2019 Chicago Red Stars season

The 2019 Chicago Red Stars season was the team's eleventh season and seventh season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Chicago Red Stars

2019 season
Owner	Arnim Whisler
Head coach	Rory Dames
Stadium	SeatGeek Stadium (capacity: 20,000)
Top goalscorer	Sam Kerr (18)
Highest home attendance	17,388 vs North Carolina Courage, July 21
Lowest home attendance	2,113 vs North Carolina Courage, May 11
Average home league attendance	7,744
Home colors Away colors
← 2018

First-team squad

2019 squad

Updated August 12, 2019 ^[1] Players under contract to play for the club during 2019 season.
bold type indicates player played for her national team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Alyssa Naeher 2 MF  USA Nikki Stanton 3 DF  USA Arin Wright 4 MF  USA Alyssa Mautz 5 DF  USA Katie Naughton 6 DF  USA Casey Short 7 FW  USA Michele Vasconcelos 8 MF  USA Julie Ertz 9 FW  USA Savannah McCaskill 10 DF  USA Vanessa DiBernardo 12 FW  JPN Yūki Nagasato 13 MF  USA Morgan Brian 14 DF  USA Sarah Gorden

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  MEX Maria Sánchez 16 GK  USA Alison Jahansouz 18 GK  AUS Mackenzie Arnold 20 FW  AUS Sam Kerr 21 GK  USA Emily Boyd 23 MF  USA Brooke Elby 24 MF  USA Danielle Colaprico 28 DF  USA Zoey Goralski 26 DF  USA Tierna Davidson 28 DF  USA Kayla Sharples 30 DF  USA Hannah Davison 31 DF  USA Jenna Szczesny 33 FW  MEX Katie Johnson

Player transactions

2019 NWSL College Draft

Round	Pick	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Previous Team
Round 1	1		Tierna Davidson	D	Stanford University
Round 2	15		María Sánchez	F	Santa Clara University
Round 3	20		Bianca St. Georges	F	West Virginia University
Round 3	26		Kayla Sharples	D	Northwestern University
Round 4	28		April Bockin	F	University of Minnesota
Round 4	33		Hannah Davison	D	Northwestern University
Round 4	35		Jenna Szczesny	F	Loyola University Chicago

In

Date	Player	Positions played	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.
January 9, 2019	Katie Johnson	FW	Sky Blue FC	Acquired in a Trade with Sky Blue FC for the 6th Overall Pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft and Chicago's highest second round pick in 2020	[2]
June 19, 2019	Savannah McCaskill	FW	Sky Blue FC	Acquired in a Trade with Sky Blue FC for a First and Second Round Pick at the 2020 NWSL College Draft	[3]
August 1, 2019	Mackenzie Arnold	GK	Arna-Bjørnar	Signed.	[4]

Out

Date	Player	Positions played	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
January 7, 2019	Summer Green	FW	Vittsjö	Signed with Vittsjö	[5]
March 2, 2019	Rosie White	MF	Reign FC	Left team to focus on preparing for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup with New Zealand.	[6]
March 3, 2019	Stephanie McCaffrey	FW		Retired.	[7]

Management and staff

Front Office

• Owner: Arnim Whisler

Coaching Staff^[8]

• Manager: Rory Dames
• Assistant coach: Craig Harrington
• Assistant coach: Gary Curneen
• Goalkeeper coach: Jordi King
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Evan Johnson
• Volunteer Assistant Coach: Brian Kibler

Competitions

League standing

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	North Carolina Courage (C)	24	15	4	5	54	23	+31	49	NWSL Shield
2	Chicago Red Stars	24	14	2	8	41	28	+13	44	NWSL Playoffs
3	Portland Thorns FC	24	11	7	6	40	31	+9	40
4	Reign FC	24	10	8	6	27	27	0	38
5	Washington Spirit	24	9	7	8	30	25	+5	34
6	Utah Royals FC	24	10	4	10	25	25	0	34
7	Houston Dash	24	7	5	12	21	36	−15	26
8	Sky Blue FC	24	5	5	14	20	34	−14	20
9	Orlando Pride	24	4	4	16	24	53	−29	16

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
24	14	2	8	41	28	+13	44	7	1	4	24	15	+9	7	1	4	17	13	+4

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Stadium	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H
Result	D	D	W	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	W
Position	4	7	3	5	3	1	4	4	7	6	6	6	3	3	3	2	2	3	3	3	3	2	2	2

Updated to match(es) played on September 29, 2019. Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Weekly schedule

Main article: 2019 National Women's Soccer League season

  Win   Tie   Loss

All times are in Central Time unless otherwise noted.

