By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
The Red Stars’ season opens March 16 and star player Mallory Swanson can’t wait.
The prolific scorer, who during the offseason signed an NWSL-record deal that will pay her $400,000 a year through 2028, missed all but two two games for the Red Stars last season with a torn left patellar tendon sustained while playing for the U.S. women’s national team in a friendly against Ireland last April. Swanson is scheduled to get in her first competitive playing time when the Red Stars visit expansion Utah at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Will she play a full 90 minutes? Probably not. It’s something she is building up to.
“I’m super-excited,” she said. “I will have to build to it but it’s definitely a goal of mine to get that full 90 back in. That would be special.”
Since coming to the Red Stars in 2021, the 25-year-old striker has racked up 15 goals in 39 appearances. She had 11 goals in just 13 games in 2022, when injuries and international duties kept her appearances in league games down.
The knee injury last season was devastating for her, although she did find a silver lining.
“Everything was the worst last year,” she said. “It was a bad year but some good came out of it. I received a lot of support, and that’s one of the blessings is that you know you have so much support and so much love.
“Without that, who knows what would have happened.”
The match versus Utah will be the Red Stars debut of head coach Lorne Donaldson. Swanson has worked with Donaldson before, and she said he can help turn around a team that finished 7-12-3 and in last place in the league in 2023.
“He brings out the best in players, and I think what I like so much and appreciate is that he has helped me re-establish my game,” Swanson said of Donaldson. “He has helped me a lot.”
Last-minute moves
The Red Stars took care of some last-minute business before the start of the season, signing first-round draft pick Leilanni Nesbeth, second-round pick Jameese Joseph and Portuguese forward Nadia Gomes.
Nesbeth, the 10th overall pick in the draft, inked a three-year deal.
“Leilanni brings a wealth of experience that will undoubtably help her succeed here the way she has with Bermuda and in college,” said Red Stars general manager Richard Feuz. “We are very happy to welcome Leilanni to the Red Stars and look forward to seeing her develop her game to this next level in her career.”
Nesbeth played college soccer at Florida State, where she helped the Seminoles win NCAA national championships in 2021 and 2023. In addition to her college career totals of 15 goals and 14 assists, Nesbeth’s accolades at FSU include earning spots on the NCAA Tournament All-Tournament Team in 2023 and the ACC All-Conference Second Team in 2022 and 2023.
Joseph, who played at North Carolina State, inked a three-year deal. The forward’s goal-studded collegiate career concluded with her ranked sixth in Wolfpack history for shots (237) and eighth in starts (87). Joseph had 24 goals and 10 assists between 2019-2023.
Gomes is on a one-year deal with a one-year option. She arrives in Chicago from USL W League club San Francisco Glens SC, where she scored 17 goals in 15 appearances and was named USL W League National Player of the Year in 2023.
Gomes played collegiately at Brigham Young, where she tallied 23 goals and 23 assists over 83 career appearances. She has trained with Chicago since being named to the team’s preseason roster Jan. 23.