2021 Chicago Red Stars season
2021 season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Owner | Arnim Whisler | |||
Head coach | Rory Dames | |||
Stadium | SeatGeek Stadium (capacity: 20,000) | |||
NWSL | 4th in season Championship finalists | |||
Challenge Cup | 4th in East Division | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Kealia Watt (5) All: Kealia Watt, Mallory Pugh (5) | |||
Highest home attendance | Regular season: 4,488 (Oct. 16 vs. KC) Postseason: 7,027 (Nov. 7 vs. NJNY) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 2,265 (June 5 vs. NC) | |||
Average home league attendance | 3,143 | |||
Biggest win | 3–0 (Aug. 28 vs. KC) | |||
Biggest defeat | 0–5 (May 16 vs. POR) | |||
| ||||
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
Management and staff
- As of October 8, 2021.[1]
Technical staff | |
---|---|
Head coach | ![]() |
Assistant coaches | ![]() |
Goalkeeper coach | ![]() |
Medical staff | |
Medical director | Roger N. Chams |
Head athletic trainer | Emily Fortunato |
Physician assistant | Molly Uyenishi |
Physical therapist | Bria Wanzung |
Rory Dames resignation
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
- As of October 30, 2021.[5]
No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Alyssa Naeher | ![]() |
2 | FW | Kealia Watt | ![]() |
3 | DF | Arin Wright | ![]() |
4 | MF | Alyssa Mautz | ![]() |
5 | FW | Rachel Hill | ![]() |
6 | DF | Casey Krueger | ![]() |
7 | MF | Nikki Stanton | ![]() |
8 | MF | Julie Ertz | ![]() |
9 | FW | Mallory Pugh | ![]() |
10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | ![]() |
11 | DF | Sarah Gorden | ![]() |
13 | MF | Morgan Gautrat | ![]() |
14 | DF | Zoe Morse | ![]() |
15 | FW | Makenzy Doniak | ![]() |
16 | MF | Sarah Woldmoe | ![]() |
18 | MF | Ella Stevens | ![]() |
21 | GK | Emily Boyd | ![]() |
22 | DF | Bianca St. Georges | ![]() |
23 | DF | Tatumn Milazzo | ![]() |
24 | MF | Danielle Colaprico | ![]() |
26 | DF | Tierna Davidson | ![]() |
28 | DF | Kayla Sharples | ![]() |
32 | FW | Zoey Goralski | ![]() |
33 | FW | Katie Johnson | ![]() |
38 | GK | Cassie Miller | ![]() |
Out on loan
No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
19 | MF | Sarah Luebbert (at América) | ![]() |
Competitions
Challenge Cup
Group stage
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
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 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Regular season
Matches
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 |
| 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
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 |
Results summary
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
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Playoffs
Matches
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
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 | ![]() | Madison Haley | FW | Stanford | Returned to Stanford; did not make final 2022 roster | [7][8] |
2 | 18 | ![]() | Kelsey Turnbow | FW | Santa Clara | Returned to Santa Clara; traded to San Diego Wave FC in December 2021 | [7][9] |
3 | 25 | ![]() | Brianna Alger | DF | Washington State | Returned to Washington State; did not make final 2022 roster | [7][8] |
4 | 32 | ![]() | Channing Foster | FW | Ole Miss | Returned to Ole Miss; signed contract in 2022 | [7][8] |
35 | ![]() | Alissa Gorzak | FW | Virginia | Not offered a contract | [7] |
Transfers out
Date | Nat. | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 29, 2021 | ![]() | María Sánchez | FW | ![]() | Rights traded in exchange for Houston's natural second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. | [10][11] |
November 30, 2021 | ![]() | Kayla Sharples | DF | ![]() | Loaned until March 28, 2022. | [12] |
December 2, 2021 | ![]() | Makenzy Doniak | FW | ![]() | Traded in exchange for protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. | [13][14] |
![]() | Katie Johnson | FW | ||||
![]() | Kelsey Turnbow | FW | ||||
![]() | Julie Ertz | MF | ![]() | Traded with international slots in 2022 and 2023 in exchange for protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft. | ||
![]() | Sarah Gorden | DF | ||||
![]() | Nikki Stanton | MF | ![]() | Traded for a third-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. | ||
December 8, 2021 | ![]() | Zoey Goralski | DF | — | Retired. | [15][16] |
References
- ^ "Technical staff". Chicago Red Stars. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Coleman, Madeline (November 24, 2021). "Chicago Red Stars Ownership Apologizes Amid Rory Dames Abuse Allegations". Sports Illustrated. theMaven, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ "First Team - Chicago Red Stars". Chicago Red Stars. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e Munson, Bella (June 11, 2021). "2021 NWSL draftees: Where are they now?". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Chicago Red Stars Finalize 2022 Roster" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. March 15, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Chicago Red Stars Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Expansion Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. December 2, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Chicago Acquires Second Round Selection in the 2022 NWSL Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. March 29, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ^ Roepken, Corey (June 5, 2021). "Maria Sanchez gives NWSL another shot with Dash". houstonchronicle.com. Texas Sports Nation. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ^ "SPORTS Red Stars defender loaned to Australian team". Windy City Times. November 30, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Chicago Red Stars Announce Roster Moves Ahead of Expansion Draft" (Press release). Chicago Red Stars. OurSports Central. December 2, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
External links
- Official website