Preseason

Chicago Red Stars v Missouri Tigers

Sat., Mar. 9 Closed door scrimmage	Chicago Red Stars	––	Missouri Tigers	Bridgeview, Illinois
14:00				Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Note: Closed door scrimmage

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., Mar. 24 Thorns Spring Invitational	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
17:00	Lussi 6' Horan 74'		Sharples 54'	Stadium: Merlo Field

Reign FC v Chicago Red Stars

Wed., Mar. 27 Thorns Spring Invitational	Reign FC	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
13:30	Andrews 38' Nielsen 64'		Johnson 5'	Stadium: Merlo Field

United States U-23 v Chicago Red Stars

Sat., Mar. 30 Thorns Spring Invitational	United States U-23	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
13:30	Fox 29' Foster 90+2'		Kerr 14'	Stadium: Merlo Field

Regular season

North Carolina Courage v Chicago Red Stars

Sat., Apr. 13 1	North Carolina Courage	1–1	Chicago Red Stars	Cary, North Carolina
18:00	Dunn 66'	Report	Kerr 26'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 4,053

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC

Sat., Apr. 20 2	Chicago Red Stars	4–4	Portland Thorns FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
14:30	Nagasato 18' (pen.), 90+1' Kerr 20' Vasconcelos 78'	Report	Sinclair 16', 51', 87' (pen.) Crnogorčević 33'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 12,967 Referee: Karen Abt

Chicago Red Stars v Reign FC

Sat., Apr. 27 3	Chicago Red Stars	3–0	Reign FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
19:00	Short 13' Nagasato 53' Elby 90'			Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 2,804
Note: Game played at 12pm on Sunday, April 28 due to poor field conditions

Utah Royals FC v Chicago Red Stars

Fri., May 3 4	Utah Royals FC	1–0	Chicago Red Stars	Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST	Maemone  66' Rodriguez 83'	Report	K.Johnson  42' Stanton  66' Kerr  80'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 16,556

Chicago Red Stars v North Carolina Courage

Sun., May 12 5	Chicago Red Stars	3–1	North Carolina Courage	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00	Kerr 13' 90+3' Vasconcelos 40' Stanton  72'	Report	Williams 33' Williams  80'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 2,113

Houston Dash v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., May 19 6	Houston Dash	1–2	Chicago Red Stars	Houston, Texas
17:00	Huerta 26' Murray  54'	Box	Kerr 8' 13' Stanton  49'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 3,690

Chicago Red Stars v Washington Spirit

Sun., May 26 7	Chicago Red Stars	0–2	Washington Spirit	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00	Johnson  90+3'	Box	Nagasato 9' (o.g.) Dougherty Howard  16' Hatch 63'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 3,447

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., June 2 8	Portland Thorns FC	3–0	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
17:00	Purce 27', 31' Ball  37' Everett 85'	*Box	Short  66'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 19,461 Referee: Victor Rivas

Chicago Red Stars v Reign FC

Sun., June 23 9	Chicago Red Stars	0–1	Reign FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00	Stanton  29'	Box	Fishlock 80' Barnes  90+3'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 2,023

Orlando Pride v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., June 30 10	Orlando Pride	2–3	Chicago Red Stars	Orlando, Florida
16:00	Ubogagu 22' Marta 79' (pen.) Camila  87'	Report	Kerr 7', 45+2', 55' Colaprico  61'	Stadium: Exploria Stadium Attendance: 3,906

Chicago Red Stars v Sky Blue FC

Sat., July 6 11	Chicago Red Stars	1–2	Sky Blue FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
19:00	Colaprico 83'		Rodriguez 23' Hoy 81'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium

Houston Dash v Chicago Red Stars

Sat., July 13 12	Houston Dash	0–1	Chicago Red Stars	Houston, Texas
19:30	Hanson  77'		Johnson 7' Stanton  66'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 5,327

Chicago Red Stars v North Carolina Courage

Sun., July 21 13	Chicago Red Stars	2–1	North Carolina Courage	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00	Naughton  14' DiBernardo 37' Kerr 58'		Williams 30' McDonald  51'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 17,388
Note: Game was broadcast on ESPN 2

Reign FC v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., July 28 14	Reign FC	0–4	Chicago Red Stars	Tacoma, Washington
15:00	Barnes  34'	Box Report	Wright 4' DiBernardo 14' Nagasato 51' Ertz  59' Kerr 81'	Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 7,479

Chicago Red Stars v Utah Royals FC

Sat., Aug. 3 15	Chicago Red Stars	2–0	Utah Royals FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
19:00	Kerr 5' Elby 85'		Jónsdóttir  74'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 4,335

Washington Spirit v Chicago Red Stars

Sat., Aug. 10 16	Washington Spirit	0–1	Chicago Red Stars	Boyds, Maryland
18:00	Sullivan  13' Lavelle  64'		Colaprico  46' Nagasato 65'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 5,300

Sky Blue FC v Chicago Red Stars

Wed., Aug. 14 17	Sky Blue FC	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Piscataway, New Jersey
18:00	Monaghan 71', 90+3' Wright  56'	Report	Kerr 90+1' Nagasato  62' Naughton  64'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,558 Referee: Thomas Snyder

