Tag: Chicago Red Stars

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Broadcasting woes and new wrinkles for Reign, Red Stars

Once fans could watch last weekend’s games, they got plenty of drama

The international window is over, and NWSL came back with its customary mix of thrills and drama on the field.

Two stoppage-time winners, a two-goal comeback in LA, two teams hanging onto road results under intense late pressure, a league record broken, a team people wrote off putting four goals past a projected contender, and some spectacular goals? That sounds like the NWSL.

Unfortunately, so does a broadcasting own goal that is arguably the major story from this weekend’s games. The NWSL giveth, and the NWSL taketh away.

Pro Soccer Wire‘s NWSL Weekend Take-Off is here to cover all of the highs and lows:

Swanson undergoes knee surgery, offers no USWNT return timeline

Swanson spoke for herself after successful surgery

Mallory Swanson on Tuesday confirmed that she had undergone knee surgery.

The U.S. women’s national team star was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon after a collision with Ireland defender Aoife Mannion eventually saw her stretchered off in Saturday’s 2-0 win.

Neither Swanson nor U.S. Soccer has provided a recovery timeline just yet. Patellar tendon tears tend to come with a roughly six-month rehab course, which would rule Swanson out of the 2023 World Cup.

In a post on her Instagram account, Swanson gave the latest update on her condition.

“This is hard. I’m in shock and don’t have much to say other than, thank you to everyone for the messages,” wrote Swanson. “I feel the love and prayers, and holding them close to my heart.

“Surgery this morning was a success. I’m thankful for my trainers, doctors, coaches, and teammates for their help throughout this process. The beauty out of all of this, is that God is always good. He’s got me and always has.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq6C4XHu57I/?hl=en

A successful surgical procedure was the best news Swanson, the USWNT, and the Chicago Red Stars could have hoped for given the difficult circumstances.

However, as USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters on Monday, there is no direct way to replace a player who had stepped on the pitch at Austin’s Q2 Stadium as the team’s most in-form goalscorer. Swanson scored at least one goal in each of the previous six USWNT matches, a spell which included a match-winner against Germany and braces against both New Zealand and Canada.

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USWNT star Swanson set to miss World Cup with torn patella tendon

The forward was stretchered off during Saturday’s friendly against Ireland

U.S. women’s national team star Mallory Swanson has suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee, U.S. Soccer announced on Sunday.

The injury will almost certainly rule Swanson out for the World Cup. Per the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: “Complete recovery takes about six months. Many patients report that they required 12 months before they reached all of their goals.”

The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is set to begin in three months.

The news is devastating and not surprising after seeing how serious the injury looked when Swanson was stretchered off the pitch in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win over Ireland.

The Chicago Red Stars attacker was caught by a late challenge from Ireland defender Aoife Mannion and had to go straight to the hospital from Q2 Stadium in Austin.

Angel City FC rookie Alyssa Thompson has been named as Swanson’s replacement on the USWNT roster ahead of Tuesday’s second match against Ireland.

Though the USWNT has plenty of depth at its attacking positions, the loss of the in-form Swanson is a brutal blow. Swanson has scored seven goals in six national team games in 2023, and was a NWSL MVP finalist with the Red Stars in 2022.

Thompson, Trinity Rodman and Lynn Williams will be immediate candidates to step into Swanson’s starting role.

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NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Sinead Farrelly returns, Thorns and Wave flex

A big moment, two teams in top form, and lots of wind in the NWSL weekend that was

It’s only week two in the NWSL, but we’re already getting mid-season levels of intensity and weirdness.

One long weather front extending from the Atlantic coast to deep into the Midwest resulted in a lightning delay in New Jersey and a goal scored by a gust of wind in Chicago. We had a two-goal comeback, a remarkable return to the field for Sinead Farrelly, and a month’s worth of league drama packed into one game between Angel City FC and the Orlando Pride.

If you’re the Portland Thorns or San Diego Wave, another thing at mid-season levels is the performance quality. These two seem, at least right now, head, shoulders, and arguably whole torsos ahead of the rest of the pack. It’ll come around for at least a few other teams, but for now, two of the preseason favorites seem to be meeting any expectation fans might have placed on them.

Let’s get into this weekend’s action:

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Thorns imperious, VAR off to a rocky start

Tactics, VAR controversy, and spicy quotes? NWSL’s not wasting any time

The NWSL is back for 2023, and immediately produced a characteristic mix of quality play (we see you, Portland Thorns), strangeness, and controversy.

Pro Soccer Wire will be bringing this look at one aspect from every game to you every Tuesday throughout the season. Great goals? Tactical nuance? Spicy quotes? It might be week one for NWSL teams, but there’s so much to tackle. We saw the return of some banter between old rivals, several glorious goals, a total change in system from one team, and VAR’s debut resulting in a pivotal call.

