or lose their game against the Atlanta Beat. They can also clinch with a tie combined with a Sky Blue loss.

“Washington is a funny, funny team because I feel we’ve outplayed them every single time we’ve played them. Yet, Abby Wambach scores on a set piece or a redirection, an own goal of some sort. So I’d like nothing more than to be a spoiler.” said Red Stars head coach Omid Nazami.

The Red Stars are looking for good finish to the season. They are coming off of a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Independence on Wednesday night. Newcomer Veronica Boquete scored her first goal for her new club.

“We want to finish strong,” Namazi said. “We want to give the people who come here game in and game out and cheer us on a good feeling about what we’re going to do next year. We want to close out strong. We want to showcase Vero [Boquete], showcase a healthy team finally.”

The Red Stars are 6-0-0 in games in which they score the first goal. A good start would be good for Chicago. The Red Stars rank high in defensive stats for the league. Goalkeeper Jilian Loyden has the second lowest GAA in the league at 1.18, overall the team is second in goals allowed this season.

The defense has to watch Washington’s Abby Wambach who has 12 goals (tied for 2nd in the league) and 8 assists (tied for 1st in the league). Wambach has been a mainstay for the US National team as well. The Red Stars will be missing their leading scorer Ella Masar (8 goals). Masar is recovering from nose surgery and missed the team’s last game as well.

Fire Score Late, But Galaxy Equalize Later

Sat, 4 Sep 2010 19:07:48 -0500

Chicago Fire 1-1 Los Angeles Galaxy

by Dan Gaichas

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--The Fire were reduced to ten men, stopped a penalty, looked as though they might get the three points later, but ended up losing two of them to a late goal and finished 1-1 with the LA Galaxy before a sellout crowd of 21,068.

The Fire went down a man in the 21st minute after referee Mark Geiger adjudged Gonzalo Segares to have elbowed Leonardo in the back of the head inside the penalty area. Segares was shown a straight red and awarded the Galaxy a penalty.

Landon Donovan stepped up to take the penalty, as he did the two against the Fire at Home Depot Center last month, but this time, Sean Johnson came up with the save.

“I’ve seen two penalty kicks earlier this year from [Donovan],” said Johnson. “So I tried to get a good read. I think I did and I was able to save it and keep us in the game.”

In the second half, LA outshot the Fire, 14-6. However, it appeared neither side was going to score until the 88th minute when substitute Collins John unleashed a free kick from 20 yards out and beat Donovan Ricketts far post.

That looked to be the match winner until the 90th minute when LA got a corner and Donovan’s corner was met by Omar Gonzalez who headed it in to salvage a point. They almost got all three on another corner in stoppage time, but Johnson would make his seventh save of the match against Sean Franklin.

“It was a difficult game,” said Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos. “It got complicated early when we got the red card, but the team knew how to handle the Galaxy’s attack. We responded well on defense, but we made the same mistakes.

“It’s a shame because all the players gave a lot of effort. Unfortunately, we are not learning from out mistakes, and if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we won’t improve and we won’t learn our lessons.”

Collins John, who wanted to score and help get three points for the retiring Brian McBride, hopes he can contribute more with ten matches remaining and help the team get into the playoffs.

“I’m just trying to keep my head down and try to give my best until the end of the season,” said John. “Hopefully, I can score more goals for the club and bring us to the playoffs. Hopefully, with ten games to go, we can get more results [by scoring] the goals.”

The Fire have a quick turnaround as they remain at home to take on Toronto FC on Wednesday night at 7:30pm. The match will be televised on WPWR (my50).

SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Collins John (unassisted) 88
LA-Omar Gonzalez (Donovan) 91+

BOOKING SUMMARY:
CHI-Gonzalo Segares (sent off, serious foul play) 21
CHI-Logan Pause (caution, reckless foul) 63
LA-Omar Gonzalez (caution, reckless tackle) 87
CHI-Collins John (caution, unsporting behavior) 89

CHICAGO FIRE (4-4-2): #25-Sean Johnson; #28-Steven Kinney, #2-CJ Brown, #22-Wilman Conde, #31-Gonzalo Segares; #14-Patrick Nyarko (#15-Collins John 82), #11-John Thorrington, #12-Logan Pause, #18-Mike Banner; #10-Nery Castillo (#3-Calen Carr 69), #20-Brian McBride (C) (#23-Krzysztof Krol 77)

