Hopeful for another Red Stars run

Reflections of the past two seasons at Toyota Park's press row

The final image of the Chicago Red Stars' 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season was the always animated Megan Rapinoe running like crazy after netting a goal during the team's home finale.

I'm hopeful that is not the last snapshot of the Red Stars. The organization's ownership has given indications that it would like to return for the 2012 season, and like you, I will wait with anticipation to see how things play out.

I can't help but reflect on the past two years -- one covering the team for pretty much a hobby, then having the privilege to work on the public relations side. I have not taken a single minute of my work for granted. Working in PR or covering professional soccer for a living is an absolute joy as a fan of this fine game, and the Red Stars staff, players and organization as a whole are top-notch.

Those who are understandably skeptical about the "hiatus" lingo, let me just say this ... I have worked for other soccer teams that were visibly on life support, and the Red Stars do not come close to falling into this category. This team has unbridled passion. This team knows how to stretch a dollar. This team knows how to connect with fans and supporters and bring in one of WPS's higher draws in one of the most highly competitive sports markets in the country.

I do not know this team's future, but if any organization could pull off a brief suspension and return, I think the Red Stars could certainly do it.

I want to quickly thank the media folks who either attended the games or wrote about the team from afar. The Chicago dailies (Chicago Tribune stepped up big-time this past season), the online media (too many of you to thank individually, but Windy City Soccer was ALWAYS there), radio (WNDZ's Sportsline, and thanks to WBBM and NPR for some recognition), photographers, some TV segments away from the pitch (WGN, NBC, ABC), the great folks at Zapwater, and the other writers and bloggers out there, we've appreciated the exposure.

Some of you I'll still run into when I'm covering the Chicago Fire or working at Chicago Riot games. But there will be a massive void not having the Red Stars for 2011. (I'll also miss the regular Pinoe references on F#@k Yeah, Chicago Red Stars!)

In my cheesy and non-original way of coping with the team suspending operations, I put together some of my favorite Red Stars memories at Toyota Park over the past two years, seeing as how I had a bird's-eye view of the game from press row.

For a team that came up short of the playoffs in two seasons, there still were plenty of wonderful moments:

 

1. Cristiane's hat trick: I'm amazed even today that Cristiane is the only person in WPS's two-year history to score three goals in one game. I would have thought that the Brazilian would have some company by now. But on July 12, 2009, Red Stars fans were in for a treat as Cristiane netted a triple against FC Gold Pride -- the only hat trick in WPS to date. Cristiane's best tally for me was her final goal where she completely schooled Brandi Chastain and delivered a rocket to the far left post. I wish Cristiane had a few more big moments like that.

2. United against Gold Pride: The Red Stars' first month of the 2010 season was an all-time low -- a 1-4-1 record that led to the dismissal of Red Stars head coach Emma Hayes. It had to be a difficult moment for the players having to come back to the pitch with little time to let that soak in, while at the same time take on a Marta-led FC Gold Pride squad that had won five straight coming into the match. With the coaching search still in progress, Red Stars President and General Manager Marcia McDermott took the coaching reigns for one game on May 29, 2010, and a united Red Stars squad pieced together a victory. Kosovare Asllani netted a 55th-minute goal and a well-deserved celebration at the northeast corner of the pitch. Chicago kept Bay Area off the scoreboard the rest of the way for an exciting 1-0 win.

3. Running off into the sunset: I wish there were more people who outwardly wear their love of the game like Megan Rapinoe. Pinoe was having a tremendously difficult 2010 season. She knew it. Everyone knew it. But heading into the season finale against the Washington Freedom on Sept. 5, 2010, with nothing to play for except pride, Rapinoe tallied the second goal of the game and dashed to the Red Stars bench. Her teammates had a difficult time trying to catch up to her! That gave Chicago a 2-0 lead, and that goal proved to be incredibly important. The Freedom's Beverly Goebel tallied a goal 1 minute later, but the Red Stars held off Washington for the final minutes of stoppage time. Whew! This also marked the first run of back-to-back wins in the team's history.

4. Four scores: In the first season, the Red Stars were touted to be a favorite to compete for the first WPS title. And early on in the season, Chicago looked like it was on the right track with a 2-0-2 start. That fourth game included a dominating 4-0 victory over the Boston Breakers on April 25, 2009. Though clearly Boston did not play well, the Red Stars took advantage with four different players tallying a goal: Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Karen Carney and the hard-nosed Brittany Klein tallied their goals in a span of just over a half hour. That was the absolute high point of the season, before the bottom fell out and the team was winless and scoreless in three straight home games in May. I prefer to forget about that massive drought.

5. Another festive finale: The Red Stars had a knack of at least closing on the right note. On Aug. 2, 2009, a record 7,959 fans came out to see Chicago's home finale against Marta and the regular-season champion Los Angeles Sol. Cristiane vs. Marta was the interesting Brazilian draw, but Marta was kept off the scoreboard as the Red Stars earned a 3-1 win. It took a second-half stoppage time goal for Cristiane to get in the scoring column. Lindsay Tarpley had a goal and assisted a long-awaited goal from Carli Lloyd, who had only two tallies on the season.

Thanks Red Stars! Don't wander off too far!

Charlie Corr
Chicago Red Stars Communications Manager

• Feel free to share your favorite Red Stars moment below. First road win at Saint Louis Athletica? Ella Masar's LONG-awaited first goal? Would love to hear it!

RED STARS' KLEIN GETS U.S. WNT STINT

Chicago midfielder, along with Lloyd and Rapinoe, to train with squad

On Tuesday, three players from the Chicago Red Stars were named to the U.S. Women's National Team's training session running from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2.

Red Stars midfielder Brittany Klein (pictured) joins the team with the hopes of earning her first international camp. She joins Red Stars midfielder Carli Lloyd and midfielder Megan Rapinoe on the squad.

