2021 Chicago Red Stars season

Chicago Red Stars
2021 season
OwnerArnim Whisler
Head coachRory Dames
StadiumSeatGeek Stadium
(capacity: 20,000)
NWSL4th in season
Championship finalists
Challenge Cup4th in East Division
Top goalscorerLeague: Kealia Watt (5)
All: Kealia Watt, Mallory Pugh (5)
Highest home attendanceRegular season: 4,488 (Oct. 16 vs. KC)
Postseason: 7,027 (Nov. 7 vs. NJNY)
Lowest home attendance2,265 (June 5 vs. NC)
Average home league attendance3,143
Biggest win3–0 (Aug. 28 vs. KC)
Biggest defeat0–5 (May 16 vs. POR)
← 2020
2022 →

The 2021 Chicago Red Stars season was the team's thirteenth season and ninth season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Team

[edit]

Management and staff

[edit]
As of October 8, 2021.[1]
Technical staff
Head coach Rory Dames
Assistant coaches Julianne Sitch
Goalkeeper coach Rade Tanaskovic
Medical staff
Medical director Roger N. Chams
Head athletic trainer Emily Fortunato
Physician assistant Molly Uyenishi
Physical therapist Bria Wanzung

Rory Dames resignation

[edit]
See also: 2021 NWSL abuse scandal

On November 22, 2021, two days after losing to the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship final, the Chicago Red Stars announced that head coach Rory Dames had resigned effective immediately.[2] Later that day, The Washington Post sports reporter Molly Hensley-Clancy reported that prior to resigning, the Post had approached the Red Stars front office with allegations from players, both previous and current, of abuse by Dames. The Post also provided documentation of reports made to United States Soccer Federation by players, including Christen Press, dating as far back as 2014 that detailed abuse, harassment, and inappropriate use of Dames's power as head coach to manipulate players. “Three former Red Stars players, including one who played on the team at the time of the investigation, told The Post that they had wanted to speak to U.S. Soccer investigators but had never heard from them,” reported Hensley-Clancy. “Two had left the team because of Dames's abuse, they said.”[3]

On November 24, the Red Stars ownership released a statement apologizing to "Christen Press, Jennifer Hoy, Samantha Johnson and those players who didn't feel safe to come forward" and saying that "our club will require significant reflection and evaluation to ensure this does not happen again."[4]

First-team squad

[edit]
As of October 30, 2021.[5]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Alyssa Naeher  United States
2 FW Kealia Watt  United States
3 DF Arin Wright  United States
4 MF Alyssa Mautz  United States
5 FW Rachel Hill  United States
6 DF Casey Krueger  United States
7 MF Nikki Stanton  United States
8 MF Julie Ertz  United States
9 FW Mallory Pugh  United States
10 MF Vanessa DiBernardo  United States
11 DF Sarah Gorden  United States
13 MF Morgan Gautrat  United States
14 DF Zoe Morse  United States
15 FW Makenzy Doniak  United States
16 MF Sarah Woldmoe  United States
18 MF Ella Stevens  United States
21 GK Emily Boyd  United States
22 DF Bianca St. Georges  Canada
23 DF Tatumn Milazzo  United States
24 MF Danielle Colaprico  United States
26 DF Tierna Davidson  United States
28 DF Kayla Sharples  United States
32 FW Zoey Goralski  United States
33 FW Katie Johnson  Mexico
38 GK Cassie Miller  United States

Out on loan

[edit]
No. Pos. Player Nation
19 MF Sarah Luebbert (at América)  United States

Competitions

[edit]

Challenge Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup

Group stage

[edit]
April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) 1 Houston Dash 0–0 Chicago Red Stars Houston, Texas
Report
Stadium: PNC Stadium
Attendance: 4,204
April 15, 2021 (2021-04-15) 2 Chicago Red Stars 0–1 Portland Thorns FC Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
April 21, 2021 (2021-04-21) 3 Chicago Red Stars 1–1 Kansas City NWSL Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
April 27, 2021 (2021-04-27) 4 OL Reign 3–2 Chicago Red Stars Tacoma, Washington
 Report
Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 1,105

West Division standings

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portland Thorns FC 4 3 1 0 6 2 +4 10 Qualification for the Championship
2 OL Reign 4 2 1 1 5 5 0 7
3 Houston Dash 4 1 3 0 4 2 +2 6
4 Chicago Red Stars 4 0 2 2 3 5 −2 2
5 Kansas City 4 0 1 3 4 8 −4 1
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Regular season