Without further adieu, let’s dive into the takes:

Women’s History Month Spotlight: three-time Olympic medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield

President of the PWHPA, Olympic champion Kendall Coyne Schofield won the 2023 PWHPA Humanitarian Award.

This Women’s History Month, I will be spotlighting women athletes and their achievements in college, after college, and beyond. Athletes are humans first and while I want to highlight their athletic ability and achievements, I also want to point a spotlight on what they are doing off their field of play.

There is no doubt Kendall Coyne Schofield, left wing for the United States Women’s Ice Hockey Team, is athletically talented. She has won two silvers and one gold at the Olympics and is a 6-time IIHF Women’s World Champion among numerous other on-ice accolades. In 2019, she became the first woman to compete in the NHL Skills Competition as a Fastest Skater competitor. She recorded a time of 14.346 and while she didn’t win, she didn’t come in last either.

The winner of the competition, Connor McDavid with a time of 13.378, said of Coyne Schofield, “When she took off I was like, ‘Wow!’ I thought she might have won, the way she was moving. She was a really good skater and it’s an amazing thing for the game when they can see her participate like that in an event like this.”

Her off-ice accomplishments stand-out as well. Coyne Schofield attended Northeastern University where she played ice hockey and graduated with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both summa cum laude.

In 2020, she parlayed her education and love of sport, and joined the ownership group of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). That is not the only elite women’s sports entity in which she is involved. Her background in hockey led her to be the President and a board member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) where she helps further the PWHPA’s work to create a sustainable and viable professional women’s hockey league. She also competes in the PWHPA’s Dream Gap Tour on Team Adidas.

Recently, she penned a book, As Fast As Her, about her life and accomplishments which came out in 2022.

This month she announced on Instagram that she and her husband, Chicago Bears offensive guard Michael Schofield, are expecting their first child this summer.

And to cap it all off, she won the PWHPA’s Humanitarian Award for her work on and off the ice. Not only is she elite as an athlete, she continues to use her platform to change the game for other women in sport. We salute you Kendall and thank you for your tireless efforts both in and out of sport.

Dansby Swanson: NWSL would’ve moved Mallory Swanson to keep us in same city

Mallory Swanson on Angel City FC? It could’ve happened if the Dodgers signed her husband

Dansby Swanson signed with the Chicago Cubs in December, landing in the same city where his wife Mallory Swanson plays for the Chicago Red Stars.

But the shortstop said that even if he’d signed with a different team, the NWSL was open to moving the U.S. national team star to ensure the couple played in the same city.

The Cubs handed Swanson a seven-year, $177 million contract to land him as a free agent from the Atlanta Braves. After years in a long-distance relationship, the couple, who were married in December, were finally together in the same city.

In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Swanson said that the NWSL was open to moving his wife away from the Red Stars had he signed with a team other than the Cubs.

“This is technically her last season in Chicago,’’ Swanson said, “but the [NWSL] pretty much made a promise that they would do right by her. Say I had signed with the Dodgers, they would have traded her to a team that’s in Los Angeles. They were very open to that. And since I’m in Chicago now, I think they’re going to be OK keeping her around.’’

That is unfortunate news for Angel City FC, who could’ve landed one of the most in-form players in the world had the Dodgers pushed harder to sign her husband.

Dansby Swanson admitted that both he and his wife were unsure if they wanted to continue their careers in Chicago, but ultimately came around to the idea.

“It’s funny like before Chicago, we were both kind of like I don’t know,’’ he said. “She said, ‘I don’t know if I want to there.’ I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to be there.’ But the more we prayed about it was like, ‘Chicago is where we’re supposed to be.’ Looking back, things just started falling to place than makes a lot of sense now.’’

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San Diego Wave outlast Chicago Red Stars in NWSL playoff marathon

San Diego set another NWSL record, and got a playoff win over a gritty Red Stars side

For all the glamour and attacking talent the San Diego Wave have, the story of their debut season may just be their toughness and determination.

San Diego wore down a stubborn Chicago Red Stars side to take a 2-1 extra time win, sending a 26,215 crowd — breaking an NWSL record the Houston Dash had set just hours earlier — at Snapdragon Stadium home happy. Alex Morgan bagged a 110th minute winner after Yuki Nagasato and Emily van Egmond had scored for each side in regulation.

A stunning mistake gave Chicago an unexpected lead. Kailen Sheridan, who is contending for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, is known for being sure-footed in possession. However, collecting the ball just outside the San Diego box in the 10th minute, she seemed to be caught between two choices in distribution, eventually badly under-hitting a pass attempt that rolled right towards Yuki Nagasato.

Accepting the gift, the veteran did what veterans do, calmly scooping the ball over Sheridan and into an empty net from 24 yards.

It’s bad to fall behind early in a playoff game, but it’s even worse to fall behind against this Red Stars team. In the 2022 regular season, Chicago had never lost a match in which they took a lead.

A major reason they managed that record was that Chicago is a team full of veteran technicians that know how to control a game. The Red Stars showed plenty of guile in possession, patiently making San Diego chase for long spells in what was one of their best halves of the entire year.

