CHICAGO – Red Stars forward Sam Kerr fired in her league-leading 12th goal of the season and Brooke Elby scored for the second time in her career in Chicago’s 2-0 win over Utah. Kerr wasted no time getting started, scoring in the fifth minute of the match to put the Red Stars up 1-0 early on. Emily Boyd made a string of fantastic stops to keep her fourth career clean sheet before Elby latched on a deflected save to seal the win for Chicago. 

Key Moments

5’ Casey Short cuts inside and crosses the ball into Sam Kerr who hits it first time right at Royals goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. Barnhart makes a great initial save but Kerr pounces on the rebound to put Chicago up 1-0.

19’ Lo LaBonta floats a cross toward three Royal attackers in the Red Stars penalty box but it goes over her teammates’ heads for a goal kick.

21’ Amy Rodriguez darts toward goal before Katie Naughton fouls her right outside the box. LaBonta lines up to take the free-kick but her effort goes straight into the Chicago wall. 

25’ LaBonta gets on the end of a through pass in the Red Stars penalty area but Short catches up to her and blocks her attempt on goal.

28’ Katie Johnson heads an Arin Wright cross into the Royal penalty box and Kerr almost gets a foot on the ball but Barnhart comes off her line to collect it. 

32’ Vanessa DiBernardo plays Kerr in on goal with a lovely pass that cuts through the Royals defense. Kerr dribbles it toward goal and shoots but her shot goes just wide. 

33’ Nikki Stanton plays a quick 1-2 with Short who is then fouled on the right side of the Royal’s penalty area. Nagasato whips in a low cross but it goes off a Chicago attacker and out for a goal kick. 

35’ Kerr dummies a pass to herself and finds an opening in Utah’s backline. She then races toward goal but her shot goes over the bar.

39’ DiBernardo initiates a quick Chicago counter attack by slotting a pass-through to Katie Johnson who runs 40 yards down the wing before stopping and returning the ball to Di Bernardo. The Red Stars’ captain shoots immediately but it’s blocked by a Utah defender. 

41’ Danielle Colaprico is fouled at the top of the box and Nagasato’s free-kick is on target but Barnhart is there to make the stop.

45’ Nagasato gets an open look at goal after some extended build-up on the left side of the box but her shot is hit off-target. 

55’ Arin Wright’s cross finds Johnson who’s waiting at the far post but she’s put under pressure by the Utah defense and her header goes wide. 

59’ Colaprico and Nagasato combine in Utah’s penalty box before Colaprico hits a shot toward goal but Barnhart positions herself well to stop it.

64’ Kerr starts a blistering counter-attack by beating her defender and sprinting up the wing. She passes it off to Di Bernardo who then plays it back to Kerr who hits a rocket at Barnhart. The Royal’s goalkeeper then makes a great save to deny the Australian her second goal of the game. 

66’ Colaprico’s lob bypasses the Royal’s defense and finds Kerr in stride and in on goal. Kerr takes a touch and shoots but her shot goes just wide. 

68’ Wright does it all herself, running down the wing and then cutting inside before taking a shot that ends up going wide of goal. 

70’ Short mimicks Wright minutes later on the other side of the field. Her shot is on target but Barnhart is there to make the save. 

72’ Boyd stretches her arm to make a great save and tip Rodriguez’s close-range shot over the ba

76’ Boyd makes a brilliant point-blank save to deny Jonsdottir the equalizer. The rebound is collected by Utah but Boquete and Jonsdottir’s shots are both subsequently blocked by a wall of Chicago defenders. 

82’ Nagasato nutmegs her defender, takes a touch and hits a pass that springs Kerr in on goal. Kerr runs at the defense, shifts inside and hits another well stuck shot but Barnhart is there again to make the save.

85’ Kerr’s passes to a sprinting McCaskill who runs toward goal and shoots from a tight angle. Barnhart manages to deflect it but Brooke Elby is there to put away the rebound and give Chicago the 2-0 lead. 

Game Notes

• Today’s match marks the 8th game this season the Red Stars have scored within the first fifteen minutes. Chicago has also scored within fifteen minutes in three of their last four games. 
• Brooke Elby’s 85th-minute goal was the second of her career. Her first goal was also with Chicago earlier this year in the Red Stars 3-0 win against Reign FC. 
• Emily Boyd kept her fourth career clean sheet and her second of the season. She made two big saves from close range to help keep Utah off the scoresheet. 
• Danielle Colaprico didn’t miss a beat in her return to the Chicago starting 11. The midfielder made the third most passes on the team, completing 90% of them, including an 85% completion rate in Utah’s side of the field. 
• Casey Short was all over the field for the Red Stars. The Naperville native co-led the team in tackles (3), interceptions (2) and outright led in clearances (6). Her cross in the 5th minute of the match also set up Sam Kerr’s game-opening goal. 

Next Game

Chicago is off to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Spirit on Saturday, August 10 at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm C.T.

Chicago Red Stars vs Washington Spirit

August 3, 2019

SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL)

Goals by Half                        1 2 F

Chicago Red Stars                1 1 2

Washington Spirit                  0 0 0

Scoring Summary:

CHI: Sam Kerr 5’

CHI: Brooke Elby 85’

Misconduct Summary:

WS: Yellow Card Gunnhildur Jonsdottir (74’)

Lineups

WS: GK Barnhart ©, D Corzsie, D Bowen (Doniak 72’), D Vincent, M LaBonta (Tymark 77’), M Scott,  M Boquete, M Jonsdottir, F Rodriguez, F Weber (Nolf 90’), F Stengel 

CHI: GK Boyd, D Wright, D Naughton, D Gorden, D Short, M Stanton, M Colaprico (McCaskill 84’), M DiBernardo ©, F Nagasato, F Johnson (Elby 78’), F Kerr 

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.