By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
The Chicago Red Stars historic start to the season is all but forgotten.
In the last five matches, the Red Stars have failed to win, with the latest setback being a 3-1 loss on the road to North Carolina on June 23 in an NWSL battle.
The Red Stars are 5-7-2 overall and 0-4-1 in their last five games. After opening the season with a 3-1-1 record — the best start in franchise history — they are going through a miserable stretch in which goals have been hard to come by, as they are averaging just one tally per game in the skid.
“Our choice of passes hasn’t been the greatest,” first-year Red Stars coach Lorne Donaldson said. “The players have to get better at it. That’s all we can do its keep working.”
Mallory Swanson scored her second goal in as many matches for her team-leading fifth of the season in the 12th minute to give the Red Stars a quick lead.
But the Courage (6-7-1) dominated the rest of the way in Cary, North Carolina.
Red Stars goalie Alyssa Naeher gave up three goals but recorded a milestone with her 600th NWSL career regular-season save to open the second half.
Defender Tatumn Milazzo, an Orland Park native, won two of her three tackles, made three interceptions and completed 75% of her passes in the final third.
New coach
Karina Báez has been named as assistant coach of analytics. Báez joins the Red Stars from the Mexican Women’s National Team, where she served as a scout since 2023.
“I’m delighted to welcome Karina to our coaching staff,” Red Stars general manager Richard Feuz stated a press release. “Her experience with the Mexican federation and multiple Liga MX Femenil clubs will be a real asset to our organization. Karina will help us focus further on individual development and attention to detail. I can’t wait to see her work with Lorne, the staff and our players.”
“I’m thrilled to join the Chicago Red Stars and excited to get started with the team,” Báez said in a news release. “(Management) assembled a great group of players and I look forward to working with them and the rest of the coaching staff in the hopes of bringing an NWSL championship to our fans.”
Báez’s coaching career started on the youth level in Mexico including time at UNAM High School. In 2017, Báez became the assistant coach for the Pachuca women’s team and spent two years coaching the under-17 team. Following her time with Pachuca, Báez spent time as an assistant coach for the Tigres women’s team and coached the under-15 and under-17 teams for the club.
Báez experience earned her a chance at the head coaching position for Pumas UNAM women’s team in 2021.
Winless streak
A look at the Red Stars winless streak, which has gone on for more than a month:
May 19: Gotham 2, Red Stars 1
May 25: Louisville 1, Red Stars 0
June 8: Bay FC 2, Red Stars 1
June 14: Kansas City 2, Red Stars 2
June 23: North Carolina 3, Red Stars 1
Coming up
The Red Stars visit San Diego (3-5-6) June 28 at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Wave tied Houston 0-0 on June 22.