CHICAGO – In a hard-fought match against the Orlando Pride, the Chicago Red Stars would drop three points at home on a Wednesday night at SeatGeek Stadium. 

Red Stars rookie defender Tierna Davidson scored her first career NWSL goal in the 2-1 loss. Rachel Hill opened the scoring for the Pride in the 33rd minute and Obogagu would double the lead in the 61st minute. The Red Stars responded with a fantastic strike from Davidson in the 95th minute but the final whistle ended the game 2-1. 

Key Moments

4’ Morgan Brian completed a series of stepovers to beat her defender and fired in a low cross but it was swooped up by Harris.

5’ Sam Kerr picked up a pass from Yuki Nagasato midway between midfield and the Orlando goal and unleashed a strike that smashed off the crossbar.

17’ Sarah Gorden made a great tackle on Chioma Obogagu to stop an Orlando threat that was building in the Chicago box.

24’ Nagasato received the ball on the wing and chipped in a cross to DiBernardo who was waiting in the penalty area but her header went wide.

33’ Rachel Hill scored to put Orlando up 1-0. Obogagu whipped in a long-range cross and it found Hill’s head. Hill then guided it to the far corner to give Orlando the lead. 

37’ Chicago had a flurry of multiple chances from outside the box. Brian and DiBernardo launched shots outside the box in quick succession along with a rebounded shot from Brian but none found the back of the net.

45+’ Casey Short played in a dangerous cross toward Kerr right at the near post but Harris parried it away. 

46’ Kerr fought off two defenders as she raced up the middle of the field with the ball and she got a shot off but Harris blocked it.

59’ Nagasato laid off a beautiful pass to an incoming DiBernardo who shot it over the bar. 

61’ The substitute Obogagu made an impact again, as she slotted her shot past Naeher to put Orlando up 2-0. 

64’ McCaskill received the opportunity for a freekick after Kerr was fouled right outside the box but her shot went into the Orlando wall.

90+5’ Nagasato found McCaskill at the top of the box and she hit a rocket that banged off the crossbar. Davidson collected the rebound outside the box and struck a laser which beat Harris to pull one back for Chicago. 

Game Notes

• Chicago outshot Orlando as a team with 17 total shots to five while also winning the possession battle 61.3% to 38.7%. 
• Tierna Davidson was a thorn in Orlando’s side down the wing. The #1 pick in the 2019 NWSL draft put in a team-high 11 crosses and contributing two key passes. 
• Morgan Brian was a lynchpin in the midfield regaining possession a team-high 5 times while also leading the team in passing percentage (87%).
• Tierna Davidson also led the team in touches (81), her most important being the one she used to set up her first career goal to bring Chicago within one in extra-time.
• Yuki Nagasato continues to be a creative spark for the Red Stars and she led the team in key passes tonight with four. 

Next Game

Chicago hits the trail up to Oregon to take on the Portland Thorns on Sunday, August 25 at Providence Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm C.T. on ESPNews.

Chicago Red Stars vs Orlando Pride

August 21, 2019

SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL)

Goals by Half                        1 2 F

Chicago Red Stars                0 1 1

Orlando Pride                        1 1 2

Scoring Summary:

ORL: Rachel Hill (Chioma Obogagu) 33’

ORL: Chioma Obogagu (Rachel Hill) 61’ 

CHI: Tierna Davidson 90’+5’ 

Misconduct Summary:

ORL: Ali Krieger (Yellow Card) 81’

ORL: Alanna Kennedy (Red Card) 89’

Lineups

ORL: GK Harris, D Edmonds, D Zadorsky, D Kreiger, D Greening, M Kennedy, M Viggiano (Boyles 80’), M Weatherholt, F Hill (Elinsky 85’), F Morgan (Obogagu 18’), F Emslie

CHI: GK Naeher, D Short, D Ertz ©, D Gorden, D Davidson, M Colaprico (Naughton 45’), M Brian (Johnson 85’), M DiBernardo (McCaskill 63’), F Nagasato, F Wright, F Kerr 

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.