By Lesley Ryder
Chicago Stars FC lost on the road to the North Carolina Courage 2-0. They’ve now gone five matches without a win.
Alyssa Naeher made multiple saves to keep the game scoreless in the first half, but the Courage broke through in the 51st minute on a goal by Manaka Matsukubo. Ludmila nearly netted the equalizer in the 62nd minute, but she could not beat Casey Murphy’s long reach. Ludmila continued to push for that first Chicago goal. She appeared to earn a penalty for the Stars, but the call was overturned by VAR.
Jameese Joseph started on the bench in a surprising move. Asked about the decision after the match, head coach Masaki Hemmi said it was a tactical choice. “Having ‘Meese on the bench coming on is a very good tool for us, and makes us stronger.”
The decision almost paid off. Just moments after Joseph subbed on, she sped past the defense and put a decisive shot past Casey Murphy. Unfortunately, the goal was overturned by an offside call. Manaka put the game on ice in the 77th minute, and earned a brace on the day for North Carolina.
Chicago failed to score for the sixth time this season. “I think we've been working on decision making in the final third. I mean, at the end of the day, we have breakaways, and I think we're getting in good spots. Unfortunately, we can't be surprised when we get there. We've got to finish our chances.” Stars veteran Shea Groom said after the match. “The chances are coming. We have created chances, 1v1 chances, And, you know, we've got to put those away.”
With the team in last place as the halfway mark approaches, it’d be understandable to lean into the fall. “I think the biggest challenge is you got to stay together as a team. Funny enough I was on Sky Blue in 2018 and I've been in a worse position than this,” said Groom “We got to be able to dig ourselves out of a hole. You have to show up every single week, new slate, pick yourselves back up, and truly believe that you're going to go into the next game and get a result.”
The battle for a result won’t get any easier for the Stars. This weekend the first-place Kansas City Current comes to town. The Stars remaining matches before the summer break are all against teams above the playoff line.
Stars Notebook
- Jameese Joseph earned a call-up to the USWNT U-23 team for their matches against Germany, and Julia Grosso got the nod from Canada for their matches against Haiti.
- The Stars announced they’ll be playing their September 7th match against Orlando Pride at Northwestern’s Martin Stadium on the edge of Lake Michigan.
- Cari Roccaro made her 51st-consecutive start for the Stars, breaking the club record set by Danny Colaprico