The Seattle Reign gets back to NWSL action on Saturday when they play host to the Chicago Red Stars. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm PST and like always, the match will beed via YouTube.
This will be the second meeting of the season between these two clubs. The last time the faced off was back on April 18th in Chicago. The Red Stars won the game 3-2 after a stoppage time goal from Christian Press. Press would finish the game with two goals and also assisted on Jennifer Hoy’s goal. The Reign was led by goals from Beverly Yanez and Kendall Fletcher.
The Reign has struggled to find their grove in their first six matches. They currently sit in sixth place with a record of 2-2-1 and have seven points. This will be the beginning stretch of a long month or so as they will have to play without Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe. Solo and Rapinoe are with the United States Women’s national team, who are about to begin World Cup play in Canada next month.
Chicago currently leads the league with a record of 4-0-2 which is good for 14 points. They are currently four points clear of second place Washington Spirit and seven points ahead of the Reign. The Red Stars will be missing some players for the Women’s World Cup as well. The will be without Press, Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny and Julie Johnston. That’s two defenders, a midfield and a forward for those of you keeping score at home.
These absences will affect both teams in this game. The Reign will be missing one the best goalkeepers in the world in Solo. The Reign will also be missing one of their top goal scorers in Rapinoe, who has three goals on the season. The Reign will need to keep a focus on Sofia Huerta as she has scored five goals in six games and has proven to be extremely dangerous.
If the Reign wants to duplicate their success from last season, the time to turn things around is now. They can’t allow the Red Stars to put more points between them. The Red Stars will be looking to show the league they are for real and extend their lead over the rest of the teams and be on their way to becoming the third different team to win the NWSL shield as the best team in the league.