It took the Chicago Red Stars all 90 minutes but they escaped with a win against the Boston Breakers. After drawing in the game prior, Chicago got a 90th minute goal from World Cup winner Christen Press to steal the game.

With the addition of Press on the squad, the Red Stars now have a truly dominant attacking force. Press joins the likes of Jen Hoy and Sofia Huerta, who is one of the top goal scorers in the NWSL. Even if she is not starting, Press will be an impact sub and she showed in the World Cup that she knows how to score. She was named the NWSL Player of the Month in April and now she is back. But her teammates have stepped up in her presence. Huerta and Hoy have held their own and have Chicago as one of the top scoring teams in the NWSL. They will be facing a Washington Spirit team that has given up 17 goals this season, fourth most in the NWSL. Expect the Red Stars offense to come out strong early and give the Spirit as much pressure as possible. 

The defense has been just as strong. The Red Stars have only given up 12 goals this season and they will be getting strong with the return of Julie Johnston. She, along with the rest of the back line, will look to make sure Karina LeBlanc doesn't have a busy night against Washington. 

Although the Spirit defense has been shaky, they will be getting some key players back. Ashlyn Harris is back in goal and Allie Krieger returns on defense. They will need both U.S. internationals against a Red Star attack that is on fire right now. The Spirit come in only having lost once in their past five games and are currently five points behind the Red Stars. They are only four points behind the second place Seattle Reign and have a game in hand on them as well. If Washington can pull out a win then they will be right in the thick of things for first place in the NWSL. Look for Washington to try to catch Chicago on the counterattack as Chicago's offensive fire power will likely dominate possession. 

This marks a big stretch of games for both teams. The Red Stars are going to be facing the likes of Kansas City and Portland in the next upcoming games as we head down the stretch towards the playoffs. The same can be said about the Spirit as they face Houston, Boston, and Western New York in their upcoming games. If they want to be in the playoff hunt they must keep up their good form, or risk slipping in the table.  

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu