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| Chicago Red Stars v Houston Dash: NWSL Challenge Cup final – live! | Chicago Red Stars v Houston Dash: NWSL Challenge Cup final – live! |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Minute-by-minute report: The Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash meet for the Challenge Cup at Rio Tinto Stadium. Follow all the action with Beau Dure | Minute-by-minute report: The Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash meet for the Challenge Cup at Rio Tinto Stadium. Follow all the action with Beau Dure |
| 31 min Houston’s Shea Groom finds a bit of space at the top of the box and fires off target. | |
| And they’ll stop for drinks. | |
| 29 min SUBSTITUTION and Kristie Mewis, who drew the penalty, is in tears and pain as she leaves the field. CeCe Kizer enters the game for Houston. | |
| A replay shows Mewis grabbing her hamstring after drawing that penalty more than 20 minutes ago. | |
| 28 min Long-range shot from Chicago’s Katie Johnson doesn’t trouble Jane Campbell.Should be close to our hydration break. | |
| A tiny shout for a penalty as Prince goes up against St. Georges, but there was nothing there. | |
| 25 min Danielle Colaprico shuffles through the middle for Chicago and sends a nice through ball ... nope, Rachel Hill is offside. | |
| 23 min McCaskill again is on the ball, this time on the left after receiving a nice through ball, and she unleashes a shot that deflects safely to Campbell. | |
| Worth noting that in addition to Short, Chicago is missing Tierna Davidson and Morgan Gautrat (formerly Morgan Brian). To an extent, this has been a tournament of attrition. | |
| 21 min Some precise passes through the middle of the field for Chicago, but the referee is unimpressed when it ends with a fall just outside the box. | |
| 19 min A mention of Casey Short on the CBS broadcast. The solid defender, controversially omitted from the U.S. team for last year’s World Cup, is on the bench for Chicago. Would she have avoided giving up that penalty? Almost certainly. | |
| 17 min We welcome those of you who have been watching the Premier League wrap up. You’ve missed 15 great minutes. | |
| We’ve seen high-tempo starts in a lot of games in this Cup, but then they tend to fade until teams find their second wind. We’ll see if things are different in this final. Chicago’s getting into it, pressing Campbell this time to force an uncomfortable clearance. | |
| 15 min CHANCE And as I laud Houston, Chicago is very unlikely not to score here as St. Georges crosses from the left. Campbell makes a poor play on the ball and knocks to Chicago attacker McCaskill, whose header somehow hits post rather than net. | |
| 14 min Like many coaches in this league, Houston’s James Clarkson is English. Some, like Laura Harvey and Mark Parsons, have been very successful. Some haven’t. But he has things dialed in right now ... | |
| 12 min A Houston counterattack runs into a blue wall, and Bianca St. Georges goes the other way. | |
| 11 min Chicago puts absolutely no pressure on Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell, whose penalty kick saves helped the Dash get here. She dawdles with the ball as if killing time in the 89th minute. | |
| 10 min Identifying players is difficult here because of a shadow on the far side of the field and some glare on the rest. | |
| Chicago has had possession in the Houston half, not creating much but at least easing the pressure for now. | |
| 7 min Houston again on the attack against the bewildered Chicago defense, as another Canadian national -- Nichelle Prince -- gets free on the right and lobs a cross over Naeher but away from any attacker who can get there. | |
| Sharples also picked up a yellow on the penalty call. This could hardly be any worse for Chicago. | |
| Canadian Sophie Schmidt sends Alyssa Naeher the wrong way and finishes with ease. | |
| Disastrous start for the team that, on paper, should win this. | |
| 4 min PENALTY! Kristie Mewis rounds the right flank of the Chicago defense, and the inexperienced Kayla Sharples pulls her down. | |
| 2 min The Red Stars go on the attack early down the right flank, with young player Savannah McCaskill playing a key role. | |
| Houston unveils a surprising press. Not parking the bus this time? | |
| Kickoff It’s been sloppy at times, and only eight teams could make it, but it’s been beautiful in its own way. Congratulations to everyone for getting this far. Here we go ... | |
| The festivities begin, in a stadium in which fans have not been allowed to enter, with a note of gratitude to the league and teams’ medical staffs and partners. Quite appropriate. | The festivities begin, in a stadium in which fans have not been allowed to enter, with a note of gratitude to the league and teams’ medical staffs and partners. Quite appropriate. |
| Then, as we’ve seen in all previous games, the vast majority of players take a knee during the national anthem. | Then, as we’ve seen in all previous games, the vast majority of players take a knee during the national anthem. |
| This final is on U.S. over-the-air network CBS, as was the opener. That’s a big step forward for a league whose broadcasts have been hard to find. | This final is on U.S. over-the-air network CBS, as was the opener. That’s a big step forward for a league whose broadcasts have been hard to find. |
| They’re opening with narration by Alex Morgan, the star U.S. forward whose team, the Orlando Pride, was not allowed to travel to this tournament after some positive or inconclusive COVID-19 tests. Some other notable U.S. players -- Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath and Christen Press -- simply decided not to go. | They’re opening with narration by Alex Morgan, the star U.S. forward whose team, the Orlando Pride, was not allowed to travel to this tournament after some positive or inconclusive COVID-19 tests. Some other notable U.S. players -- Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath and Christen Press -- simply decided not to go. |
