CHICAGO (June 1, 2017) – Chicago’s Christen Press, Danielle Colaprico, Casey Short and Samantha Johnson were named to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Team of the Month by the NWSL Media Association for the month of May of the 2017 NWSL season.
Two players – FC Kansas City defender Becky Sauerbrunn and Breakers midfielder Rose Lavelle – were honored with a spot on the squad for the second consecutive month. Sky Blue FC forward Samantha Kerr and goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, the No. 23 overall selection at the 2017 NWSL College Draft, joins Lavelle – the No. 1 overall selection – as one of the two rookies voted as one of May’s best.
The Chicago Red Stars led the way with four players selected to the Team of the Month, followed by Sky Blue FC with three members as well as one player each from the Boston Breakers, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC and Seattle Reign FC.
The Red Stars enjoyed a league-best 3-0-1 record in May and were one of four teams – along with Portland, Seattle and Kansas City – to go unbeaten during the month. In fact, Chicago has not lost a game in May since 2013 – going 20 games without defeat in the 31 days between April and June while posting a dominant 14-0-6 record and outscoring their opponents 36-13 during those contests.
NWSL Team of the Month – May
GK – Kailen Sheridan, Sky Blue FC: Sheridan made 19 saves in the month while appearing in all five matches in May for Sky Blue as the rookie helped post a 3-1-0 record in the month.
D – Samantha Johnson, Chicago Red Stars: Johnson started all four matches during the month and made six tackles to help the Red Stars finish May tied for the second-best defense in the month (1.00 GAA).
D – Becky Sauerbrunn, FC Kansas City: Sauerbrunn played every minute of all four games for FC Kansas City during May as she contributed to two shutouts and the league’s lowest goals against average (0.75 GAA) for the month.
D – Casey Short, Chicago Red Stars: Short made 12 tackles while featuring every minute of all four games during the month as she helped Chicago earn their second shutout of the year in a 2-0 win against Houston on May 6.
M – Danielle Colaprico, Chicago Red Stars: Colaprico contributed on both offense and defense as she scored one goal and had 10 tackles in four games during the month.
M – Amandine Henry, Portland Thorns FC: Henry netted the first goal of her NWSL career May 28 against the Breakers. She also recorded a game-high 87 touches in a 2-2 draw vs. the Reign on May 6.
M – Sarah Killion, Sky Blue FC: Killion scored four goals during the month – three of which came from the penalty spot – to push her total to a league-leading five on the season.
M – Rose Lavelle, Boston Breakers: Lavelle notched her second goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with the Red Stars on May 14. She did not miss a minute of the four games for the Breakers during the month.
F – Nahomi Kawasumi, Seattle Reign FC: Kawasumi recorded five assists in May – including an NWSL-record four in one game May 13 against the Spirit. She also scored the game-winning goal in that match.
F – Samantha Kerr, Sky Blue FC: Kerr had two goals and two assists in five appearances (four starts). Both assists came on game-winning goals.
F – Christen Press, Chicago Red Stars: Press tallied two goals and two assists in four appearances. The pair of assists came in back-to-back games and matched output for assists from her previous 42 games in the NWSL.
The NWSL will return to action Saturday, June 3 with four games as the North Carolina Courage take on FC Kansas City at 3:30 p.m. ET in the NWSL Game of the Week on Lifetime; before the Washington Spirit host the Houston Dash at 7 p.m. ET, Portland travels to face Sky Blue FC at 7 p.m. ET and the Orlando Pride squares off against the Boston Breakers at 7:30 p.m. ET.
On Sunday, June 4, the Chicago Red Stars welcome the Seattle Reign FC to town at 3 p.m. ET in the last match before the NWSL observes the international break as a number of the league’s stars report to their respective national teams for games across the globe. The NWSL will resume play with a full slate of five games on Saturday, June 17.
The NWSL Team of the Month is selected each month of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis. For more information on the NWSL Media Association, follow them on Twitter.
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