Adjustments were needed, and late in the half San Diego finally started connecting in their attempts to go direct and figuring out how to set up shop to complicate things for the visitors. Wave coach Casey Stoney could be seen using stoppages in play to talk her side through those alterations, and they started to take hold.

“We were getting outnumbered in certain areas,” Stoney told reporters post-game. “I think once we went to a 4-4-2, we looked a little more structured. We could get pressure higher up, and that really helped us.”

Chicago agreed that the shift from San Diego had a huge impact. “I think they changed formations a little bit, or at least tactics a little bit, and put four on the front line,” said Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. “They looked to use (Taylor) Kornieck, and then their speed up front to overload and create some different chances.”

The changes from San Diego expanded to include Sofia Jakobsson, who entered at halftime, and she played a major role in the Wave’s equalizer. Engineering some isolation on the flank against Zoe Morse, Jakobsson played a dangerous cross that Chicago couldn’t fully clear, with Emily van Egmond volleying home amid the resulting chaos.

The Red Stars were hardly parking the bus, but the intensity required to play San Diego began to clearly take its toll. The Wave were seizing more control as full time approached, with Chicago simply not having enough in the tank to push back with consistency.

Extra time was more of a curse than a blessing for Chicago as a result, and while they did have a couple of chances, it felt like there could only be one winner.

The path there — an angled low shot designed to create a rebound that bounced just barely below Alyssa Naeher’s dive, slipping into the bottom corner — wasn’t expected, but Alex Morgan being the goalscorer? In 2022, that’s absolutely in the script.

San Diego’s reward for chipping away at Chicago’s resolve until they finally found their way through? A daunting trip to Portland, where they’ll face the Thorns next Sunday, October 23, at 5:00pm Eastern.

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The NWSL playoffs are here, and the path to Audi Field feels wide open

The NWSL is hoping that these playoffs show what this league is capable of

Fittingly for a league with more depth in talent than any other, it feels like every team in the NWSL playoffs has a shot at winning it all.

The Portland Thorns showed their strength all season long, while OL Reign went supernova down the stretch, and both await in the semifinals. They’ll get this weekend off after earning first-round byes, meaning the action will take place in southern California and the Gulf coast.

While the focus on the NWSL has for good reason been on the Yates investigation and its revelations of abuse and mismanagement, the fact is that these playoff games are a golden opportunity for people to see the league’s strengths. No league in the world has as many truly good teams in it as this one, and this postseason could be the first steps NWSL takes towards becoming the thing it could be if the long-overdue changes coming in take hold.

Follow along with Pro Soccer Wire as we preview both quarterfinal matches, including analysis, broadcast information, and predictions.

Following Yates investigation, USA Curling board backs former NWSL commissioner Jeff Plush

Amid calls for Plush’s resignation, USA Curling is sticking with the former NWSL commissioner

The aftermath of the Sally Yates investigation into NWSL misconduct has reached beyond the pitch, and onto the ice.

USA Curling released a statement Thursday affirming that it will keep former NWSL commissioner Jeff Plush on as its CEO.

“The USA Curling Board of Directors called a special session and immediately commissioned an investigation of the information contained in the Yates report regarding USA Curling CEO Jeff Plush’s actions during his time as NWSL Commissioner,” read the statement from USA Curling’s Board of Directors.

“After reviewing the results of this investigation, the USA Curling Board of Directors is confident in Jeff’s ability to continue as an effective leader of the organization. The findings in this investigation, Jeff’s candor during interviews with the Board, and his actions during his time as USA Curling CEO reassured the Board about his strong commitment to upholding the very highest standards for athlete well-being. Additionally, the Board is encouraged by Jeff’s willingness to fully cooperate in the ongoing NWSL and its Players Association investigation.”

Plush did not respond to investigators

Plush, whose tenure with the NWSL ran from 2014 to 2017, has been the subject of calls to resign after the Yates investigation. Several of the major complaints that went ignored happened during Plush’s time as commissioner, and the report specifically said that he “never responded to (the investigation’s) outreach.”

Per the investigation’s findings, Plush did seem to facilitate some level of information sharing between the NWSL, its clubs, and U.S. Soccer. However, according to the report, Plush — despite Mana Shim emailing him directly with her allegations against Paul Riley — did not take action to prevent the Western NY Flash from hiring Riley after he had been fired for cause by the Portland Thorns. Riley would remain in the league, coaching the Flash and North Carolina Courage, until 2021.

Courage owner Stephen Malik told investigators that when he asked Plush about Riley’s departure from Portland, “Plush either demurred that he would look into it or declined to share,” citing legal confidentiality as a reason for the inaction.

Plush was also said to have received a survey in which players said former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames had created an abusive work environment. Though Plush emailed officials at U.S. Soccer to call the survey “disturbing,” no action was taken against Dames or the Red Stars while Plush was with the league.

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