| If you’d like to keep track of the Premier League finales while we watch an actual final, we have you covered: | If you’d like to keep track of the Premier League finales while we watch an actual final, we have you covered: |
| David Byrne once asked, “Well, how did I get here?” | David Byrne once asked, “Well, how did I get here?” |
| The Dash have scored one goal in their last four games, and that was against a shell of the Portland Thorns roster that overachieved to knock off North Carolina but could do little as Lindsey Horan, the best player of the tournament, joined world-class defender Becky Sauerbrunn on the injured list. Yorkshire-born Rachel Daly, subject of Louise Taylor’s Guardian preview, scored that goal. | The Dash have scored one goal in their last four games, and that was against a shell of the Portland Thorns roster that overachieved to knock off North Carolina but could do little as Lindsey Horan, the best player of the tournament, joined world-class defender Becky Sauerbrunn on the injured list. Yorkshire-born Rachel Daly, subject of Louise Taylor’s Guardian preview, scored that goal. |
| Even in their opening game, in which they erupted for three goals but collapsed to give up two late, they started by parking an orange bus in front of the goal. | Even in their opening game, in which they erupted for three goals but collapsed to give up two late, they started by parking an orange bus in front of the goal. |
| Round-robin playD 3-3 Utah, starting in that defensive posture, giving up the first goal, erupting for three and then collapsing to give up two W 2-0 OL Reign L 0-1 North Carolina L 0-2 Sky Blue | Round-robin playD 3-3 Utah, starting in that defensive posture, giving up the first goal, erupting for three and then collapsing to give up two W 2-0 OL Reign L 0-1 North Carolina L 0-2 Sky Blue |
| They knocked out Utah, the host of this event, on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Then Daly’s goal took care of Portland. | They knocked out Utah, the host of this event, on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Then Daly’s goal took care of Portland. |
| Lineup -- note that the Mewis in the lineup is Kristie, not her sister Samantha: | Lineup -- note that the Mewis in the lineup is Kristie, not her sister Samantha: |
| The Red Stars in the round-robin stage: L 1-2 Washington D 0-0 Portland L 0-1 North Carolina W 1-0 UtahThat put them sixth, but only one point out of third. So when they eliminated OL Reign (the Seattle team that is now a sibling of French women’s soccer titan Olympique Lyonnais, hence the initials) on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw in the quarterfinals, the term “upset” is a stretch. Next up was Sky Blue, which had done the Red Stars the favor of eliminating the dynamic but green Washington Spirit. Chicago quickly took care of business, starting with a wonder goal by Bianca St. Georges. | The Red Stars in the round-robin stage: L 1-2 Washington D 0-0 Portland L 0-1 North Carolina W 1-0 UtahThat put them sixth, but only one point out of third. So when they eliminated OL Reign (the Seattle team that is now a sibling of French women’s soccer titan Olympique Lyonnais, hence the initials) on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw in the quarterfinals, the term “upset” is a stretch. Next up was Sky Blue, which had done the Red Stars the favor of eliminating the dynamic but green Washington Spirit. Chicago quickly took care of business, starting with a wonder goal by Bianca St. Georges. |
| By the 11th minute, Chicago led 2-0. They made it 3-0 in the second half and weathered a late Sky Blue run to win 3-2. | By the 11th minute, Chicago led 2-0. They made it 3-0 in the second half and weathered a late Sky Blue run to win 3-2. |
| Their lineup is anchored at the back by U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and defender Julie Ertz, the best player for the U.S. in its World Cup run last year. | Their lineup is anchored at the back by U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and defender Julie Ertz, the best player for the U.S. in its World Cup run last year. |
| Welcome to an unlikely final to an unusual season. | Welcome to an unlikely final to an unusual season. |
| The best news here for the women’s soccer community and the sports world as a whole is that the NWSL has given us all proof of concept. They stuck eight teams in a bubble to play a short season, and we’ve made it to the final. That’s good news for MLS, the NBA, the WNBA, the NHL and anyone else trying to do the same thing. | The best news here for the women’s soccer community and the sports world as a whole is that the NWSL has given us all proof of concept. They stuck eight teams in a bubble to play a short season, and we’ve made it to the final. That’s good news for MLS, the NBA, the WNBA, the NHL and anyone else trying to do the same thing. |
| And we’ll see one team win its first NWSL trophy. For the Houston Dash, it would be a first ever. For the Chicago Red Stars, it would be the second after winning the obscure and erratically contested National Cup in 2012. | And we’ll see one team win its first NWSL trophy. For the Houston Dash, it would be a first ever. For the Chicago Red Stars, it would be the second after winning the obscure and erratically contested National Cup in 2012. |
| Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Louise Taylor’s lookahead to today’s match. | Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Louise Taylor’s lookahead to today’s match. |