CHICAGO – The Red Stars fell for the first time at home this season in a heated five-goal match to the Portland Thorns. Christen Press and Sofia Huerta found the back of the net for Chicago.

The Red Stars found themselves down early in the first half, trailing 2-0 in the first 10 minutes. Portland’s Hayley Raso nabbed the first goal in the third minute, with Thorns’ captain Christine Sinclair upped the visitor’s lead in the ninth minute.

Down by two, Chicago stepped up and found a rhythm and were able to secure a few shots on goal. Captain Press picked up a deflected ball outside the 18-yard box, bending it toward the upper 90, but Thorns’ goalkeeper Adrianna Franch dove for the save and knocked it out for a corner kick.

Moments later, Press would not miss and narrowed the scoreline to 1-2 in the 16^th minute. Midfielder Alyssa Mautz struck a ball toward goal, grazing the fingertips of Franch and bouncing off the crossbar. The ball bounced in front of the goal line as Press rebounded and tapped it in.

Chicago continued to press the defense, creating multiple chances and dominating the remainder of the first half. Just before halftime, Chicago equalized. Defender Sam Johnson lobbed a ball into the box, meeting Julie Ertz. Scrambling with two defenders, the ball popped out in a scramble in the box, where Huerta jumped on it to tally the equalizing goal to take the 2-2 score into halftime.

Red Stars continued to control the second half, but it was Portland to take back the lead. In the 55^th minute, Portland set up a free kick with Meghan Klingenberg behind it. Crossing it into the box, defender Emily Sonnett headed it on to get it past a diving Alyssa Naeher.

With Chicago down and minutes left, the home side continued to push up the field to create chances. Press found herself on the end of a ball that skid just wide of the post, while Huerta had the ball inside the six-yard box, but was unable to control, ending the match 2-3.

The Red Stars turn right around and host Seattle Reign FC on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. CT at Toyota Park. Tickets are available here.

– CHICAGO RED STARS MATCH REPORT –
MATCH: Chicago Red Stars vs. Portland Thorns FC
DATE: August 12, 2017
VENUE: Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Illinois
KICKOFF: 7 p.m. CT
ATTENDANCE: 4,934
WEATHER: 72 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring Summary:      1          2          F
CHI                                2          0          2
POR                              2          1          3

POR – Hayley Raso (Lindsey Horan)                            3’
POR – Christine Sinclair (Dagny Brynjarsdottir)            9’
CHI – Christen Press                                                    16’
CHI – Sofia Huerta                                                       38’
POR – Emily Sonnett (Meghan Klingenberg)               55’

Chicago Red Stars Lineup: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 6-Casey Short, 16-Sam Johnson (13-Morgan Proffitt, 84), 5-Katie Naughton, 3-Arin Gilliland; 8-Julie Ertz, 24-Danielle Colaprico (2-Jen Hoy, 65), 4-Alyssa Mautz (12-Yuki Nagasato, 59), 10-Vanessa DiBernardo; 11-Sofia Huerta, 23-Christen Press (capt.)
Substitutes: 7-Taylor Comeau, 9-Stephanie McCaffrey, 18-Michele Dalton, 19-Summer Green
Head Coach: Rory Dames

Portland Thorns FC Lineup: 24-Adrianna Franch; 25-Meghan Klingenberg, 4-Emily Menges, 16-Emily Sonnett, 2-Katherine Reynolds; 11-Dagny Brynjarsdottir (34-Tyler Lussi, 61), 7-Lindsey Horan, 28-Amandine Henry, 14-Ashleigh Sykes (26-Mallory Weber, 74); 21-Hayley Raso (30-Celeste Boureille, 90+3), 12-Christine Sinclair (capt.)
Substitutes: 9-Nadia Nadim, 15-Kendall Johnson, 27-Meghan Cox, 33-Britt Eckerstrom
Head Coach: Mark Parsons

Stats Summary: CHI / POR
Shots: 12/5
Shots on Goal: 5/3
Saves: 2/1
Corner Kicks: 7/3
Fouls: 8/11
Offside: 2/3

Misconduct Summary
CHI – Arin Gilliland (caution)                                      54’

Officials:
Referee: Greg Dopka
Asst. Referees: Cory Richardson, John Krill
4th Official: Rebecca Pagan