122- And that's the game! Washington pull out a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Red Stars. They advance to the finals in Houston next Sunday. Thanks for tuning in!
121- A call against Chicago, and a yellow card for Johnson
120- We have two minutes of extra time
118- Oyster tries to send a ball to Dunn, but it goes out. Dibernardo is on the ground with a trainer
117- Dunn with the shot but saved by Naeher
116- Wys with a goal kick
113- Both teams making subs for the end of overtime
111- We are nine minutes from potentially the final whistle. Will Washington be able to hold on?
Nairn slots a ball to Ordega who finishes is it.
110- WASHINGTON GOAL!!!!!!!
108- Dunn chips the ball in, but Naeher collects it.
106- We're back again for the last period of extra time
105- No stoppage time added to the first period of extra time. 15 more minutes!
103- Chicago's attack is gaining momentum
101- Stengel almost has a shot, but collected by Naeher.
99- Both teams have been getting chances, but the teams have been playing mostly in Chicago's defensive half.
96- Ball sent to the back post, but it goes over everyone and out for a goal kick
95- Another Washington corner kick
95- Ball bounced around in the box, but was eventually cleared.
94- Washington corner!
92- Dydasco with another shot, but again out of bounds.
92- Ordega with a shot, but way off the mark
91- Washington kicks it off, and we're back!
We are headed into extra time! The teams will play two 15 minute periods, and if no goals come from that then the teams will go into penalty kicks.
90 +3 - Press called offside, and the whistle is blown
90 +1 - Christen Press left wide open and misses an open net.
90- 3 minutes of stoppage time
89- Chicago maintain most of the possession on the attack
88- Chicago just miss the post
85- Press takes another one-time shot, but it goes wide this time.
83- Chicago earn their second corner of the match.
The goal was a left footed volley into the upper corner. Ball sent in by Short.
81- GOAL CHICAGO
79- Dunn tries to find the back post from the endline, goes across but out for a Spirit corner
78- Chicago have a shot, but McCaffrey sends it just wide of the goal
76- Fans believe that Ordega has been tripped in the box, but ref waves it off
75- Press has a shot but sends it way over the goal
74- Chicago continues to press in Washington'/ half
71- Chicago earns a corner
69- Washington Lohman subbed out for Matheson
69- Chicago shot blocked by Wys
68- Washington connect a lot of passes, but eventually broken up and sent down the field
65- Red Stars Walls subbed out for McCaffrey
65'- Red Stars free kick goes out wide
64'- A long shot by Banini is saved by Naeher
62'- Free Kick taken by Krieger is headed out, but the Spirit recycles through the back
60'- Both teams are playing aggressively, and play is often broken up for calls
59'- Two players get tangled together, resulting in a Washington free-kick
57'- A yellow card was issued to Nairn on that call
57'- Free kick for Chicago just above half field
54'- press attempts a shot
53'- More shots for Chicago, but unable to find the back of the net
52'- Dunn and Dydasco attempt to combine, but out for a throw
50'- Chicago looking dangerous, but eventual shot goes to Wys
49- Washington still passing around in their attacking third, but Dydasco dribbles it out for a goal kick
48'- Washington are connecting passes and attempting shots
46- Chicago throw in their attaching third
And we're back with the second half! Chicago kicks it off
We will be back at the start of the second half.
The Spirit are 12-0-0 when leading at the half this season. This bodes well for the Spirit.
No stoppage time as the referee blows the whistle to end the first half. Washington leads 1-0.
44' - Spirit player pleading with the referee for a handball in the box but she waves off their pleas.
44' - Nearing the end of the first half. Washington still applying pressure on Chicago.
40' - Chicago's best chance of the game. Press takes a shot but it is stopped by Washington's defense. Eventually, after the ball bangs around, Wys corrals the loose ball.
37' - Chicago comes right back down the pitch but the shot goes well over the crossbar. That's Chicago's first shot on goal.
