Mallory Pugh has 10 goals for the Red Stars. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars hanging on to playoff spot; Fire eliminated from postseason contention
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
The Chicago Red Stars returned to Bridgeview with mixed results in two games, but held onto the final playoff spot in the NWSL and increased their lead over seventh-place Angel City.
The top six teams make the playoff in the 12-team league.
The Red Stars (8-6-6, 30 points) cooled off red-hot Kansas City, 4-0, on Sept. 14 but couldn’t keep the momentum going Sept. 17 and fell to Houston, 1-0.
Angel City (7-7-5, 26 points) dropped a pair of games last week, including a 1-0 setback to San Diego Saturday in the Wave’s debut at Snapdragon Stadium, which drew 32,000 fans.
Chicago plays Sunday at Portland and hosts Angel City on Oct. 2. Angel City, however, had nine possible points to collect and was scheduled to host Washington on Wednesday, Racing Louisville on Sunday and the showdown with the Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium.
“At this time of year, we have to find points,” Red Stars coach Chris Petrucelli said.
The coach thought his team looked a little slow against Houston and hopes the league looks into the matter of teams playing two matches in four days.
Houston’s Ebony Salmon scored the lone goal of the game in the 24th minute.
The win over the Current, however, was the most impressive of the season as the Red Stars dominated a team that had not lost since May.
Kansas City entered SeatGeek in first place for the first time in the two-year history of the team. The Current was 9-0-4 in the previous 13 games after opening the season 0-4-1.
Orland Park native Tatumn Milazzo scored a goal against Kansas City on Sept. 14. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Orland Park’s Tatumn Milazzo got the scoring going right away in the fifth minute. Mallory Pugh scored her ninth and 10th goals of the season in the seventh and 59th minutes, and Amanda Kowalski added one in the 71st minute.
Milazzo, a defender who doesn’t get a lot of scoring opportunities, scored her second goal of the year and third in her two-year career on Pugh’s throw-in.
“We have a game plan, and you move into your spot and execute,” said Milazzo, an Andrew graduate.
“We tried to get the ball in that area, and she certainly jumped on it,” Petrucelli said. “It’s a huge win because Kansas City was on such a great run. I don’t know what kind of statement it is, but we got three big points.”
It was the Red Stars first game in Bridgeview since Aug. 7.
Milazzo leads the team this season with 966 attempted passes and 43 interceptions.
Milestone for Hill
Chicago’s Rachel Hill made her 100th NWSL appearance in the Kansas City match. She had 60 appearances with Orlando from 2017-2019 and joined the Red Stars in 2020.
Friendly Fire
The Chicago Fire was eliminated from the MLS playoff picture with a 3-2 loss to Charlotte on Sept. 17 at Solider Field. The team has two matches remaining at SeatGeek Stadium, including a friendly at 5 p.m. Saturday against the Mexican Premier League’s Leon FC.
Leon is an eight-time Liga MX champion.
Lunay tunes in Bridgeview
Puerto Rican singer and rapper Lunay will host a postgame concert following the Fire’s final regular season match at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 against New England Revolution at SeatGeek Stadium.
The match will also serve as the Fire’s 25th season celebration, featuring alumni appearances and an exclusive 1998 MLS Cup Champions Pennant giveaway, in addition to Lunay’s postgame performance.
“We are so excited to welcome Lunay on Oct. 9 and to host his concert for our fans as part of our Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations and 25th Anniversary weekend,” said Chicago Fire FC President of Business Operations Ishwara Glassman Chrein. “We are thrilled for this unique opportunity to engage with our incredible fanbase and celebrate the Hispanic community with Lunay’s post-match performance, in addition to all of the exciting activities that will be held throughout our anniversary weekend.”
Fire II finished
The Chicago Fire II missed the playoffs but beat Inter Miami CF II, 1-0, Sunday at SeatGeek Stadium to close its first MLS NEXT Pro season with an 8-11-5 record.
Alex Monis scored a goal and Mihajlo Miskovic recorded his first shutout of the season.
Local News
Softball | Jocelyn Hovanec scores two runs, Ks 12 in Chicago Christian win
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian is working to find its footing in the inaugural season of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. The Knights entered this week 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCC, putting them in fifth place with just two conference games to play among their final seven regular-season contests. The Knights…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over…
Work moving forward at Marquette Park
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . In the March 29 edition of the Greater Southwest News-Herald, I wrote a story about a town hall meeting at Marquette Park, we learned of some of the upcoming plans the Park District has for…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015…
Police Council rallies to save ShotSpotter
Spread the love. By Alexis Bocanegra Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (773) 949-1509 • grcl.alex23@gmail.com . Chicago Lawn (8th) District Police Council members Mark Hamberlin, Al Cacciottolo and Jason Huff have created an online petition to save ShotSpotter. As you may have read in the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound back in March, Mayor…
Capacity crowd speaks out against Evergreen Park dispensary
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Additional chairs had to be brought out to seat an overflow crowd of Evergreen Park residents who attended a meeting April 15 regarding a proposed cannabis dispensary for the village. And many who were in attendance voiced their opposition to having a dispensary in Evergreen Park. Most of the people cited…
Countryside puts dog park on hold, will require leashes in two parks
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch The city of Countryside has put on hold building a dog park, but canines and their owners are still in store for a treat. The city council has unanimously approved a plan to permit dogs in City Park and Countryside Park this year. Previously, they were not allowed in the…
Neighbors
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
Spread the love. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was…
Archer Manor Little League starts its 2024 season
Spread the love. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the boys and girls, moms and dads, umpires and coaches, and everyone else participating in Archer Manor Little League’s Opening Day parade and ceremonies at Archer Park. Since 1952, AMLL has provided athletic opportunities for thousands of boys and girls in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Central…
Dread over car drifters on streets
Spread the love. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by…
Don’t raise pilots’ retirement age, García says
Spread the love. From staff reports U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently led a letter joined by 121 Members of Congress urging House Democratic leadership to reject any changes to the pilot retirement age in a final version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill.…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
Spread the love. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
Spread the love. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic,…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
Spread the love. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to…
It’s ‘Batter up!’ time in West Lawn
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . It must be May because baseball season is here. I recently reported on the West Lawn Little League, whose 2024 season is now underway. Another West Lawn youth athletic association is Midway Baseball Softball Association. Their teams…
Cinco de Mayo, here we come
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . It’s time to bring out the Corona, Tecate, Modelo or Dos Equis, along with a few limes. Heck, maybe even bring out the Patrón! It is Cinco de Mayo this Sunday, translated to…