![]() ![]() ![]() At the moment, though, she is the best suited of the options available to partner Sharples. I maintain that she is best as a fullback pushing up to help the attack and also in a position to utilize her 1-v-1 defending skills to shut down the more dangerous opposition winger. Sarah Gorden is the only Red Star to play every minute so far this season. Set piece defending has been a particular struggle this season, a combination of poor marking and the reality that the Red Stars simply don’t have any players besides Sharples who are particularly tall or strong in the air. The first goal last week against Gotham is a perfect example, as Kayla Sharples was left to mark two Gotham players in the center of the box as the defensive structure broke down following a set piece. In the eleven games since the battering by Portland, that works out to 1 goal per game which would be good enough for tied for fourth over the course of the season.ĭespite looking decent on paper, there’s been no shortage of concerning moments. ![]() The silver lining, of course, is that 5 of the 17 goals they’ve conceded came in one game. No team has allowed more goals than the Red Stars this season. Whether in Chicago (a double-expansion draft this offseason causes plenty of uncertainty) or elsewhere, the early evidence strongly suggests that Miller has a future as an NWSL goalkeeper. She’s allowed just 4 goals in 4 starts, including three consecutive wins following the USWNT players’ departures, from 12 shots on target. However, Cassie Miller hasn’t looked at all out of place as the Red Stars temporary number one. When you lose a two-time World Cup-winning goalkeeper for a couple of months, that would ordinally set off serious alarm bells. Thus, it felt like the perfect time to take stock of the Red Stars at the halfway mark: what’s working, what isn’t, have the team’s potential transfer needs changed, and how difficult the rest of the road might be. Fittingly, next week will also see the opening of the second transfer window of the season which runs from August 3 rd to September 2 nd. Sunday’s match vs the Orlando Pride will kick off the second half of the season for the Chicago Red Stars 12 matches down, 12 to go. ![]()
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