By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
The schedule is set.
The roster is set.
The Red Stars are ready to roll.
Once they get the preseason stuff out of the way, the Red Stars will open the NWSL slate at 6:30 p.m. March 16 with a road game against the expansion Utah Royals.
Their home opener at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview is at 3 p.m. March 23.
This year, the NWSL expanded from 12 to 14 teams, welcoming Utah and Bay FC, the latter which represents the San Francisco Bay region. There will be a balanced schedule of 13 home and 13 away games for each team during the regular season.
With the addition of the two new franchises, the playoffs will expand from six to eight teams.
The NWSL’s Challenge Cup, a tournament in which games do not count in the league standings and prior to 20023 was held during the preseason, has also changed. The Red Stars will not be a part of it this season, as the Cup will be a single match featuring defending champion Gotham hosting NWSL Shield winner San Diego at 7 p.m. March 15.
As for the regular season, Gotham will be coming to Bridgeview on Oct. 12. San Diego will be at SeatGeek on Sept. 21.
The most interesting wrinkle in the home portion of the schedule comes in the heat of the summer. The way the schedule falls, plus an international break for the Summer Olympics, the Red Stars will play only three home games over a period of four months. They will be at SeatGeek on June 9 against Bay FC and will not play at home again until July 6 against Houston. Their next home game after that will be Sept. 8 against Orlando.
Games at the Geek
The Red Stars 2024 NWSL schedule for home games at SeatGeek Stadium.
Date Opponent Time
March 23 Seattle 3 p.m.
April 13 Angel City 8:30 p.m.
April 27 Portland 6:30 p.m.
May 1 Washington 7 p.m.
May 12 Utah 4:30 p.m.
May 25 Louisville 6:30 p.m.
June 9 Bay FC 3 p.m.
July 6 Houston Noon
Sept. 8 Orlando 5 p.m.
Sept. 21 San Diego 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 29 North Carolina 5 p.m.
Oct. 12 Gotham 3 p.m.
Nov. 3 Kansas City 2 p.m.
Here are the Red Stars
The preseason workouts began last week in at the Sports Dome in Bridgeview before the team headed out for warmer destinations for training and games.
The preseason roster has been set and, as always, is subject to changes.
Orland Park native Tatumn Milazzo returns for her fourth year as a defender, but she has a lot of company. Other defenders are Hannah Anderson, Camryn Biegalski, Sammi Feller, Celia Gaynor, Amanda Kowalski, Natalia Kuikka, Taylor Malham, Maximiliane Rall, Bridget Rieken and Sam Staab.
Midfielders are Jill Aguilera, Julia Bianchi, Jenna Bike, Chardonnay Curran, Jenny Danielsson, Sam Fischer, Bea Franklin, Sarah Griffith, Sophie Jones, Addie McCain, LeiLanni Nesbeth and Cari Roccaro.
Forwards are Ally Cook, Ava Cook, Mia Fontana, Nadia Gomes, Shea Groom, Penelope Hocking, Jameese Joseph, Ally Schlegal, Mallory Swanson and Paige Webber.
The goalkeepers are Erin McKinney, Alyssa Naeher and Mackenzie Wood.
Coming and going
As expected, free agent forward Ella Stevens is gone, as she signed a deal with Gotham.
But the Red Stars did pick up Rall and Biegalski.
Biegalski is a former Red Star who hails from Lombard.
“I’m super excited to be back with the Red Stars representing my home city,” she stated in a press release. “The organization is doing so many amazing things that I’m thrilled to be a part of, and I can’t wait to get to work.”