[edit]
Main article: 2021 National Women's Soccer League season

Matches

[edit]
May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16) 1 Portland Thorns FC 5–0 Chicago Red Stars Portland, Oregon
 Report Stadium: Providence Park
May 22, 2021 (2021-05-22) 2 Chicago Red Stars 0–0 Kansas City NWSL Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,121
May 26, 2021 (2021-05-26) 3 Kansas City NWSL 0–2 Chicago Red Stars Kansas City, Kansas
 Report
Stadium: Legends Field
Attendance: 5,272
May 29, 2021 (2021-05-29) 4 Houston Dash 2–1 Chicago Red Stars Houston, Texas
 Report
Stadium: PNC Stadium
June 5, 2021 (2021-06-05) 5 Chicago Red Stars 1–0 North Carolina Courage Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
June 19, 2021 (2021-06-19) 6 Chicago Red Stars 1–1 Washington Spirit Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,296
June 22, 2021 (2021-06-22) 7 OL Reign 2–0 Chicago Red Stars Tacoma, Washington
 Report
Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 2,518
June 26, 2021 (2021-06-26) 8 Chicago Red Stars 0–3 Racing Louisville FC Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 2,636
July 2, 2021 (2021-07-02) 9 Washington Spirit 0–1 Chicago Red Stars Leesburg, Virginia
Report
Stadium: Segra Field
Attendance: 3,201
July 11, 2021 (2021-07-11) 10 Chicago Red Stars 2–1 Houston Dash Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
July 18, 2021 (2021-07-18) 11 Chicago Red Stars 3–1 OL Reign Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,301
July 25, 2021 (2021-07-25) 12 NJ/NY Gotham FC 2–1 Chicago Red Stars Harrison, New Jersey
 Report
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
August 1, 2021 (2021-08-01) 13 Chicago Red Stars 3–1 Washington Spirit Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 2,534
August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08) 14 Chicago Red Stars 0–2 Orlando Pride Bridgeview, Illinois
  • Bench assistant Yellow card 70' Red card[6]
  • 2nd assistant Yellow card 70'[6]
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,298
August 15, 2021 (2021-08-15) 15 North Carolina Courage 1–0 Chicago Red Stars Cary, North Carolina
 Report
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,002
August 18, 2021 (2021-08-18) 16 Racing Louisville FC 1–1 Chicago Red Stars Louisville, Kentucky
 Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 7,310
August 28, 2021 (2021-08-28) 17 Chicago Red Stars 3–0 Kansas City NWSL Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,536
September 4, 2021 (2021-09-04) 18 NJ/NY Gotham FC 0–0 Chicago Red Stars Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,252
September 10, 2021 (2021-09-10) 19 Houston Dash 1–1 Chicago Red Stars Houston, Texas
 Report
Stadium: PNC Stadium
Attendance: 3,155
September 25, 2021 (2021-09-25) 20 Chicago Red Stars 2–1 Portland Thorns FC Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,527
October 10, 2021 (2021-10-10) 21 OL Reign 3–2 Chicago Red Stars Tacoma, Washington
 Report
Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 3,588
October 13, 2021 (2021-10-13) 22 Chicago Red Stars 1–0 Orlando Pride Bridgeview, Illinois
 Report Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,198
October 16, 2021 (2021-10-16) 23 Chicago Red Stars 2–1 Kansas City NWSL Bridgeview, Illinois
19:00 CDT
Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 4,488
October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29) 24 Orlando Pride 0–1 Chicago Red Stars Orlando, Florida
 Report
Stadium: Exploria Stadium

Regular season standings

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portland Thorns FC 24 13 5 6 33 17 +16 44 NWSL Shield
2 OL Reign 24 13 3 8 37 24 +13 42 Playoffs – Semi-finals
3 Washington Spirit (C) 24 11 6 7 29 26 +3 39 Playoffs – First round
4 Chicago Red Stars 24 11 5 8 28 28 0 38
5 NJ/NY Gotham FC 24 8 11 5 29 21 +8 35
6 North Carolina Courage 24 9 6 9 28 23 +5 33
7 Houston Dash 24 9 5 10 31 31 0 32
8 Orlando Pride 24 7 7 10 27 32 −5 28
9 Racing Louisville FC 24 5 7 12 21 40 −19 22
10 Kansas City 24 3 7 14 15 36 −21 16
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Results summary

[edit]
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
24 11 5 8 28 28  0 38 8 2 2 19 11  +8 3 3 6 9 17  −8

Last updated: October 30, 2021.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Results by matchday

[edit]
Matchday123456789101112131415161718192021222324
StadiumAHAAHHAHAHHAHHAAHAAHAHHA
ResultLDWLWDLLWWWLWLLDWDDWLWWW
Position1094844587524355534447543
Updated to match(es) played on October 30, 2021. Source: NWSL
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Playoffs

