CHICAGO – The Red Stars return to action for a game under the lights at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday at 7 PM to take on Sky Blue FC. Here are the keys to the match: 

Irreplaceable: Chicago went three games without a win after Sam Kerr departed to represent Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Red Stars would go scoreless in the three games that she missed during that time span. However, immediately upon her return, Kerr, who leads the league in goals (9), earned herself a hat-trick to push the team to victory on the road. In order to gain a win against Sky Blue this weekend, Kerr will need to connect with her teammates once again to help find the back of the net. 

Rise Up: It seems as though the Red Stars are coming into form after adding in new players for the 2019 season. Nearly halfway through the season, Chicago has nine new players on the roster from the 2018 season, including recently added Savannah McCaskill. Making a big presence during the World Cup is Michele Vasconcelos and Nikki Stanton, who have been required to fill in where needed on the field. Vasconcelos, just in her second year with the club, is one of just four players to appear in all ten games for Chicago and has managed to put herself on the scorecard with two goals and three assists. Meanwhile, Stanton has started in seven matches this season and her last game was the best yet as she has started to gain more momentum as she is on the field. This game will require all eleven on the field to step up and continue the push to get three points at home. 

Ring the Alarm: The alarm has been ringing on the Sky Blue FC organization for two seasons now as the team has been struggling to find points and the club has been winless in their first nine games (7L-2D). This will be the first game for the club without former head coach Denise Reddy who was relieved of her duties last Friday. A big question – how will the Sky Blue players respond? We will find out on Saturday.