It was Christen Press who scored the game winning goal for the Chicago Red Stars as they earned their second straight shutout in a 1-0 win over the Orlando Pride.
Defensive struggle in the first half
Orlando started the game off on the right foot as the Pride were able to pressure the Chicago backline, who were without Julie Johnston as she was on the bench with a thigh injury. Alex Morgan caused problems for the Red Stars early on in the game with her pace, forcing Arin Gilliland to make a huge block inside the box.
Chasing the ball most of the first half, the Red Stars were going to have to strike on the counter or off a mistake by Orlando and the chance came in the 12th minute. An errand back pass came straight to Sofia Huerta who passed it back to Press, who was playing in a midfield role rather than her usual striker spot. Press was able to turn her defender but lost her touch at the end.
After the defensive start, Chicago began to get more and more chances in the last 10 minutes of the first half. It was Jen Hoy who created two great chances for Chicago. In the 37th minute she was able to turn her defender and send in a great ball to Alyssa Mautz but the pass towards the back post was a little too high for the winger. Hoy also had a breakaway in the closing minutes of the half but her shot was blocked before it could get to Pride goalie Ashlyn Harris.
Even with the momentum taken away from them in terms of offensive chances, Orlando still had some quality offensive chances including a penalty shout when Morgan was take down in the box. But the call went against the striker, much to her dismay. The half ended all tied up at zero as both teams had quality chances but it was mostly a defensive struggle.
Christen Press scores winner for Chicago off a set piece
After ending the first half on the defensive end, the Pride came out with a more of a attacking presence. They had a golden chance when Sarah Hagen a header inches in front of the goal but headed it straight to Alyssa Naeher who was in the right place at the right time. Lianne Sanderson had a great chance in the 57th minute as she was one on one from the goalkeeper but Samantha Johnson made a sliding block before she could get the shot off. The ensuing corner saw another diving block in front of goal and then Morgan had a shot go just wide just 30 seconds later. It was a flurry of chances for Orlando in a matter of a few minutes but they couldn't convert.
"Our execution at critical times sort of let us down" said Pride head coach Tom Sermanni when asked about what went wrong for his team.
"We didn't create enough chances for the possession that we had" Sermanni added.
Gilliland, who had a big block against Morgan in the first half, was forced to make another huge block on the former Portland striker in 63rd minute when Orlando found themselves on the break. Alyssa Hagen tried to slide it over to Morgan but she was denied by the Red Stars defender.
Substitute Amanda DaCosta was subbed on for Hoy in 51st minute for Chicago and made an impact within her first 5 minutes on the pitch. Off some great combination play by Chicago, the former Liverpool midfielder had a go with her left foot and forced a good save from Harris. The substitution put Press back up top with Huerta and she was the one who opened the scoring.
Off a free kick it was Danielle Colaprico who swung a ball in from deep and it landed at the feet of Press, who was right in front of goal and unmarked. A player with the quality of Press would be expected to score and that's exactly what she did. She roofed a shot past Harris to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
Chicago had a chance to make it 2-0 off a corner but Harris made a great one handed save to keep Orlando in the game. It was the last major chance of the game as Chicago was able to hold off Orlando each time the Pride pushed up the field. Orlando had one last free kick at the death but Laura Alleway skied her shot over the box.
In the end it was a 1-0 win for the Red Stars as they won their second game in a row after dropping the season opener.
"We survived" is what Red Stars coach Rory Dames had to say about his team's performance today.
"Survive, escape, and move on."