36' - Goal scored by Kreiger. Ball sent in by Zadorsky and Kreiger gets her head on it to put Washington up 1-0.
36' - GOOAAALLLLLLL WASHINGTON!!!!!!!
35' - Kreiger send in a corner and Johnston clears it away for Chicago.
34' - Still looking for our first goal here in Washington.
31' - DiBernardo sends a cross in but cleared by the Washington defense.
30' -Yet again, Chicago breaks the pressure and then turn it over at midfield.
30' - Chicago earns a throw in deep in the Washington defensive third but promptly turn the ball over to the Spirit.
29' - Everytime Chicago gets the ball, they can't seem to keep it.
26' - Ordega breaks through the Chicago back line but she is flagged for being offside.
24' - Still scoreless in Washington but the Spirit have been the better team so far.
After going 20 minutes with no shots, Washington puts two near goal in the last 30 seconds.
20' - POST!!!! Dunn once again in the penalty area and takes her shot but it hit the left post. She had Naeher beat far post. SO CLOSE!
20' - SAVE!!! Naeher closes the space on Dunn just seven yards from the box.
19' - Dunn down the left side of the pitch. She sends a low cross back across the box but no Spirit players there to take a shot.
17' - Washington putting a lot of pressure on Chicago at the moment. Chicago just can't relieve the pressure.
16' - Ball sent in and headed by Ordega and it rolls out for a Red Stars goal kick.
16' - Foul about 25 yards out from goal. Kreiger to take.
15' - Krieger sends it in again and this time, it is headed clear by Johnston.
14' - Corner sent in this time by Kreiger. Ball played short to Dunn and played out. DiBernardo heads it out for yet another Spirit corner.
14' - Nairn sends the corner to the far post. Naeher deflects it out for another corner.
13' - After a nice run into the penalty area, Ordega earns Washington's second corner of the night.
12' - Colaprico called for a foul on Ordega near midfield.
10' - Press tried to play Comeau through but Comeau was flagged for being offside.
9' - Corner sent into the near post and headed away by Julie Johnston.
9' - First corner of the match coming here for Washington. Krieger to take.
8' - Still looking for our first shot of the game here.
Chicago has something to prove in this game after last year's debacle against FC Kansas City. They went down 3-0 just 26 minutes into that semifinal game last year.
6' - Chicago cannot get it out of their defensive half at the moment.
5' - Both teams still feeling each other out at the moment but it has been all Washington so far.
3' - First two and a half minutes of this one has seen all the action in Chicago's defensive third.
2' - Spirit putting some pressure on Chicago early here in the game.
1' - And we are off in the first semifinal game of the 2016 NWSL Playoffs. Washington takes the kick. The winner advances to Houston and will take on the winner of Portland-Western New York game that will be on Sunday.
We are just moments away from kickoff!!!
We are about ten minutes from kickoff!
Red Stars subs: Hoy, Mautz, Naughton, McCaffrey, Da Costa, Gorden, Raetzman, Dalton
Red Stars starting XI: Naeher; Gilliland, Johnston, Johnson; Short, Colaprico, DiDernardo; Huerta, Comeau, Press, Walls
Spirit subs: Johnson, Kleiner, Labbe, Matheson, Oyster, Jensen, Stengel
Spirit starting XI (4-3-3): Wys; Dydasco, Zadorsky, Church, Krieger; Nairn, Huster, Lohman; Banini, Ordega, Dunn
And as soon as I say that, the Washington Spirit announce their starting XI.
As soon as the lineups are announced, we will have them for you. Stay tuned.
Teams have entered the pitch to begin their pregame warmups! It's almost time.
Keep checking back in for more updates leading up to the match.
