The action on the field was hot and so was the weather as the Chicago Red Stars ran their Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Elite League record to 5-0 with a 5-0 win over the visiting ASA Chesapeake Charge. With the victory the Red Stars remain the only undefeated team in the league and have only surrendered one goal in five matches. Pending the results of the game between league-leading Boston Breakers and Philadelphia Fever, Chicago could find themselves in a tie for the top position.
The Red Stars opened with a strong attack, but Charge were just as determined to score. An attempt by Chicago’s Amanda Cinalli hit the post and rolled out, while at the other end goalkeeper Jamie Forbes was forced to smother her block of a line shot to prevent a one-on-one. Minutes later Charge net minder Erin Quinn denied Alyssa Mautz on a 20-yard blast.
In the 36th minute the home side finally connected when Michele Weisenhoffer sent in a pass that Lauren Fowlkes connected with on a header to beat Quinn. Four minutes later team captain Lori Chalupny picked up a goal of her own to put Chicago up 2-0. Both sides battled for the remaining minutes, but the half ended with the Red Stars up by two.
The second half began with both teams putting pressure on the other, in spite of the high temperature on the pitch. Then in the 78th minute Cinalli fed Fowlkes who netted her second of the game. Five minutes later Fowlkes fired a shot from the 18 that beat Quinn for her first hat trick as a Red Star and the first for Chicago this season. Newcomer Zoey Goralski closed out the scoring at the 86-minute mark to give the Red Stars their fifth straight win of the season and 15 total points.
The Red Stars will next take on the Western New York Flash at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., on Wednesday, June 13. Flash returned to the win column against New England Mutiny on Saturday with a 3-1 victory and will play three matches over the next week. Charge will return home where they will host the Flash on Saturday, June 16, and the New York Fury on Sunday, June 17.
