Chicago Stars have 99 problems and a PK is 1
Chicago Stars fall to Utah Royals 1-0 with a PK in the 100th minute
Chicago Stars FC came out with the same starting XI as their win against Bay. This was not surprising since they had success and why mess with that? I still don’t agree with this starting XI because I believe Hannah Anderson should be starting alongside Sam Staab at the center back position. It does not make sense to bench a talented young player like Hannah Anderson and not allow her to learn and grow from a player like Sam Staab. I think Cari Roccaro is a wonderful veteran leader on this team I just think that Hannah Anderson has proven herself in the center back position and if Chicago is trying to rebuild, playing Anderson next to Staab makes the most sense.
The start of this game held a lot of promise. Chicago continues to have pretty solid starts to games by pressing their opponents and turning them over. Chicago just struggled to find the back of the net in this game by only registering one shot on target. Utah Royals also only registered one shot on target but theirs was a PK. I think both teams left this game disappointed in their offensive performances. Only giving up a single shot though shows how both teams struggled to connect passes.
The lone goal of the game came in the 100th minute due to a foul in the box on Roccaro. Both players were lunging for a ball just inside the box and Dana Foederer’s foot landed on the ground just before Roccaro’s and unfortunately Cari’s foot landed on top Foederer’s. This led to a VAR review that confirmed the penalty. Ally Sentnor took the PK and Naeher guessed right but the ball was well struck and just out of Naeher’s reach.
It was interesting that this particular call went to VAR when in the first half of the game, Pogarch fell in the box on top of the ball and the ball ended up between her arm and her body, clearly touching her hand. I was actually fine with this particular situation not getting called hands but what happened immediately after she fell is where the issue for me is. Pogarch didn’t just try to move away from the ball or not touch it with her arm/hands. Instead, during the replay it was clear that Pogarch used her arm to move the ball away from her body and the box. This was a clear violation and should have been buzzed down to the center referee for a penalty kick. I just ask for consistency from officials. I think the foul on Roccaro could have not been a penalty kick since they ignored the blatant hands violation on Pogarch or I would have been fine with both of them being called a PK.
Offensive Struggles Continue
It’s the same thing week after week with the Chicago Stars. The team can’t seem to find any sort of rhythm offensively. The playing style that Chicago deploys causes issues both offensively and defensively. The team likes to sit back and defend which puts a ton of pressure on the defense constantly and requires them to be perfect for an entire 90 minutes while they are bombarded by the other team. Offensively, Chicago gets so few chances they feel like they have to be perfect with each opportunity they get and sometimes they over think it and make too many passes or take an ill-advised shot. The current strategy deployed by the coaching staff puts way too much pressure on both sides of the ball due to our lack of possession. Chicago only had 38% possession for this game. For the defense to only give up 1 shot on goal when Utah had that much possession shows how talented our players are defensively.
Ludmila had a few opportunities in this game to score. Unfortunately, she just didn’t have a great finishing touch to get the ball into the back of the net. A turning point in the game for Ludmila was in the 44th minute when she received a yellow card. The referee in this game was definitely letting players be physical on both sides of the ball. Ludmila had a breakaway attempt and McGlynn came out to the edge of the 18 to contest and sprawled on the ground in front of Ludmila. Ludmila tried to toe poke it around McGlynn but the ball ended up going right into McGlynn’s body and Ludmila landed on the outstretched leg of the keeper.
This was a tough yellow for Ludmila to get after all of the physical play in this game. Yes protecting the keepers is important, but I also think offensive players should be giving a landing place when they having momentum moving forward. I’m just not sure what else Ludmila was supposed to do in this situation. This yellow card changed the trajectory of Ludmila’s play for the rest of the game. Ludmila didn’t have the same ability to be as physical on the ball or aggressive running onto passes because of the worry about picking up a second yellow. Ludmila was clearly frustrated with the referee for the rest of the game and numerous times tried to have conversations with them. I just once again am asking for consistency with the officials as there were numerous players that should have received cards in this game that didn’t.