Head coach Pia Sundhage is using this training session in preparation for an Oct. 29 match against reigning Women's World Cup champion Germany at Impuls Arena in Augsburg. The training takes place at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Red Stars midfielder Lindsay Tarpley misses out on the camp because of an ACL injury she suffered toward the end of the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer season.

Also among Sundhage's 26-player training camp group are Naperville native and Notre Dame alum Brittany Bock (pictured above against Klein) of the Los Angeles Sol, as well as Crystal Lake native and Boston Breakers defender Amy LePeilbet. This is Bock's second call-up, but she did not earn a cap because of a heel injury the day before an international friendly against Canada on May 25. Bock played for WPS's runner-up Sol, while LePeilbet garnered the most player votes for Sunday's WPS All-Star Game against Swedish Champions Umea IK.

The Red Stars' Klein, Rapinoe and Cristiane were named to the WPS All-Star squad.

• Blanco to rejoin Mexican National Team: Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco was named to the Mexican National Team's Roster for World Cup qualifying against Costa Rica and Honduras. Mexico faces Costa Rica on Sept. 5 and Honduras on Sept. 9. Blanco assisted a goal during Mexico's Aug. 12 win against the U.S. Men's National Team.

TRIO OF RED STARS NAMED WPS ALL-STARS

Cristiane, Rapinoe, Klein join lineup for Aug. 30 festivities in St. Louis

Three Chicago Red Stars players will represent the organization during the first-ever Women's Professional Soccer All-Star Game on Aug. 30.

Brazilian forward Cristiane and midfielders Brittany Klein and Megan Rapinoe will be part of the match, which features a collection of WPS All-Stars against Swedish champions Umea IK. The game takes place at 4:30 p.m. at St. Louis Athletica's home field, The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, in Fenton, Mo.

Multiple WPS players are unavailable for this game because of the 2009 European Championships. So Cristiane and Rapinoe were named to the WPS First XI and will be starting for head coach Abner Rogers' lineup. Klein was named one of seven at-large selections to round up the 18-player roster.

Cristiane had a slow start to her Red Stars debut because of a late arrival and knee injury. But she picked up her game as the season progressed, accounting for more than a third of the team's offense. Cristiane posted a team-leading seven goals, and she became the first WPS player to net a hat trick during a 3-1 victory over FC Gold Pride. This inaugural WPS season has provided an outlet for Cristiane's skills to earn their own merit, because for two years she has been runner-up to FIFA Player of the Year and Brazilian national teammate Marta of the Los Angeles Sol.

Rapinoe was a clear fan favorite from the start of her Red Stars tenure. She was chosen as the No. 2 overall pick in the WPS General Draft. Rapinoe probably covered more ground on the pitch than any other Red Stars player. She had two goals and three assists in 18 games. She also was called up to the U.S. Women's National Team on a couple of occasions, registering a goal in first-half stoppage time en route to a dominating 4-0 victory over Canada on May 25 at BMO Field in Toronto.

The 5-foot-3 Klein had to carry a mountain of responsibilities this season. There were moments when Chicago's midfield was missing as many as four players to national team duty - Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Lindsay Tarpley for the U.S., and Karen Carney for England. But Klein shouldered the extra load and handled a lot of the gritty work that does not show up on a stat sheet. Aside from goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson, who played all 1,800 minutes in the net, Klein led the rest of the team with 1,678 minutes, starting all 20 games. She also tallied three assists and a goal.

• Tarpley tears ACL: Red Stars midfielder Lindsay Tarpley had to miss Wednesday's 2-0 loss to St. Louis Athletica because of an injury. It turns out that she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during training Tuesday. "Lindsay's injury is not complicated, and she will work hard to rehabilitate in the off-season in preparation for 2010," Red Stars athletic trainer Laura Behr said in a release. Tarpley had four goals and four assists this season. Three of her goals were game-winners, and twice she earned WPS Player of the Week honors.

PREVIEW: RED STARS AT SKY BLUE FC

The regular-season countdown is now at four games. This is not a bad time to regularly repeat the "must-win" motto as the Chicago Red Stars stand on the outside of the Women's Professional Soccer playoff race.

Chicago (4-7-5) stays out on the road to take on Sky Blue FC (5-6-4) at 3:30 p.m. (CST) on Sunday at Yurcak Stadium in Piscataway, N.J. The game will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel.

Sky Blue has had the upper hand over the Red Stars this season with a 2-0-1 record head-to-head. They also have outscored Chicago, 3-0, with former Red Stars preseason goalkeeper Jenni Branam posting three clean sheets.

With Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Lindsay Tarpley away with the U.S. Women's National Team and Karen Carney with the England National Team, the Red Stars have plenty of voids at midfield and forward to make up for.

Chicago's leading goal scorer, Cristiane, will be the obvious centerpiece this weekend. She has six goals out of her 16 shots on goal, and she became the first WPS player to net a hat trick on July 12 against FC Gold Pride.

Outside of Cristiane, Chicago has scored only seven goals, with its four national team absences accounting for six of them. That means Cristiane and Brittany Klein (pictured above; one goal against Boston on April 25) are the only Red Stars on Sunday's road trip to find the back of the net this season.

FC Gold Pride has its international absences, too, with defender Christie Rampone and midfielder/forward Heather O'Reilly (U.S.) and midfielder Kelly Parker (Canada) missing this Sunday.

Heading into the weekend, the Red Stars and Washington Freedom are tied in fifth place with 17 points apiece, and Sky Blue is clinging onto the fourth and final playoff spot with 19 points. St. Louis Athletica (23) and the Boston Breakers (21) are currently second and third, respectively, with the Los Angeles Sol dominating with 37 points.