Subs not used: #40-Andrew Dykstra, #4-Kwame Watson-Siriboe, #19-Corben Bone, #9-Baggio Husidic

LOS ANGELES GALAXY (4-4-2): #1-Donovan Ricketts; #28-Sean Franklin, #4-Omar Gonzales, #22-Leonardo, #2-Todd Dunivant (#18-Mike Magee 82); #17-Tristan Bowen (#27-Bryan Jordan 61), #21-Dema Kovalenko, #9-Jovan Kirovski, #88-Alex Cazumba (#6-Eddie Lewis 71); #10-Landon Donovan (C), #14-Edson Buddle

Subs not used: #12-Josh Saunders, #20-AJ DeLaGarza, #7-Chris Klein, #26-Michael Stephens

TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 9-20 LA
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 2-8 LA
FOULS: CHI 8-14 LA
OFFSIDES: CHI 3-0 LA
CORNER KICKS: CHI 4-4 LA
SAVES: CHI 7-1 LA

Referee: Mark Geiger
Referee’s Assistants: Anthony Vasoli, Steven Taylor
4th Official: Abbey Okulaja
Weather: Sunny and 67º
Attendance: 21,068

Man of the Match: Sean Johnson (CHI) with seven big saves.
Second Star: Collins John (CHI) who is coming back in form.
Third Star: Omar Gonzalez (LA) with the equalizer later.

McBride to Retire at Season’s End

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 20:15:07 -0500

Fire striker to end 14-year career.

by Dan Gaichas

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--Fire forward Brian McBride has announced his retirement from playing effective at the end of this season after a career that has spanned 14 years with stops in Columbus, Preston North End, and at Fulham before coming to the Fire in 2008.

"It was time for me," said McBride. "It was something that I felt I wanted to do, not so much that that I can't keep playing. It was time for a new segment of life and a different career."

McBride is still the co-leader at Columbus in goals scored with 62 between 1996, when he was MLS’s very first draft pick, and 2003. During that time, loan spells with Preston North End and Everton yielded five goals in 17 matches.

He came to Fulham in 2004 and would score 40 goals in 111 matches twice winning Player of the Year honors in 2005 and 2006. After coming back from a dislocated kneecap in 2007-2008, he captained Fulham to retain their Premiership status that season. McBride became so popular at Craven Cottage that they have named a bar after him.

The Arlington Heights-native would return home in July 2008 to play for the Fire where he has scored 16 goals in 49 matches despite missing a chunk of 2009 due to shoulder surgery. This year, McBride has four goals and two assists.

McBride is also the United States’ third all-time leading scorer among men with 30 (behind Landon Donovan and Eric Wynalda) and is one of just three players to score in multiple World Cups (Donovan, Clint Dempsey). He has represented the US in three World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006) and in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Managing a club is not in McBride’s immediate future, but...

"I won't say never because I have such a passion for the game and I think I have a few things in my head that can help people," he said.

Preview: Fire vs. Galaxy

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 19:46:33 -0500

Fire to play Donovan and Co. without Ljungberg and Pappa.

by Dan Gaichas

Chicago Fire (6-7-6, 4th in East) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (13-5-4, 1st in West)

The Chicago Fire will take on the league-leading LA Galaxy without the services of Freddie Ljungberg (suspension), Marco Pappa (national team duty), and Deris Umanzor (national team duty). David Beckham will not be in uniform for the Galaxy aiming to return the following Saturday against Columbus.

Last month, three goals in the first 20 minutes were just enough to defeat the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center, 3-2, handing LA their first home league loss of the year. After a blazing start, the Galaxy have gone 3-6-1 in all competitions since the 4th of July. Indeed, the Galaxy are coming off another home loss, 2-0, to Kansas City and are now just three points ahead of Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference.

The Fire are coming off a heartbreaking loss against Seattle, 2-1, where they gave up a stoppage time goal to Fredy Montero and where player selection and the notion that the Fire’s depth was not put to great use came into question.

