Red Stars, Freedom battle in critical tilt

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Red Stars (5-9-6, 21 points) cap off the road portion of their regular season when they travel to Boyds, Md., to face the Washington Freedom (5-8-7, 22 points) in Women’s Professional Soccer action at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Maryland SoccerPlex.

The match will stream live on www.CSNWashington.com.

With only first-place FC Gold Pride having qualified for the postseason heading into the week, Thursday’s match is critical for Chicago and Washington. The Freedom currently is tied for fourth place with Sky Blue FC, and the Red Stars are one point behind both squads in sixth place. The top four regular-season teams qualify for the WPS playoffs.

“We’re hoping for a six-point swing,” Red Stars Head Coach Omid Namazi said. “The team is aware of that, and hopefully we’ll come out and perform.”

For more, visit ChicagoRedStars.com.

RED STARS HOST FREEDOM

The Chicago Red Stars again try to put an end to their more than two-month winless drought when they host the Washington Freedom for a 7:30 p.m. match Wednesday in Women's Professional Soccer action at Toyota Park. A Web cast in both English and Spanish will be available at ChicagoRedStars.com.

Last-place Chicago (2-6-5, 11 points) has played Washington (4-4-4, 16 points) twice, the most recent game a scoreless draw on June 13 at RFK Stadium. That game also marked a string of four straight games without the Red Stars scoring a goal. They currently have a scoreless streak of 403 minutes, a WPS record.

With seven regular-season games remaining, the Red Stars know that time is running out to try to secure one of four playoff spots. Washington currently sits in fourth, and a Red Stars victory would put them only two points behind.