Chicago Red Stars v Orlando Pride

Wed., Aug. 21 18	Chicago Red Stars	1–2	Orlando Pride	Bridgeview, Illinois
18:30	Davidson 90+6'	Report	Hill 33' Ubogagu 61' Krieger  81' Kennedy  90'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., Aug. 25 19	Portland Thorns FC	3–0	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Sinclair 12' Purce 24', 56' Heath  70'		Stanton  63' Nagasato  84'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 17,542

Chicago Red Stars v Houston Dash

Sun., Sep. 8 20	Chicago Red Stars	3–0	Houston Dash	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00	Kerr 7', 44' McCaskill 65' Nagasato  90'		Agnew  40'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 3,345

Orlando Pride v Chicago Red Stars

Wed., Sep. 11 21	Orlando Pride	0–1	Chicago Red Stars	Orlando, Florida
18:30	Emslie  24'	Report	Johnson  39'  64' Short 90+5'	Stadium: Exploria Stadium Attendance: 4,592 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
Note: Televised on ESPNews

Sky Blue FC v Chicago Red Stars

Sun., Sep. 15 22	Sky Blue FC	0–3	Chicago Red Stars	Piscataway, New Jersey
16:00	Rodriguez  78'		Brian 31' Kerr 33' Nagasato 80'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,871

Chicago Red Stars v Washington Spirit

Sat., Sep. 21 23	Chicago Red Stars	3–1	Washington Spirit	Bridgeview, Illinois
19:00	Kerr 9', 49' Nagasato 23'		Nielsen  53' Staab  62' Daugherty Howard  65' Pugh 80'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 4,317

Chicago Red Stars v Utah Royals FC

Sat., Sep. 28 24	Chicago Red Stars	2–1	Utah Royals FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
19:00	DiBernardo 40' Short  67' Nagasato 85'		Press 42'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 4,839

Postseason playoffs

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC

October 20 (20-10) Semifinal	Chicago Red Stars	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
2:30 p.m. CDT	Kerr 8'	Report	Ball  45+1'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Note: Televised on ESPN2

North Carolina Courage v Chicago Red Stars

October 27 (27-10) Final	North Carolina Courage	4–0	Chicago Red Stars	Cary, North Carolina
4:30 p.m. EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

Statistical leaders

As of September 28, 2019 *Denotes League Leader

Top scorers Rank Player Goals 1 Sam Kerr 18 * 2 Yuki Nagasato 7 3 Vanessa DiBernardo 3 4 Michele Vasconcelos 2 Brooke Elby Casey Short 7 Danielle Colaprico 1 Katie Johnson Arin Wright Tierna Davidson Savannah McCaskill Morgan Brian

Top assists Rank Player Assists 1 Yuki Nagasato 8 * 2 Sam Kerr 5 3 Michele Vasconcelos 3 Casey Short Katie Johnson 6 Vanessa DiBernardo 2 7 Julie Ertz 1 Arin Wright Savannah McCaskill Morgan Brian Zoey Goralski Shutouts Rank Player Clean sheets 1 Alyssa Naeher 6 2 Emily Boyd 2

Honors and awards

As of October 3, 2019.

NWSL Monthly Award

NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Result	Player	Ref.
May	Won	Sam Kerr	[9]
September	Won	Sam Kerr	[10]

NWSL Team of the Month

Month	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
April		Casey Short	Yuki Nagasato	Sam Kerr	[11]
May		Casey Short	Yuki Nagasato	Sam Kerr	[12]
June		Casey Short			[13]
July		Casey Short Sarah Gorden	Vanessa DiBernardo	Sam Kerr	[14]
August		Casey Short			[15]
September	Alyssa Naeher	Casey Short Julie Ertz	Morgan Brian	Yuki Nagasato Sam Kerr	[16]

NWSL Weekly Awards

NWSL Player of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
3	Won	Yuki Nagasato	[17]
5	Won	Sam Kerr	[18]
6	Won	Sam Kerr	[19]
11	Won	Sam Kerr	[20]
14	Won	Sam Kerr	[21]
16	Won	Sam Kerr	[22]
23	Won	Sam Kerr	[23]

NWSL Goal of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
3	Nominated	Yuki Nagasato	[24]
5	Nominated	Sam Kerr	[25]
11	Nominated	Sam Kerr	[26]
14	Nominated	Sam Kerr	[27]
15	Nominated	Yuki Nagasato	[28]
16	Won	Sam Kerr	[29]

NWSL Save of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Nominated	Alyssa Naeher	[30]
2	Nominated	Alyssa Naeher	[31]
5	Nominated	Emily Boyd	[32]
6	Nominated	Emily Boyd	[33]
11	Nominated	Emily Boyd	[34]
14	Nominated	Alyssa Naeher	[35]
15	Nominated	Alyssa Naeher	[36]