“The team was good in the midfield,” said head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. “Sometimes, when we [make a change] you cancreate some instability. I was talking with the guys about how they felt because I could make another sub, but they told me that they felt very good. That was the reason.”

The question now is how to replace Ljungberg and Pappa for Saturday. Look for Patrick Nyarko to step it up a notch in their absence. Another question mark is Nery Castillo, who missed the trip to Seattle due to lack of match fitness. He is hoping to make amends for this week.

“I really want to play right now,” said Castillo. “I have been training really hard this week to get physically better, but it’s just now up to the coach if he wants me to play.”

Said de los Cobos: "If he’s ready to play, if he feelsgood, [then] he will play. If he doesn’t feel confident to start, he will be in the bench and we will start with other guys. We need to wait until the end of the week [to decide].”

The Fire currently sit five points out of the last playoff spot and need wins with eleven games to go.

We will tweet live from the match at www.twitter.com/windycitysoccer.

Kickoff for the match is at 3pm and will be shown on Comcast SportsNet in English and TeleFutura in Spanish.

REFEREE: Mark Geiger; SAR (bench): Anthony Vasoli; JAR (opposite): Steven Taylor; 4th: Abbey Okulaja

INJURY REPORT:
CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: DF Dasan Robinson (R hamstring strain); PROBABLE: MF John Thorrington (R ankle contusion); MF Freddie Ljungberg (L calcaneal contusion)

LOS ANGELES GALAXY - OUT: MF David Beckham (L Achilles tendon surgery); QUESTIONABLE: DF Gregg Berhalter (viral complications)

SUSPENDED:
CHI: Freddie Ljungberg (yellow card accumulation, thru Sept. 5)
LA: Chris Birchall (yellow card accumulation, thru Sept. 5)

SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW:
LA: Juninho

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES:
CHI: Marco Pappa (GUA), Deris Umanzor (SLV)

THIS YEAR:
8/1/10: LA 2-3 CHI (Donovan 37, 81 - Pappa 4, John 5, Banner 19)

College Beat: Men’s Soccer Preview 2010

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 18:55:09 -0500

Season starts this weekend.

by Dan Gaichas

We previewed the women two weeks ago in the College Beat. It is the men’s turn (in random order), this week. Just like last year, each school will be marked by its team colors so that it will be easier to read along.

NORTHWESTERN
Head Coach: Tim Lenahan (10th season, 92-68-23)
Last Season: 11-5-4; 3-2-1 in Big Ten
NCAA Appearances: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Like last season, the Wildcats begin the season as the #9 team in the preseason rankings. Last year, NU went to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six seasons making it to the second round before falling to Tulsa.

Seven starters return to the Wildcats this season including midfielders Jack Hillgard and Piero Bellizzi, and forward Matt Eliason.

The Cats are predicted to finish third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Indiana. The Cats host Ohio State on October 10 in Evanston while they travel to Indiana on Halloween. Local derbies are also on the schedule with the Cats hosting DePaul on October 6 and traveling to Loyola, two weeks later

Northwestern opens the season on Friday, September 3, at San Francisco at 10pm CT.

UIC
Head Coach: Sean Phillips (1st season)
Last Season: 6-6-7; 3-3-2 in Horizon League
NCAA Appearances: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008

It’s a year of change at UIC with John Trask leaving in January to take over the men’s soccer job at Wisconsin. Sean Phillips is the new man in charge in the West Loop. He was the top assistant at UIC from 2005 on before moving up to head coach.

The Flames return just four starters from last year and welcome nine newcomers such as red shirt freshman Ned Pavlovic from Glenbrook South HS.

Mark October 13 on your calendar to see the Flames host #18-Ohio State at Flames Field. They will pay a visit to their former coach in Madison on November 3. They will host Loyola this year in the final regular season match three days later.

UIC open at home on Friday against Florida International at 8:30pm.

LOYOLA
Head Coach: Brandon Eitz (6th season, 44-36-16)
Last Season: 4-8-4; 1-5-2 in Horizon League
NCAA Appearances: 2006, 2008

The Ramblers seek redemption after a disappointing 2009 which saw them win just once in the Horizon League and three times out of conference.

