CHICAGO – Halfway through the season, the Red Stars earned their first win since the mid-April after a 2-0 victory against the Washington Spirit. Sam Kerr tallied her fifth goal of the season, while Yuki Nagasato tallied her first.

After being delayed five hours due to the weather, the Red Stars got on top after the first 45 minutes despite the torrential downpour in Washington. Yuki Nagasato struck a free kick on frame, being deflected by the hands of goalkeeper Kelsey Wys. With the rain, Wys was unable to hold onto the ball, allowing Kerr to follow up the rebound with a slotted ball in the net.

Chicago finished the first half with a drop in possession, but made up for it with three shots on goal, capitalizing on one and winning two corner kicks to Washington’s zero.

Coming into the second half, the Red Stars found more of an edge after creating a 2-0 lead just minutes in. As Nagasato brought the ball into the box, the forward put it off for Alyssa Mautz. Drawing defenders her way, Mautz pushed the ball back to Nagasato near the top of the box, giving her the one-touch shot to put it past Wys.

In her first appearance of her rookie season, Chicago goalkeeper Emily Boyd had a tremendous debut, making five saves, including a one-on-one save in second half stoppage time. After a lobbed ball fell to the feet of Mallory Eubanks behind the Chicago backline, Boyd came off her line to meet the shot just inside the 18-yard box, sealing her first shutout of her career.

After the FIFA break, the Red Stars are back at home on Saturday, June 16, hosting Portland Thorns FC for Lifetime’s Game of the Week. The match will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on Lifetime. Tickets are available here.

CHICAGO SAVES:
Emily Boyd (90+3’) – In just her first career match as a rookie, Emily Boyd earned the reserving shutout after a last second save. With a well-timed lob over the Chicago backline found its way to substitute Mallory Eubanks’ feet. Timing the pass, Boyd came off her line, meeting Eubanks near the top of the 18-yard box, diving to save the one-on-one shot to seal the shutout.

CHICAGO GOALS:
Sam Kerr (25’) – Nearly halfway through the first half, Sam Kerr was able to tally her fifth goal of the season to put Chicago on top. After a foul resulting in a yellow card, Yuki Nagasato set up the free kick and was able to put it on frame. Goalkeeper Kelsey Wys was able to make a diving stop, but with the rain, the ball slipped out of her grip, allowing Kerr to rebound the ball and slot it in the back of the net.

Yuki Nagasato (49’) – Minutes just into the second half, Yuki Nagasato stretched the Red Stars lead. Streaming into the box, Nagasato created space as Spirit defenders began to collapse on her. Passing it out to Alyssa Mautz for some room, Mautz turned and gave the ball back, giving Nagasato the one-touch shot to skid it just past a diving Kelsey Wys for her first goal of the season.

Post-Match Interview:
Head coach Rory Dames

– CHICAGO RED STARS MATCH REPORT – 

MATCH: Chicago Red Stars vs. Washington Spirit
DATE: June 2, 2018
VENUE: Maryland SoccerPlex Field; Germantown, Maryland
KICKOFF: 2:30 p.m. CT
ATTENDANCE: n/a
WEATHER: 83 degrees, thunderstorm

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

CHI – Sam Kerr                                                25’
CHI – Yuki Nagasato (Alyssa Mautz)               49’

Chicago Red Stars Lineup: 21-Emily Boyd; 5-Katie Naughton, 3-Arin Gilliland, 14-Sarah Gorden, 7-Taylor Comeau; 12-Yuki Nagasato, 22-Rosie White, 4-Alyssa Mautz (capt.) (13-Lauren Kaskie, 90), 24-Danielle Colaprico, 2-Nikki Stanton, 20-Sam Kerr
Substitutes: 0-Ryann Torrero, 6-Casey Short, 10-Vanessa DiBernardo, 15-Michele Vasconcelos, 19-Summer Green
Head Coach: Rory Dames

Washington Spirit Lineup: 19-Kelsey Wys; 3-Caprice Dydasco, 5-Whitney Church, 24-Estelle Johnson (capt.), 4-Rebecca Quinn; 15-Joanna Lohman (12-Morgan Proffitt, 54), 10-Estafania Banini (22-Mallory Eubanks, 81), 6-Andi Sullivan; 9-Havana Solaun (16-Rose Lavelle, 61), 33-Ashley Hatch, 7-Taylor Smith
Substitutes: 1-Aubrey Bledsoe, 8-Meggie Dougherty Howard, 27-Yanara Aedo, 88-Tiffany Weimer
Head Coach: Jim Gabarra

Stats Summary: CHI / WAS
Shots: 11/12
Shots on Goal: 4/5
Saves: 5/2
Corner Kicks: 3/2
Fouls: 10/8
Offside: 4/3

Misconduct Summary:
WAS – Joanna Lohman (caution)                               24’
CHI – Nikki Stanton (caution)                                     31’
CHI – Alyssa Mautz (caution)                                      75’

Officials:
Referee: Karen Abt
Asst. Referees: Brooke Mayo, Jeremy Weed
4th Official: Jordan Gray