WPS Chicago Stars FC

Chicago Red Stars Battle 1st-Place FC Gold Pride On Saturday

Published on May 7, 2010 under Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)
Chicago Stars FC News Release


BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Red Stars travel out west to Castro Valley, Calif., to take on four-time FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Marta and the league-leading FC Gold Pride for a 9 p.m. CT match on Saturday in Women's Professional Soccer action.

This marks the teams' first head-to-head matchup of the 2010 WPS season. FC Gold Pride (3-1-0, 9 points) enters the match on a three-game winning streak and is only the second team in WPS history to sit alone in first place. The Red Stars (1-2-1, 4 points) are fresh off their first win of the 2010 season, a 2-0 road victory over the Boston Breakers last Saturday.

In the last meeting between the Red Stars and FC Gold Pride in 2009, Red Stars forward Cristiane scored the first hat trick in WPS history to lift the Red Stars past the Gold Pride, 3-1, on July 12, 2009, at Toyota Park.

Last season the Red Stars held a 1-1-1 record against FC Gold Pride.

BRAZILIAN INFLUENCE

This week's matchup between the Red Stars and FC Gold Pride features three Brazilian internationals -- FC Gold Pride forward Marta, Red Stars forward Cristiane and Red Stars midfielder Formiga. Under their influence, the Brazilian Women's National Team won two silver medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games and finished as a finalist in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

CARDINAL CONNECTION

Between the Red Stars and FC Gold Pride, Saturday's match features five Stanford women's soccer alumni, including Chicago defender Natalie Spilger, who graduated from Stanford in 2004. Spilger played at Stanford with current FC Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who graduated from Stanford in 2005. Other Stanford grads include FC Gold Pride defenders Rachel Buehler (class of '08) and Ali Riley (class of '09), as well as last year's MAC Hermann Trophy winner and class of '09 alumnus Kelley O'Hara.

SHOOTING LIGHTS OUT

The Red Stars have out-shot every opponent in the first four matches of the season. Chicago holds a 66-40 shots advantage, landing 39 percent on frame. Red Stars forward Cristiane leads the team in shots taken (19) and shots on goal (7).

LAST WEEK'S RECAP

The Red Stars defeated the Boston Breakers, 2-0, on May 1 at Harvard Stadium, thanks to second-half goals by rookie Casey Nogueira and Brazilian forward Cristiane. Goalkeeper Jillian Loyden made five saves for the clean sheet. The match was Chicago's first win of the season, but it also marked the end to a dubious road streak. The Red Stars had not earned a road victory since the team's inaugural WPS match, a 1-0 win over Saint Louis Athletica on April 4, 2009.

NOT BAD FOR A ROOKIE

Red Stars rookie forward Casey Nogueira currently leads the Red Stars and all WPS rookies in goals scored with two. Nogueira netted the Red Stars' first goal of the 2010 season in a 1-1 draw against Saint Louis on April 17. In her first start for the Red Stars, Nogueira added her second tally of the season last Saturday against Boston, netting the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute en route to the 2-0 victory.

GRUDGE MATCH

This week's contest marks the first time Stanford alumni and FC Gold Pride players Kelley O'Hara and Ali Riley face off against University of North Carolina alumni and current Red Stars Whitney Engen and Casey Nogueira in a rematch of the 2009 NCAA College Cup Final. Chicago's Jessica McDonald, also a former Tar Heel, did not travel for this west coast swing. UNC defeated the Stanford Cardinal, 1-0, in the final thanks to an early goal from McDonald off a Nogueira assist.

WHO'S NEXT

The Red Stars return home following their match against FC Gold Pride to take on the Philadelphia Independence at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 15. This matchup is the first meeting between the two clubs. Philadelphia joined WPS as an expansion team for the 2010 season and is undefeated through its first four matches. With two wins and two draws, the Independence is currently sitting in second place behind FC Gold Pride. Former Red Stars defender Nikki Krzysik and forward Danesha Adams were acquired by Philadelphia in the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft.

TUNE IN ONLINE

Red Stars home matches are broadcast in both English and Spanish on www.ChicagoRedStars.com. The team's next home match is at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 15, against the expansion Philadelphia Independence. Rob Coons will have the English play-by-play, and Jorge Trujillo and Enrique "Tico" Fernandez will provide the Spanish webcast.

QUOTABLE

"The collective will is important, and working hard for each other as we have been doing will give us the best chance possible."

-- Red Stars Head Coach Emma Hayes

The Chicago Red Stars are members of Women's Professional Soccer and play their home games at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. The Red Stars are playing in their second season in the eight-team WPS. Red Stars home games for the 2010 WPS season are available through a webcast at www.ChicagoRedStars.com. Their next home match is at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 15, against the expansion Philadelphia Independence. For more information about the Red Stars, log on to www.ChicagoRedStars.com or call 866-WPS-2009.

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Women's Professional Soccer Stories from May 7, 2010


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