Chicago Drop Season Finale to OL Reign, 0-3

The Chicago Red Stars fell to OL Reign 0-3 at SeatGeek Stadium in the club’s final match of the 2023 regular season.  

KEY MOMENTS:  

18’ OL Reign go on the attack and send a ball forward that forces Chicago’s Alyssa Naeher out of the 18-yard box to win a slide tackle. The ball stays in the Reign’s possession and Naeher races back to the box to make another save on the ball. 

19’ Minutes later, after racing out of the box again, OL Reign take a shot at the open net, but Chicago’s Arin Wright gets her head on it to keep the ball out of the net. 

46’ OL Reign’s Megan Rapinoe receives the ball on the left side of Chicago’s 18-yard box, takes a shot and curls it into Chicago’s net, 0-1 OL Reign.  

50’ Reign’s Fishlock goes on a run, drops the ball to Megan Rapinoe who gets her second goal of the night, 0-2 OL Reign. 

59’ OL Reign’s Fishlock receives a pass from the midfield and brings the ball into the box, drawing out Naeher before sneaking a shot over the line. 

90+2’ Ella Stevens lofts a cross through the air to Tatumn Milazzo, who sends up a header that falls across the line just wide of the goal. 

GAME NOTES: 

• Despite the scoreline, Chicago outdid OL Reign in multiple statistics. The Red Stars ended the match with more overall possession (54.5 percent to 45.5 percent), passing accuracy (80.5 percent to 77.3 percent) and total passes (442 to 362). 
• Veteran defender Arin Wright personified Chicago grit tonight while topping the Red Stars stats. Wright had a perfect passing accuracy in the final third, a 91.1 percent overall passing accuracy while completing 51 of 56 attempted passes and had more touches on the ball (76) than any other player. Wright also won possession 12 times, more than any other Red Star. Additionally, Wright was celebrated following the match for earning her 150th regular-season appearance and surpassing former Red Star Vanessa DiBernardo for most regular-season starts in club history during Chicago’s 1-0 win over Louisville September 30. 
• Bittersweet celebrations for Red Star Cheyna Matthews and OL Reign’s Megan Rapinoe took place before tonight’s match. Both players took the regular-season pitch for the final time this evening after announcing their respective retirements. Jamaican international Matthews ends her career with 13 goals across 88 appearances in all competitions. United States Women’s National team legend and former Red Star Rapinoe marked her final regular-season match in the same city her career started: Chicago. 

Goals by Half  

             1 2 F 

CHI      0 0 0 

RGN    0 3 3 

Scoring Summary: 

CHI:
RGN: 47’ Megan Rapinoe, 50’ Megan Rapinoe (Fishlock), 59’ Jess Fishlock 

Disciplinary Report 

CHI: 90+4’ Arin Wright (Yellow Card) 

RGN: 24’ Veronica Latsko (Yellow Card), 89’ Alana Cook (Yellow Card), 90+3’ Bethay Balcer (Yellow Card) 

Lineups 

CHI: Alyssa Naeher, Casey Krueger, Arin Wright, Kayla Sharples, Tatumn Milazzo, Julia Bianchi (Ella Stevens), Cari Roccaro, Yuki Nagasato, Bianca St-Georges (Jenna Bike), Cheyna Matthews (Penelope Hocking), Ava Cook (Ally Schlegel) 

RGN: Claudia Dickey, Phoebe McClernon, Alana Cook, Lauren Barnes, Ryanne Brown (Huerta), Quinn (Stanton), Jess Fishlock (Van Der Jagt), Emily Sonnett, Megan Rapinoe (Balcer), Jordyn Huitema (Bennett), Veronica Latsko

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