CHICAGO – The Red Stars break their three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Washington Spirit. In her first start after arriving in Chicago via trade on Monday, Kristie Mewis tallied her first Red Stars goal as Christen Press found her 10^th of the season.

The Spirit narrowly got away with a goal off a corner kick, but forward Yuki Nagasato cleared two balls off the goal line to keep the match level in the first ten minutes. With Chicago finding open pockets in the Washington defense, it was no wonder the Red Stars nabbed the first goal of the match in the 23rd minute.

Midfielder Danielle Colaprico chased a ball toward the end line, cutting it back to Mewis running into the box. Getting through two defenders, Mewis slid the ball to the far post with her left foot, notching her first goal in a Red Stars jersey.

Minutes before halftime, Nagasato just about gave Chicago their second after her header deflected off the crossbar. Bouncing down, the ball found the feet of defender Katie Naughton, who sailed the ball over the goal for the Red Stars final attempt in the first half. Heading into the locker room, Chicago grabbed the lead, 1-0.

In the second half, Washington found a stretch of shots, but Chicago buckled down and was able to clear all of the opportunities.

In the 81^st minute, Washington countered with a goal to grab the equalizer. Midfielder Mallory Pugh set up a free kick, crossing it toward the far post. Forward Cheyna Williams beat the Chicago defense to head it past a diving Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, evening the score, 1-1.

Chicago came back in late fashion when captain Christen Press found her way behind the Washington defense, receiving a lobbing ball from Julie Ertz. With Spirit goalkeeper Didi Haracic stretched out, Press flicked the ball around and slotted it into the open net, creating a 2-1 lead, which would be enough for the Red Stars victory.

Chicago returns home for their last regular season match at Toyota Park when they take on North Carolina Courage on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 5 p.m. CT. Tickets are available here.

– CHICAGO RED STARS MATCH REPORT – 

MATCH: Chicago Red Stars vs. Washington Spirit
DATE: August 26, 2017
VENUE: Maryland SoccerPlex; Boyds, Maryland
KICKOFF: 6 p.m. CT
ATTENDANCE: 3,469
WEATHER: 75 degrees, sunny

Scoring Summary:      1          2          F
CHI                                   1          1           2
WAS                                 0          1           1

CHI – Kristie Mewis (Danielle Colaprico)                                23’
WAS – Cheyna Williams (Mallory Pugh)                                  81’
CHI – Christen Press (Julie Ertz)                                                87’

Chicago Red Stars Lineup: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 6-Casey Short, 16-Samantha Johnson, 5-Katie Naughton, 3-Arin Gilliland; 8-Julie Ertz, 24-Danielle Colaprico, 11-Sofia Huerta, 15-Kristie Mewis (7-Taylor Comeau, 81); 12-Yuki Nagasato (4-Alyssa Mautz, 64), 23-Christen Press (capt.)
Substitutes Not Used: 2-Jen Hoy, 9-Stephanie McCaffrey, 10-Vanessa DiBernardo,14-Sarah Gorden, 18-Michele Dalton
Head Coach: Rory Dames

Washington Spirit Lineup: 21-Didi Haracic; 22-Alyssa Kleiner (14-Francisca Ordega, 90), 24-Estelle Johnson (capt.), 5-Whitney Church, 3-Caprice Dydasco; 11-Mallory Pugh, 29-Meggie Dougherty Howard, 23-Tori Huster, 9-Havana Solaun (10-Estafania Banini, 60); 20-Cheyna Williams, 2-Arielle Ship (17-Cali Farquharson, 70)
Substitutes Not Used: 1-Stephanie Labbe, 8-Lindsay Agnew, 12-Morgan Proffitt, 18-Kelsey Wys
Head Coach: Jim Gabarra

Stats Summary: CHI / WAS
Shots: 9/8
Shots on Goal: 4/1
Saves: 0/2
Corner Kicks: 4/5
Fouls: 9/18
Offside: 5/2

Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Danielle Colaprico (caution)                                         70’
WAS – Estelle Johnson (caution)                                            90+5’

Officials:
Referee: Kevin Broadley
Asst. Referee: Jeremy Weed, Jeremy Kieso
4th Official: Andrew O’Connor