The Chicago Red Stars earned their first win of the season by defeating the Kansas City Current 4-2. Rookie Penelope Hocking scored her first professional goal and first professional brace tonight.  

KEY MOMENTS: 

3’ Kansas City Current earn the first attempt on goal of the match when Michelle Cooper breaks free from the Red Stars defense with a burst of speed and isn’t chased down before taking a shot that goes too far left to find the goal 

4’ Ella Stevens establishes dominance for Chicago early with a shot at an empty net after capturing the ball from Kansas City goalkeeper AD Franch, who deflected an attempt by Bianca St-Georges from just outside the box 

26’ Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher thwarts an attempt from Kansas City to get on the board when she emerges above a cluster of players from both sides to snatch a ball launched into the air via a corner kick from Kansas City 

48’ Arin Wright takes the ball into Kansas City’s 18-yard box but is forced to send the ball back outside to a waiting Penelope Hocking who then passes it to an open Cari Roccaro who takes a shot at goal, but is saved by the Current’s AD Franch 

49’ Ella Stevens keeps the missed shot by Cari Roccaro in Chicago’s possession, servicing to the ball to Penelope Hocking, who sends the ball into the right side of the net with a cross that Current goalkeeper Franch is unable to stop 

60’ Cheyna Matthews outsmarts the Kansas City defense and goes on a breakaway run, sending a shot at goal that goes off the post, but the ball ricochets back off of the KC goalkeeper, Franch, and into the post again before crossing the goal line as own goal on the Current 

67’ Penelope Hocking again finds the back of the net after Matthews launches the ball from the midfield that finds Hocking at the edge of the box, where Hocking outruns the Kansas City defense to launch a shot that follows virtually the same path as her first goal 

73’ Debinha puts Kansas City on the board for the first time after drawing Red Stars goalkeeper out of the box, leaving a clear chance for the Current forward to score 

90+7’ Kansas City’s Mimi Larsson narrows the score gap once more in the final minutes after a lofty pass from the midfield allows her to bypass Naeher 

GAME NOTES: 

• Rookie Penelope Hocking was key to putting the first win in the Red Star’s column tonight, logging a brace in her third appearance in the NWSL with her first professional goal in the 49th minute of the match and adding a second to her resume in the 67th minute. 
• Cheyna Matthews continued her NWSL comeback season with a vengeance tonight, earning her first start as a Red Star and making her first start in the NWSL since 2021. While Matthews did not net her first goal in her new uniform this evening, she attempted a shot in the 60th minute that forced Kansas City to concede an own goal and supplied the assist that netted Penelope Hocking her second goal of the night only seven minutes later. 
• Continuing the theme of first for Chicago, Ella Stevens scored her first goal of the 2023 regular season only four minutes into the match, followed by an assist to Penelope Hocking’s 49th minute goal. 

Next Game 

 OL Reign vs. Chicago Red Stars April 22, 2023, 2:30 p.m. CT at Lumen Field 

Goals by Half  

          1 2 F 

CHI 1 3 4 

KCC 0 2 2 

Scoring Summary: 

CHI: 4’ Ella Stevens, 49’ Penelope Hocking (Stevens), 60’ AD Franch (Own Goal) 67’ Penelope Hocking (Matthews) 

KCC: 74’ Debinha (Larsson), 90+7’ Larsson 

Disciplinary Report 

CHI: 77’ Penelope Hocking (Yellow Card), 90+6’ Cari Roccaro (Yellow Card) 

KCC: 72’ Michelle Cooper (Yellow Card), 81’ Hailie Mace (Yellow Card) 

Lineups 

CHI: Alyssa Naeher, Casey Krueger, Tierna Davidson, Tatumn Milazzo, Cari Roccaro, Yuki Nagasato (Bianchi), Bianca St-Georges (Bike), Arin Wright, Ella Stevens (Griffith), Penelope Hocking (Aguilera), Cheyna Matthews (Cook) 

KCC: AD Franch, Hailie Mace (Childers), Izzy Rodriguez, Jenna Winebrenner, Gabrielle Robinson, Kate Del Fava (Merrick), Vanessa DiBernardo (Larsson), Lo ‘eau LaBonta, Chardonnay Curran (Soto), Debinha (Spaanstra), Michelle Cooper