Washington Spirit: 1 Chicago Red Stars: 2
Prediction: Although the Spirit are feisty and will play aggressively, Chicago will likely score the first goal and the rest of the match will be spent with the Spirit trying to catch up, eventually achieving an equalizer somewhere around the 80th minute. It will be too little, too late, though, and Christen Press will score a late goal to send her team to the final
Naeher, Gilliland, Johnston, Johnson, Short, Colaprico, Dibernardo, Huerta, Comeau, Press, Walls
Chicago Red Stars: (4-4-2)
Labbe, Dydasco, Church, Krieger, Nairn, Huster, Lohman, Matheson, Stengel, Dunn
Washington Spirit: (4-3-3)
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
Another player on offense to take notice of is Sofia Huerta, who can score goals with the same bite as those of Christen Press. Chicago will be fierce throughout this game, and after a hard-fought battle for this playoff spot, they are not going to let head games or the possibility of bad weather keep them from their plane tickets to Houston.
Arin Gilliland, another defender, will also be forceful for the Red Stars. Leaving the University of Kentucky in 2015, she came to Chicago and is now a finalist for the 2016 NWSL Defender of the Year, which speaks to her talent if you’ve never seen her play. They will be defending Alyssa Naeher in goal, who is currently in the contest for the number one spot on the USWNT and has seen quite a few CAPs for her country this year.
Perhaps most notably, Chicago boasts an incredibly effective striker in Christen Press. She is able to turn on a dime and perfectly place a ball, and she made that known to Washington when she scored on them early in the match last week. Julie Johnston, another member of the USWNT, is a powerhouse defender and should provide enough of a challenge for the likes of Dunn and Nairn.
Finishing the season in third place, Chicago had a record solid enough to secure them a spot in the playoffs, but not one at home, they finished one place behind where they did last year. After a slight slump midway through the season, Chicago found their rhythm again and proved it by beating the Spirit they lost to 2-0 at the start of the season 3-1. Proving themselves to be a force to be reckoned with and raising their confidence in this vital playoff game.
So far this season, the Spirit have beaten Chicago and lost to them, with their latest matchup happening just last week. The memory of that loss and that team will be fresh in their minds, and they will be ready and motivated to pull out a win.
A Canadian whose position many are unsure about is Stephanie Labbe. Starting and playing all of the Spirit’s games in their entirety up until the Olympic break, it was assumed that she’d transition seamlessly back into that role when she returned, but that was not the case. Instead, Kelsey Wys held the role and could get the start again with a lot more on the line, proving almost for certain that she has overtaken the role.
In addition to Dunn, midfielder Joanna Lohman has been a key in Washington’s forward line this season and will be looking to score as always against Chicago. Yet another attacker, Canadian Diana Matheson, has also been providing the Spirit with plenty of shots this year. Fellow Canadian Christine Nairn has also been known to be able to create dangerous chances off of free kicks at far distances, so Chicago will have to be careful when giving up fouls anywhere within their defensive half, and especially the final third.
Many have said that he did not put out a full strength roster in the matches at the end of the season so as to not give away his plans for the playoffs and hopefully final afterward, so there a few question marks on the roster. What is indisputable, however, is the presence of Crystal Dunn. Although playing a different role this year that does not allow her to score as many goals as she did in 2015, it is still undeniable that she has a huge role in the team. Along with national teammate Ali Krieger, who plays at outside back, the two should be a powerful pair. Krieger, who is known for her athleticism, will be looking to move up the flank more and more, as is encouraged by her national team coach Jill Ellis. By combining with the midfielders and even going up to send in crosses (and sometimes scoring off of them herself), she has proved herself to be a formidable opponent for any opposing offense.
The host team, the Washington Spirit, is hosting a playoff match for the first time in their history. After a sharp turnaround from their lackluster first season in the NWSL, they have finished the regular season in second place, only behind the Portland Thorns. Towards the end of the season, though, the team has seen its fair share of injuries, which may cause some problems for them. Cali Farquharson is out with an ACL tear, and she was a large part of the team before her injury, so it will be interesting to see how head coach Jim Gabbera chooses to fill her role.
Hi, and welcome to VAVEL USA's coverage of the NWSL playoffs. This first matchup is between the Washington Spirit and the Chicago Red Stars. My name is Alexandra Grant, and I will be providing you with updates!