The Red Stars snapped a five-game winless streak to shut out a struggling San Diego side, 3-0.
San Diego sent waves of attack, but the Red Stars endured, and pounced on opportunities when they appeared.
After a scoreless first half, the Red Stars cracked the score sheet on a fortunate deflection off Naomi Girma on a Mal Swanson shot. The ball floated past SD Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan for the first goal of the match.
Jameese Joseph notched her first career goal and assist in a breakout match. Joseph’s high-pressure presence dispossessed Hanna Lundkvist in the midfield, allowing her to find an open Mal Swanson for the forward’s 6th goal of the season. “It was a perfect ball” said Swanson after the match. “I think if I didn’t finish, I would be really mad at myself.”
Just two minutes later, Joseph won the ball off Abby Dahlkemper, and walked it around Sheridan for a 3-0 lead. Joseph is the third rookie this season to tally a goal and an assist in the same match, joining Peyton Linehan of the Portland Thorns and Croix Bethune of the Washington Spirit.
This performance was building for Jameese Joseph. The rookie has seen moments of brilliance that had yet to pay off on the score sheet. “I saw something special with Meese early on” said Swanson. “Just being able to take people on, the finesse she has on the ball… it really showed tonight.”
San Diego was given chances on goal, but they could not find the back of the net. Alyssa Naeher batted away a Jaedyn Shaw rocket destined for the top corner in the 51st minute. A Sam Staab handball in the 74th minute opened the door to a San Diego comeback, but Alex Morgan could not convert the penalty, sending the ball into the stands.
Chicago kept their first clean sheet of the season since their home opener against Seattle Reign on March 23rd. Alyssa Naeher made 4 saves, but the clean sheet was a team effort. In the 81st minute, Tatumn Milazzo hustled behind the play to clear an Alex Morgan chance off the goal line. “I love clean sheets. I live for those, and we needed that one” said head coach Lorne Donaldson after the match. “It gives our team some confidence we can do it again.”
The Red Stars return to SeatGeek stadium to host the Houston Dash on Saturday, July 6th at noon CT.