Head coach Brandon Eitz looks to replace his top four scorers from last season: Mark Halma, Eric Ferguson, Eric Gehrig, and Alex Jones. Returning to the Lake Shore are midfielder Willie Koss and forward Jordan Lewis as well as 17 other letter winners. Loyola lost just one other player to graduation.

After opening with a 2-0 loss to Creighton, the Ramblers are in California this weekend taking on #25-UC-Irvine and Santa Clara. In addition to the matches with Northwestern and UIC, the Ramblers travel to DePaul on September 15.

DE PAUL
Head Coach: Craig Blazer (10th season, 60-94-18)
Last Season: 8-9-3; 5-6-1 in Big East
NCAA Appearances: 2007

It will be another challenging season for the Blue Demons. The Demons did upset St. John’s in the Big East tournament before falling to Louisville in the quarterfinals. Six starters return from that team including forward Alex Mangan, Antonio Aguilar, Willy Lara, and John Jandl.

The Demons will host #16-South Florida on October 13 and then #17-St. John’s, ten days later. They will face #20-Louisville on October 20.

DePaul opened on Wednesday with an away loss to UW-Green Bay, 2-1. They come back to Chicago to play Western Illinois at UIC before returning to Wish Field to take on Florida International on Sunday at noon.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Head Coach: Eric Luzzi (2nd season, 10-8-1)
Last Season: 10-8-1; 3-3-0 in Mid-American Conference
NCAA Appearances: 1973, 2006

The Huskies’ 2009 season was marked with a stunning draw against then #1-North Carolina in Chapel Hill at the start of the season and taking soon-to-be National Runners-Up Akron to overtime in the MAC tournament before falling in extra time.

Leading goalscorer Brad Horton is back in DeKalb as are forward Luis Mojica, Kyle Knotek, and Juan Hoyos.

Three invitational tournaments start the Huskies’ season. The first is in Portland, OR where they will play the #19-host Pilots on Friday night at 9:30pm. Then, they will take on Washington on Sunday. Then, they return home to host their own NIU adidas/Magunson Inn Invitational where they will take on Oregon State (9/10) and Cleveland State (9/12). Finally, they head to Evanston for NU’s Lakeside Classic and play Holy Cross (9/17) and Gonzaga (9/19).

The big match this year vs. preseason #1-Akron will be in DeKalb on Saturday, October 9 at 3pm.

Last season was a relative off-year for the local Division I sides in men’s soccer with just NU making the Big Dance. In the past, multiple teams from the area have made it. We’ll see what transpires this year as Windy City Soccer stays on the College Beat this Fall.

Red Stars Break Free of Philly Hoo-doo

Wed, 1 Sep 2010 23:06:32 -0500

Chicago Red Stars 2-0 Philadelphia Independence

by John Schulz

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--Veronica Boquete and Marian Dalmy both scored their first goals of the season as the Red Stars defeated Philadelphia 2-0. It was the Red Stars’ first victory over Philadelphia this season. The match was played in front a crowd of 2,173 at Toyota Park. The win also broke the Red Stars’ three-game losing streak.

The loss dropped the Independence to third place, but did clinch a spot in the WPS playoffs due to Sky Blue FC and FC Gold Pride playing to a draw earlier this evening.

The first round of playoffs will be the fourth place team taking on the third place team. Higher seeds will host playoff games. The winner of the first round will take on the second place team in the semi-finals. FC Gold Pride has clinched a spot in the championship game and will host on Sunday, September 26.

The Red Stars would strike early on. Boquete would score in the 4th minute of play. Casey Nougeria took a free kick and pass to Boquete who would shoot the ball just past Philadelphia goalkeeper Val Henderson.

"Anytime we get that first goal it seems like if we can ride it out. Tonight was no different. we had decent spurts of play, but we could have scored a lot more. But overall, the possession wasn't as good as some of the games we've lost. having said that, I'll take the win,” Red Stars head coach Omid Nazami said.

Dalmy would double the score in the 54th minute. After taking a Karen Carney pass, she would strike the ball from 30 yards outside in to the upper left corner of the net.

Coach Nazami gave his defense credit for the game they played. Philadelphia came into the game with second best offense in the league.

