BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Momentum has been difficult to find for the Chicago Red Stars in their Women’s Professional Soccer debut. And with a road trip and some key absences on the horizon, a victory Sunday was of the essence.Thankfully for the Red Stars, Brazilian sensation Cristiane is heating up with her play making abilities, and she did so in a big way with the first hat trick in WPS history as Chicago earned its second straight win, defeating FC Gold Pride, 3-1, at Toyota Park.
She needs to be the catalyst since soon the team will be without Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Lindsay Tarpley, who are bound for the U.S. Women’s National Team and will miss next Sunday's game against Sky Blue FC. Karen Carney will miss the next two games because of her call-up to England's National Team.
“Cristiane showed her qualities as a world class finisher. And I will credit the assisters, as well,” Red Stars head coach Emma Hayes said. “The team showed that they were gutsy and greedy when they didn’t dominate or felt totally in control. And for me, that’s the sign of a good team.”
As solid as Cristiane’s finishing was, she also was the recipient of some strong passing and setups, with Rapinoe standing above the most. Though she only had one assist, Rapinoe created several other chances to keep Gold Pride’s defense busy in key spurts.
“I think that I positioned myself well, and I received good (setups) from my teammates” Cristiane said through Red Stars teammate and translator Lydia Vandenbergh. “You always don’t have a lot of chances to score in a game, and I look to get my chances on-frame.”
Cristiane put the Red Stars (4-6-5) on the board in the 31st minute with a penalty kick goal past Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. She was tripped a minute earlier by Rachel Buehler and calmly gave Chicago the 1-0 lead after both teams were off to a pretty slow start.
Then in first-half stoppage time, Cristiane broke through the Gold Pride defense after Rapinoe’s send. She took advantage of the one-on-one opportunity against Barnhart, dribbling around the Gold Pride goalkeeper to her left. Two Gold Pride defenders managed to get back, but Cristiane’s shot trickled past both of them and she celebrated with her patented back flip.
The Gold Pride (3-8-3) battled back when Rapinoe fouled Tiffeny Milbrett in the box when going for a header. Milbrett took the PK in the 64th minute and cut the deficit to 2-1.
But unlike many games limited in the scoring department and limited in big swings, the Red Stars immediately snagged back Gold Pride’s momentum just 1 minute later as Cristiane notched her third goal of the game with a solid strike toward the upper left corner of the net.
Next up: The Red Stars head out on a short two-game road trip, starting with a 6 p.m. (CST) match Wednesday, July 15, against the Boston Breakers.
SlideTackles.net thoughts: The three points were an absolute must for Chicago, and Cristiane didn’t disappoint. A few bounces definitely went Chicago’s way, which has not been the case much this season - Cristiane’s second goal is a perfect example.
The Red Stars’ defensive play was relatively steady, coming up with some key intercepted passes or forcing Gold Pride into some difficult looks at the net. Christine Sinclair had a few scoring opportunities, but for the most part Chicago’s defense kept her in check. And Sinclair was a one-woman wrecking crew against the Red Stars in the teams’ previous matchups, scoring both Gold Pride goals en route to a win and a draw.
Hayes said Cristiane was taken out of the match in the 67th minute so she can maintain some energy for the Red Stars’ busy stretch on the road.
Anyone following WPS knows the race for the playoffs is as tight as it can be (minus the Los Angeles Sol). The back-to-back wins, a first for Chicago, now puts the Red Stars in fifth place. The top four advance to the playoffs.
The Red Stars have given teams some fits on the road, and they have quite a bit of work to do in adding to this “winning streak.” That has a pretty nice ring to it.
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