Game Management
Substitutions and game management seem to be an issue with this club. During the Bay FC game it felt like subs should have come on sooner and used in stoppage time to waste time sooner than they happened. In the game against Utah, it felt as though the substitutions were planned rather than decisions being made in real time given the situation happening on the pitch. Ludmila was sitting on a yellow already and several times could have received a second for fouls or dissent. Instead of subbing out Ludmila first, the coaching staff decided to take out Joseph and Schlegel.
The 17 year old Micayla Johnson came in for Joseph and Leilani Nesbeth came in for Schlegel. Then 4 minutes later Gomes came on for Ludmila. Ludmila should have been the first sub of the day given the card situation and how the interactions with the officials were going. I do like seeing Micayla be one of the first players off the bench. MJ brings a spark to the offense. It would have been nice if Joseph could have stayed on the pitch with MJ to help bolster the attack. Unless Joseph has some sort of knock I don’t see why she can’t play a full 90. Anderson subbed in for Staab in the 80th minute. I still don’t like Anderson coming in for Staab but it’s so great to see Staab regaining fitness to get back to full 90s soon.
The Return of Ava Cook
After 370 days, Ava Cook made her return for Chicago in this game. Cook subbed in for Grosso in the 79th minute. Cook will bring a grit and presence on the field that Chicago has truly missed. It’s always a question about a player returning from an ACL injury if they will play with the same aggressiveness as they did before and that question was immediately answered by Ava with a slide tackle to break up play and multiple aerial duels. Even in the short time Ava was on the pitch, her kit was covered in grass stains like we are all used to. Even though Chicago ended up losing in heart breaking fashion it is always a good day when a player returns from such a serious injury.
What’s Next?
Chicago Stars FC will return home on Saturday, April 26th, when they take on San Diego Wave FC at 6:30 on ION. San Diego is coming off a big win against Racing Louisville, beating them 4-1. Chicago is going to need to have some stingy defense on Cascarino, Dali and Leon in this game who all seem to be finding their way in San Diego. McCaskill has always been a solid player and has been a good distributor for San Diego so far this season. Chicago can hopefully capitalize on the mistakes made by the young back line of the Wave. Sheridan also sometimes makes mistakes by holding the ball too long at her feet so players like Ludmila and Joseph should try to keep some pressure on her to see if they can force a turnover.
I am going into this next week feeling confident about Chicago’s chances against the Wave. I think if the Stars choose to play a chip and chase offense like they did against Bay they could create a couple opportunities against the Wave’s defense. I also think players should keep their head up when receiving the ball as Sheridan sometimes likes to play a little higher than most keepers and there could be some opportunities over the top.
San Diego is a very different team from last year. If you asked most people around the league they would say San Diego is out performing expectations for this season so far. If Chicago can somehow break through their first two lines and get to their defense they should be able to create some shots. Ludmila and Joseph could utilize their speed to play through balls to beat the back line of the wave. I also would like to see Grosso work some of her passing magic in this game and become more of an offensive threat. This would be a big confidence booster for Chicago to get a win against the 7th place Wave.
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Bringing in Gomes who just isn't a threat, and Cook who won't be in leg shape for a while, to me meant death to the team. Utah instantly looked much better. I too would have liked to see Joseph stay in.
I also agree on the Hannah situation.
I had hoped you'd comment on Bea, who I felt had a spectacular game! Her passing while covered is amazing, she had so many important stops as well. She was my MVP of that game.
Lastly, (thanks for your patience) we have two major problems and never be a good team until they're resolved. Our coach is clueless in regard to running an offense. It's actually embarrassing to watch.
The second issue is Mallory. If we don't get her back, that's it. I wish her well and hope she is not sick. The only thing I find uncomfortable is her running new commercials on Instagram, while being out and silent about it.