Chicago Red Stars lineup and notes
The Red Stars in the round-robin stage:
L 1-2 Washington
D 0-0 Portland
L 0-1 North Carolina
W 1-0 Utah
That put them sixth, but only one point out of third. So when they eliminated OL Reign (the Seattle team that is now a sibling of French women’s soccer titan Olympique Lyonnais, hence the initials) on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw in the quarterfinals, the term “upset” is a stretch.
Next up was Sky Blue, which had done the Red Stars the favor of eliminating the dynamic but green Washington Spirit. Chicago quickly took care of business, starting with a wonder goal by Bianca St. Georges.
By the 11th minute, Chicago led 2-0. They made it 3-0 in the second half and weathered a late Sky Blue run to win 3-2.
Their lineup is anchored at the back by U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and defender Julie Ertz, the best player for the U.S. in its World Cup run last year.
Welcome to an unlikely final to an unusual season.
The best news here for the women’s soccer community and the sports world as a whole is that the NWSL has given us all proof of concept. They stuck eight teams in a bubble to play a short season, and we’ve made it to the final. That’s good news for MLS, the NBA, the WNBA, the NHL and anyone else trying to do the same thing.
And we’ll see one team win its first NWSL trophy. For the Houston Dash, it would be a first ever. For the Chicago Red Stars, it would be the second after winning the obscure and erratically contested National Cup in 2012.