[edit]
Further information: 2021 National Women's Soccer League season § Playoffs
Matches
[edit]
November 7, 2021 (2021-11-07) First round Chicago Red Stars 1–0 NJ/NY Gotham FC Bridgeview, Illinois
14:00 CST
Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 7,027
Referee: Kevin Broadley
November 14, 2021 (2021-11-14) Semifinal Portland Thorns FC 0–2 Chicago Red Stars Portland, Oregon
14:30 PST
Report
Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 15,832
Referee: Katja Koroleva
November 7, 2021 (2021-11-07) Final Washington Spirit 2–1 (a.e.t.) Chicago Red Stars Louisville, Kentucky
12:00 EST
Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 10,360
Referee: Tori Penso

Transactions

[edit]

2021 NWSL Draft

[edit]
Main article: 2021 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2021 NWSL Draft was held on January 13, 2021.

Round Pick Nat. Player Pos. College Status Ref.
1 7 United States Madison Haley FW Stanford Returned to Stanford; did not make final 2022 roster [7][8]
2 18 United States Kelsey Turnbow FW Santa Clara Returned to Santa Clara; traded to San Diego Wave FC in December 2021 [7][9]
3 25 United States Brianna Alger DF Washington State Returned to Washington State; did not make final 2022 roster [7][8]
4 32 United States Channing Foster FW Ole Miss Returned to Ole Miss; signed contract in 2022 [7][8]
35 United States Alissa Gorzak FW Virginia Not offered a contract [7]

Transfers out

[edit]
Date Nat. Player Pos. Destination club Fee/notes Ref.
March 29, 2021 Mexico María Sánchez FW United States Houston Dash Rights traded in exchange for Houston's natural second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. [10][11]
November 30, 2021 United States Kayla Sharples DF Australia Adelaide United FC Loaned until March 28, 2022. [12]
December 2, 2021 United States Makenzy Doniak FW United States San Diego Wave FC Traded in exchange for protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. [13][14]
United States Katie Johnson FW
United States Kelsey Turnbow FW
United States Julie Ertz MF United States Angel City FC Traded with international slots in 2022 and 2023 in exchange for protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.
United States Sarah Gorden DF
United States Nikki Stanton MF United States OL Reign Traded for a third-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft.
December 8, 2021 United States Zoey Goralski DF — Retired. [15][16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Technical staff". Chicago Red Stars. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Rory Dames steps down as head coach of NWSL's Red Stars amid abuse allegations". CBC.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Hensley-Clancy, Molly (November 22, 2021). "'Nobody cares': NWSL players say U.S. Soccer failed to act on abuse claims against Red Stars coach". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Coleman, Madeline (November 24, 2021). "Chicago Red Stars Ownership Apologizes Amid Rory Dames Abuse Allegations". Sports Illustrated. theMaven, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "First Team - Chicago Red Stars". Chicago Red Stars. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021.
  6. ^ a b The Equalizer [@EqualizerSoccer] (August 8, 2021). "The assistant to Rory Dames has been sent off 🟥 The other assistant gets a yellow 🟨 for arguing that Kornieck's challenge on Colaprico was a red instead of yellow card. More questions about refereeing in this league, coaches understandably pleading their case" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ a b c d e Munson, Bella (June 11, 2021). "2021 NWSL draftees: Where are they now?". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Chicago Red Stars Finalize 2022 Roster" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. March 15, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  9. ^ "Chicago Red Stars Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Expansion Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. December 2, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  10. ^ "Chicago Acquires Second Round Selection in the 2022 NWSL Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. March 29, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Roepken, Corey (June 5, 2021). "Maria Sanchez gives NWSL another shot with Dash". houstonchronicle.com. Texas Sports Nation. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "SPORTS Red Stars defender loaned to Australian team". Windy City Times. November 30, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Mikula, Jeremy (December 2, 2021). "Chicago Red Stars trade 6 players — including Julie Ertz and Sarah Gorden — but several questions remain less than 2 weeks after Rory Dames' resignation amid abuse allegations". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  14. ^ "Chicago Red Stars Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Expansion Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. OurSports Central. December 2, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  15. ^ "Chicago Red Stars Set Roster Ahead of 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and NWSL Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. December 8, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  16. ^ Le Cren, Matt (December 30, 2021). "A torn ACL at Neuqua Valley didn't stop Zoey Goralski. After starring for UCLA and the Chicago Red Stars, she's retiring for a good reason". Naperville Sun. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
[edit]
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