Red Stars' Sitch, Weber out for season

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Red Stars medical staff confirmed Thursday that Red Stars midfielder and Oswego, Ill., native Julianne Sitch will miss the remainder of the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Sitch's injury to her right knee took place late in the second half during Chicago's 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Independence on Wednesday at Toyota Park. In anticipation of a pass, Sitch planted her right foot and quickly rotated, injuring her knee in a non-contact play.

Late Wednesday, team medical staff diagnosed Sitch with a knee sprain before a Thursday doctor's visit confirmed that she tore her ACL.

"Julianne Sitch is a role player who's got the heart of a lion," Red Stars Head Coach Omid Namazi said following Wednesday's match. "She works her butt off, and to replace her is tough."

The Red Stars announce another roster setback with developmental player and Elk Grove Village, Ill., native Elise Weber out for the rest of the season with a labral tear of her left hip -- an injury that occurred during training.

For more, visit ChicagoRedStars.com.

Jared Montz's podcast with Frank Klopas

Chicago Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas on JMS Podcast from MontzTV on Vimeo.

Former Chicago Fire defender Jared Montz has an interesting conversation with Fire technical director Frank Klopas.

Red Stars fall to Philadelphia, 2-1

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Red Stars fell to the Philadelphia Independence, 2-1, on Wednesday in Women's Professional Soccer action in front of 3,152 at Toyota Park.

With the win, the second-place Independence improved to 9-6-4 overall and 3-0-0 against the Red Stars during their inaugural season. Chicago fell to 5-9-6 overall.

The Red Stars are tied for fifth in the WPS standings with the Washington Freedom. Both teams have 21 points, but the Freedom has played one less match than Chicago.

On Wednesday, Philadelphia's Lianne Sanderson and the team's leading goal scorer Amy Rodriguez each netted a tally for the Independence. Sanderson's game-winner came in the 78th minute off of a free kick as the ball scooted past Red Stars goalkeeper Jillian Loyden for the 2-1 lead.

Chicago forward Ella Masar netted her team-leading sixth goal of the season in the 62nd minute to tie the score at 1-1. Casey Nogueira provided a deep cross from the right side and Masar lunged at the ball and headed it past Independence goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc.

Read more at ChicagoRedStars.com.

Fire need cohesiveness in critical stretch

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Following the Chicago Fire's scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, one thing was glaringly clear -- New York looked like the tighter, cohesive group.

Saying so does not imply that the Fire do not have that characteristic inside of them. On the contrary, with an acquisition such as a Freddie Ljungberg, that type of talent will bond and energize the 11-man grouping on the pitch.

The Fire are just past the midway point of the season with 16 matches and a 5-5-6 record, and this team has some good pieces in place. But the cohesiveness will need to form relatively quickly for a strong second-half run. And at the moment, the Fire still are on the outside of the postseason picture if the regular season wrapped up today.

"We're now getting to the point of the season where we can't drop many points," Fire defensive midfielder Logan Pause said. "We've got to start making up some ground."

Read the full post at ESPNChicago.com.

Johnson leads Fire to draw vs. Red Bulls

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Despite five designated players taking to the pitch and the anticipation heading into the Chicago Fire's home match against the New York Red Bulls, both talented squads lacked the offensive gusto on Sunday.

In the end, it was Fire rookie goalkeeper Sean Johnson earning the spotlight with seven saves as the Fire and Red Bulls played to a scoreless draw in front of the largest crowd (21,868) in Toyota Park history.

The Red Bulls began to penetrate the defense in the second half, but Johnson was up to the task.

"I think we played our style pretty much 70 minutes throughout the match," Johnson said. "I think the last 20 minutes or so they were attacking us pretty strong and I think us sitting in, we were very organized. I didn't have a problem. I think defensively we were strong throughout the 90 minutes."

The hype heading into the match focused on both teams' slew of designated players. Four of the five available designated players started the match, with New York's forward tandem of Juan Pablo Angel and Thierry Henry and defender Rafael Marquez taking the pitch, and Chicago midfielder Freddie Ljungberg making his first Fire start. Fire forward Nery Castillo opened the match on the bench, but he made his debut in the 56th minute, entering the match for target forward Brian McBride.

For more, visit ESPNChicago.com.

Red Stars, Gold Pride play to draw

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Chicago Red Stars and the first-place FC Gold Pride played to a scoreless draw on Saturday in Women's Professional Soccer action at Pioneer Stadium.

Red Stars goalkeeper Jillian Loyden made four saves for her fifth clean sheet of the season. Her counterpart, Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, made five saves for her league-leading sixth shutout.

With the draw, Chicago (5-8-6) holds a fourth-place tie in the WPS standings. Sky Blue FC defeated the Atlanta Beat earlier in the day, 2-1, as Chicago and New Jersey share fourth with 21 points apiece. The Red Stars previously were tied with the Washington Freedom. Gold Pride (12-3-3) picks up a point and now has 39 for the season.

The Red Stars also surpassed their points total from last season (20 points in 2009).

For more, visit ChicagoRedStars.com.

Fire-Red Bulls tilt heavy with anticipation

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- One year ago, the New York Red Bulls were the laughingstock of MLS, and Sunday's matchup would have been a dud on the Chicago Fire's calendar. But things have changed dramatically since then.

A combined five designated players could take the pitch and Toyota Park possibly will have a sellout crowd on hand when the Fire host New York in a match jam-packed with anticipation (8 p.m. CT kickoff, ESPN2).

The Red Bulls have taken full advantage of the league's designated player rule using the three-player maximum: Juan Pablo Angel, Mexican National Team captain Rafael Marquez and Frenchman Thierry Henry. The Fire recently brought in two designated players in the past several weeks in Nery Castillo and Freddie Ljungberg.

"It won't be easy because they strengthened the team with new players like Henry and Rafa Marquez," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "But if we want to qualify, we need to show that we can win these kinds of matches."

For the full story, visit ESPNChicago.com.

John hopes to be back in 2-3 weeks

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Fire forward Collins John has been absent from the pitch for a good portion over the past month, and everyone from Fire fans, to the organization and John himself wanted to know exactly what has kept him out of action.

After several doctors ran some tests, the Fire are going to label John's setback as gastrointestinal illness.

"Something was not very usual to have in my body, but I think that I'm done with it," John said Thursday. "It's not like a virus. Something didn't just enter my body all of a sudden. I think it was something that I was born with, like a family kind of thing."

Read more at ESPNChicago.com.