{"id":82467,"date":"2019-10-28T20:54:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T01:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=82467"},"modified":"2019-12-11T01:40:31","modified_gmt":"2019-12-11T07:40:31","slug":"red-stars-fall-short-in-franchises-first-nwsl-championship-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/red-stars-fall-short-in-franchises-first-nwsl-championship-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Stars fall short in franchise\u2019s first NWSL Championship game"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Krystina Iordanou<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s Championship match didn’t catalyze the win the Chicago Red Stars had hoped for, as four goals by the dynamic North Carolina Courage offense proved to be too much in the match.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Red Stars controlled play for the first few minutes of the game but an early goal from North Carolina\u2019s Debinha in the fourth minute slowly changed the momentum of the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it took us a good 15 to 20 minutes to settle in the game and by that point we were already chasing against a team you don\u2019t want to be chasing against,\u201d said Rory Dames, Chicago Red Stars head coach, \u201cI think when we go back and watch we\u2019ll be pretty disappointed with the first two goals. We had three players around Debinha. She was able to get the first shot off, find the ball and then get the second one. I think when you\u2019re in this setting their players are obviously better in this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Despite sustaining pockets of possession throughout the match, two late first half goals by forwards Jessica McDonald and Crystal Dunn ultimately sealed the Courage\u2019s second consecutive NWSL Championship. Sam Mewis added the final goal of the match in the 61st minute off an Abby Dahlkemper free kick to complete the scoring.<\/p>\n

The experience in these big moments proved to be an advantage for the Courage, who were playing in their third consecutive NWSL Championship, compared to the Red Stars who made their first appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard getting into finals, it\u2019s hard to produce in the finals but it\u2019s not hard to motivate the players. It\u2019s hard not keeping them from getting over emotional. This team loves the big games, loves the big moments,\u201d said head coach Paul Riley, of the North Carolina Courage.<\/p>\n

Although Chicago players were disappointed with the outcome, they are optimistic about the team\u2019s future and their development as players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team has been extremely special on and off the field which is why it\u2019s pretty disappointing to go out like we did, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the end of us. I think we grew a lot; we move forward, we definitely set some records and had some first for the club which is huge but it\u2019s also time to do some reflection and learn from our mistakes as well,\u201d said Chicago Red Star defender Casey Short.<\/p>\n

The Red Stars have a lot of lessons they can take from this season. After four seasons of semifinal losses, the team broke through to its first Championship. They also recorded the most wins in their franchise\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Despite rumors of the potential departure of the 2019 NWSL MVP and Chicago Red Star forward Sam Kerr, the team hopes to bring back the core of their many talented players.<\/p>\n

\"ertz\"
Julie Ertz walks across stage to receive her second place medal after loss on Sunday. (Erin Donnery)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The defensive performance of both Julie Ertz and Alyssa Naeher may be overlooked due to the final score, but their resilient performances in the game can provide hope for what fans can expect next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think this is a finale for the team by any means, if anything I think a ton of players got a ton of experience from going through the process,\u201d said Dames, \u201cWe\u2019ll do our best to keep the group together (next season).\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Sam Kerr (center) received the 2019 NWSL MVP award during the championship weekend. (Erin Donnery)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Krystina Iordanou Medill Reports Sunday\u2019s Championship match didn’t catalyze the win the Chicago Red Stars had hoped for, as four goals by the dynamic North Carolina Courage offense proved to be too much in the match. The Chicago Red Stars controlled play for the first few minutes of the game but an early goal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":622,"featured_media":82468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4780,31],"tags":[4842],"class_list":["post-82467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2019","category-sports","tag-chicago-red-stars"],"yoast_head":"\nRed Stars fall short in franchise\u2019s first NWSL Championship game - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/red-stars-fall-short-in-franchises-first-nwsl-championship-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Stars fall short in franchise\u2019s first NWSL Championship game - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Krystina Iordanou Medill Reports Sunday\u2019s Championship match didn’t catalyze the win the Chicago Red Stars had hoped for, as four goals by the dynamic North Carolina Courage offense proved to be too much in the match. 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