![]() The Red Stars doubled the lead in the 59th minute on Sarah Woldmoe’s goal.Ĭhicago goalkeeper Cassie Miller made six saves.īixby collapsed to the field after the loss in tears, and was helped off by her teammates. Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby leaped but couldn’t deflect the shot from distance to the near post. Watt’s replacement, Katie Johnson, scored in the 37th minute to give the Red Stars the lead. The Red Stars were without Mallory Pugh because of coronavirus protocol.Ĭhicago was hurt in the 23rd minute when attacker Kealia Watt injured her right knee and had to leave the game. The Thorns were also without midfielder Crystal Dunn, who announced this week that she is pregnant and due in the spring. She released a statement just before the game that said she took a knock in practice on Saturday and lost vision for a few hours. The Thorns were without midfielder Lindsey Horan because of an eye injury. They have won the NWSL championship twice, in the league’s inaugural season in 2013 and again in 2017. The Thorns won the NWSL Shield this season for best regular-season record. The Spirit beat OL Reign 2-1 earlier Sunday. – Katie Johnson and Sarah Woldmoe each scored and the Chicago Red Stars advanced to the National Women’s Soccer League championship game with a 2-0 semifinal victory over the Portland Thorns on Sunday.Ĭhicago will play the Washington Spirit for the title Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky. It was Kealia’s first time having food from the Chicago-based restaurant chain, and Twitter, excuse the pun, ate it up by having fun with the situation - and one unfortunate headline from a Houston TV station - by referring to J.J. Watt tweeted a photo of a Portillo’s carryout bag. If there was any doubt Red Stars fans are just as excited, go back to January, when J.J. I’m really excited just to be able to play this year.” Chicago was exactly where I wanted to get to. I really needed a new environment and something new. “But I was at a point in my career that I was not growing anymore. “It was a hard thing because Houston is very much my home, and I loved my time with the Dash,” Watt said. Watt, call home.īut it was a necessary move to rebuild her career. She was the team captain, and Houston is where she and her husband, Texans defensive end J.J. The decision to leave the Dash wasn’t easy. “I’ve always wanted to play for Chicago and to play for Rory,” Watt said. The feeling was mutual, and when Watt approached the Dash after the 2019 season about a trade, she requested a move to Chicago. ![]() The move for Watt, 28, was a long time coming: Dames said the Red Stars tried to acquire her last season. (Wilf Thorne/ISIPhotos/Chicago Red Stars photo) Houston Dash forward Kealia Ohai looks to pass the ball during a National Women's Soccer League match against the Orlando Pride at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on May 5, 2019. The next season, however, she tore her left ACL, and between returning from injury and two head coaching changes, the 20 seasons didn’t go as planned. Watt was the league’s co-leading scorer with 11 goals in 2016. probably have a little chip on their shoulder to gain recognition for how good they are and for Kealia to get back into that form she had a few years ago.” “They’re all very different but they all give us something we didn’t have last year,” Dames said. Perhaps more important, he said, each has something to prove. “You’re never happy to lose a player like Sam for a multitude of reasons, but it’s also exciting to be able to evolve the style a little bit and see where it takes us.”ĭames said the trio offers versatility and flexibility the Red Stars lacked last season when they lost 4-0 in the NWSL final to the North Carolina Courage. “We’ll have to methodically build an attack and be less transitional and be able to get more numbers to sustain pressure higher up for longer periods of time to create more chances. “We have to attack a little differently,” he said. And though none is a like-for-like replacement for Kerr - who scored 34 goals in 40 games with the Red Stars - the additions should see the team implement a more dynamic approach, coach Rory Dames said. Watt, a wide forward, figures to be a key component of the attack with fellow newcomers Rachel Hill and Makenzy Doniak.
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