"I felt our back line did a great job of containing [Amy] Rodriguez,” said Namazi. “She really puts a lot of pressure on the defense and has outstanding speed. So we dropped off. The space in front of us was pretty occupied by Formiga. She did a great job, [Katie] Chapman. We weren't worried about that space. We were worried about the space behind. I thought our back line, especially our two central defenders, did a great job."

Nazami rested some regular players tonight and it was announced earlier that Chicago’s leading scorer Ella Masar would miss the last two games of the season due to a nose injury she had surgery on this week. Her spot was taken by Boquete who started her first game for the Red Stars.

"It was very tough to know that I could not contribute. Yet because of some visa issues I couldn't get on the field and help the team and get into the playoffs. At the end of the day, it is what it is. I'm happy that now I've sorted out the visa and obviously very happy with what I did tonight." Boquete said through a translator after the game.

The Red Stars will finish the season on Sunday. They will play the Washington Freedom at 5pm at Toyota Park.

SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Veronica Boquete (Nogueira) 4
CHI-Marian Dalmy (Carney) 54

BOOKING SUMMARY:
CHI-Katie Chapman (caution) 36
CHI-Caroline Seger (caution) 77

CHICAGO RED STARS (4-3-3): #1-Jillian Loyden; #2-Marian Dalmy, #9-Whitney Engen, #15-Kate Markgraf (C), #13-Natalie Spilger; #8-Formiga, #14-Karen Carney (#11-Cristiane 57), #7-Megan Rapinoe (#21-Lydia Vandenbergh 73), #17-Katie Chapman; #4-Veronica Boquete, #27-Casey Nogueira (#16-Sophie Reiser)

PHILADELPHIA INDEPENDENCE (4-3-3): #1-Val Henderson; #3-Allison Falk, #18-Kelly Henderson (#19-Danesha Adams 70), #7-Sara Larsson (#17-Joanna Lohman 46), #4-Jen Buczkowski; #25-Tina DiMartino, #15-Nikki Krzysik, #6-Lori Lindsey (#10-Lianne Sanderson 64), #9-Caroline Seger; #26-Holmfridur Magnusdottir, #8-Amy Rodriguez

TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 16-12 PHI
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 7-4 PHI
FOULS: CHI 12-10 PHI
OFFSIDES: CHI 0-3 PHI
CORNER KICKS: CHI 4-2 PHI
SAVES: CHI 4-5 PHI

Referee: Moo Hackett
Assistant Referees: Said Ravanfar, Ian Gut
Fourth Official: Miguel Panduro
Attendance: 2,173

Woman of the Match: Veronica Boquete (CHI) for scoring her first goal.
Second Star: Marian Dalmy (CHI) for getting her first goal of the season as well.
Third Star: Katie Chapman (CHI) who almost got a third Red Star goal in the second half.

Preview: Red Stars vs. Independence

Wed, 1 Sep 2010 05:34:46 -0500

Red Stars finish with three home games.

by John Schulz

Chicago Red Stars (5-11-6, 6th place) vs. Philadelphia Independence (10-8-4, 2nd Place)

The Red Stars play their second to last game of the season on Wednesday night at Toyota Park. They will be taking on the Philadelphia Independence. Philadelphia can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a draw. The Red Stars were eliminated from the playoffs last Saturday when Washington defeated Sky Blue FC, 2-1.

Despite not making to the playoffs, Red Stars head coach Omid Nazami see value in the last two games. Nazami took over the Red Stars this season after Emma Hayes was let go after the team got off to a slow start.

“Long-term changes don’t happen over night. It’s a process and we’re looking to build our team for next year. This will give us a better look at our players on the bubble and those we are undecided about.” Nazami said. “I’m expecting some of our best performances in these last two games. We are healthy -- as healthy as you can get -- we've got Kate Markgraf coming back, Veronica Boquete is now available, so we’re as strong as we can be. We’re going to go out and perform, get goals and hopefully win these last two games and give the fans something to cheer about.”

The Red Stars are on a three-game losing streak and have gone 1-6-1 in the last eight games. Philadelphia has beaten the Red Stars in all three games the teams have played against each other.

Statistically, Philadelphia ranks second in offense in the WPS while the Red Stars have the second best defense. Amy Rodriguez leads the Independence with twelve goals. Ella Masar leads the Red Stars with eight goals. Masar had two goals in the team’s last game versus Gold Pride FC.

The Red Stars will conclude their second season on Sunday. They will take on the Washington Freedom. Kickoff is at 5pm and will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel.

Bradley Re-Signs as US Coach

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:26:58 -0500

Contract extended through 2014.

by Dan Gaichas

CHICAGO, IL--The US Soccer Federation and head coach Bob Bradley have agreed on an extension through the 2014 World Cup. A conference call is set for Tuesday at 11am CT.

Bradley took over as US coach in 2006 and guided the team through the 2010 World Cup. Under Bradley, the US won the 2007 Gold Cup and scored an impressive victory over future World Cup champs Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup. The US is just one of two teams (Switzerland) to have defeated Spain since they won Euro 2008.

Bradley’s position was under doubt after elimination in the Round of 16 by Ghana. There was also Bradley’s stated interest in the vacant Aston Villa job and reports that US Soccer President Sunil Gulati was in talks with Juergen Klinsmann for the job.

Monday’s agreement ends two months of speculation. He will be in charge of the two US friendlies in October against Poland (10/9 at Soldier Field) and Colombia (10/12 in Philadelphia).

COMMENT: There would have been less speculation had the US either not won against Algeria (Bradley would have been out) or if they beat Ghana (Bradley would have likely been retained). He has his detractors among the US Soccer faithful, and as you know, I am not one of them.

With Bradley remaining as coach of the US National Team, the US retains the stability it has had as he is well-respected amongst the players. You also have someone who who understands the mentality of Americans and American players. It is not guaranteed that a foreign coach, even one with tremendous credentials, would understand that as Bradley. So it will be interesting to see how the next four years go as Bob Bradley will lead the US towards the 2014 World Cup.

Notes and Thoughts on Monday: Heading Home

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:55:03 -0500

The weary traveler with a parting message from Seattle.

by Dan Gaichas

INTRODUCTION: As I type this, I am packing my stuff and heading home from Seattle. I had a fun time here in the Emerald City (apart from Saturday’s result), but I have a few things to say before I make my way back to Chicago.

THOUGHTS ON THE FIRE: The Fire did play well--apart from the two moments when they left Fredy Montero unmarked. John Thorrington did very well in his first match back from injury and underscores why his passion and two-way play is sorely needed on this team.

Some fans, if they have not done so already, will invariably question why Collins John was on the pitch instead of Brian McBride or Marco Pappa. John did play the full 90 minutes and apparently showed an improved-enough attitude to warrant a return to the lineup. After all, McBride is still 38 and Pappa had taken a knock earlier in the week and perhaps it was wise not to risk him.

He was more involved in the play on Saturday night. However, the team need to find a way to score goals and John isn’t exactly one of the most likely to score them.

Head coach Carlos de los Cobos now has the problem of who to place on the pitch to get the best results as players are emerging from injury and lack of fitness as the Fire head into the stretch run. He will also need someone to replace Freddie Ljungberg for this coming Saturday as he will be suspended for yellow card accumulation.

Clearly, Thorrington has earned his way back, but who to place up front? Perhaps it’s time to give Calen Carr a start up front as well.

If the Fire do not make the playoffs, Saturday’s match against the Sounders will be one of those matches to reflect upon. They have matches in hand on their near playoff rivals, but they need to win games to prevent them from going off into the distance.

THOUGHTS ON SEATTLE: The Sounders FC fans were class throughout the night as most paid respect to Freddie Ljungberg and then, being soccer fans, booed him every time he touched the ball and cheered everytime he was stripped of it.

Indeed, there are clearly no hard feelings between Ljungberg and Seattle as the trade eventually was the best thing to do for both parties. Seattle are now flourishing in league play and Ljungberg has established himself well in Chicago.

Clearly, Seattle have done lots of things right to have the following that they have here. It helps to be in a less saturated sporting landscape and to be in a smaller market, but it also had a history to fall back on and it has been embraced to the fullest.

Next year, Portland and Vancouver will enter Major League Soccer and the Pacific Northwest will become North America’s soccer hotbed. If you get a chance next year, then you may want to plan your travel to Portland or Vancouver when the 2011 fixture list comes out.

That’s all for now. We’ll have more later this week!