Chicago Red Stars

2023 season
Board chairwoman	Kim Vender Moffatt
General manager	Vacant
Head coach	Chris Petrucelli
Stadium	SeatGeek Stadium (capacity: 20,000)
Top goalscorer	4 goals Ella Stevens Bianca St. Georges
Highest home attendance	8,861 (Sept 17 vs. AC)
Lowest home attendance	2,356 (Apr 15 vs. KC)
Average home league attendance	4,103
Biggest win	4–2 (Apr 15 vs. KC)
Biggest defeat	0–5 (Jun 10 vs. NC) 0–5 (Aug 20 vs. OR)
Home colors Away colors
←  2022 2024 →
All statistics correct as of July 1, 2023.

The 2023 Chicago Red Stars season was the team's fifteenth as a professional women's soccer team, and tenth in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Background

Team sale

On October 3, 2022, the United States Soccer Federation published the Yates Report detailing the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal. The report detailed alleged abuses experienced by players from coaches and staff, and included reports of abusive behavior by former Red Stars head coach Rory Dames, who resigned in November 2021. The Yates Report indicated that Red Stars majority owner Arnim Whisler was aware of the allegations and either declined to take action or actively defended Dames, and a report in The Athletic described a letter sent by minority owners to all Red Stars investors and board members as early as January 3, 2022, that detailed allegations of abuse by Dames and complaints against Whisler over poor player housing conditions and his continued influence over club operations. ^[1]

On October 5, Whisler stepped down as the team's representative to the NWSL's board of governors. ^[2] Later that day, the Red Stars board of directors voted to remove Whisler from the club's board of directors. ^[3] The team transitioned to being managed by its board ^[1] with Kim Vender Moffat as its chairwoman. ^[4]

On October 10, Chicago Red Stars players released a joint statement asking Whisler to sell his stake in the team. ^[5]> Red Stars chief business officer Vicky Lynch resigned the same day, and the club named Mike Ernst as her interim replacement. ^[1]

On December 5, Whisler confirmed his intent to sell his stake in the club through investment bank Inner Circle Sports. ^[6] On December 15, the club's board released a statement confirming the sale process. ^[7]

Hirings

On November 3, 2022, assistant coach Morinao Imaizumi left the Red Stars to become assistant coach of NWSL competitors Washington Spirit. ^{[8] [9]} On January 11, 2023, the Red Stars hired former Red Stars player and Kansas City Current assistant coach Ella Masar as the club's new assistant coach. ^[10]

On January 19, 2023, the Red Stars promoted associate general manager Michelle Lomnicki to general manager. ^[4] On May 5, the Red Stars announced that the team had fired Lomnicki on May 4 due to a "lapse in judgment to not share important information with club leadership". ^[11] Lomnicki had not informed the club of the hiring of former Red Stars assistant coach Craig Harrington by Chicago Empire FC, a Chicago-area youth soccer club formerly affiliated with the Red Stars where Lomnicki's husband serves as sporting director. Harrington had been banned for two years by the NWSL following the publication of the league's joint investigation with the NWSL Players Association into the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal, which implicated Harrington in allegations of inappropriate behavior around players. ^[12]

Kit changes

Chicago released a new primary kit, named the Foundation Kit, on March 15, 2023. The black kit features a connected offset pattern of gray six-pointed stars around the team's traditional Flag of Chicago motif of four red stars at the center. ^[13]

Summary

Offseason

On December 23, 2022, the Red Stars announced that defender Tierna Davidson would train during the offseason with German club VfL Wolfsburg, which had agreed to become strategic partners with the Red Stars during the 2022 season. ^[14]

The team traveled to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for its preseason training camp. ^[15]

March/April

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May

On May 27, the Red Stars faced the Orlando Pride at home. In the match's 22nd minute, Yūki Nagasato scored her 20th career regular-season goal, becoming the 12th player to be credited with 20 goals and 20 assists in a regular-season NWSL career. The goal held up as the match winner in a 1–0 shutout. In the 49th minute, Naeher recorded her 518th regular-season career save, breaking the NWSL career record previously held by Ashlyn Harris. After the match, the Red Stars honored Naeher's 150th regular-season career NWSL appearance and the 100th regular-season NWSL appearance of Cari Roccaro. ^[16]

June

The Red Stars won their second consecutive regular-season match for the first time in the 2023 season on June 6, defeating Angel City FC on the road 2–0 behind an 11-minute brace by Ava Cook in the first half. The match also marked the 100th NWSL appearance for defender Casey Krueger, all with Chicago, making her the sixth player in league history to record 100 regular-season appearances with the same club. ^[17]

On June 30, the league issued a one-match suspension to midfielder Julia Bianchi for major game misconduct, for an offense committed in 63rd minute of the June 25 match against NJ/NY Gotham FC, and fined head coach Chris Petrucelli an undisclosed amount of money for comments "detrimental to the league" on social media on June 26. ^[18] Petrucelli had tweeted "When do the charters start in this league?" during a four-hour delay returning home from the June 25 match against Gotham FC. ^[19]

Stadium and facilities

The Red Stars continued to play in SeatGeek Stadium, their full-time home since the team's 2016 season. ^[20]

Broadcasting

On April 26, 2023, the Red Stars announced the continuation of its local broadcast agreement with WCIU-TV ("The U"), including matches broadcast on WMEU-CD and WCIU-TV. Broadcast talent included play-by-play announcer Dan Kelly and color commentators Erica Ayala and former Red Stars player Jackie Santacaterina Manny. ^[21]

Team

Staff

As of June 7, 2023. ^[22]

Technical staff

Head coach	Chris Petrucelli
Assistant coach	Ella Masar
Goalkeeper coach	Rade Tanaskovic

Performance staff

High performance director	Jake Roy
Sports scientist and data analyst	Jimmy Haley
Head athletic trainer	Emily Fortunato

Players

As of June 7, 2023. ^{[23] [20]}

First-team roster

No.	Pos.	Nation	Name	Birthday (age)	Since	Previous team	Notes
1	GK	USA	Alyssa Naeher	(1988-04-20)April 20, 1988 (aged 34)	2016	Boston Breakers
19	GK	USA	Mackenzie Wood	(2000-07-04)July 4, 2000 (aged 22)	2023	Northwestern Wildcats	IRP [a]
21	GK	USA	Emily Boyd	(1996-07-25)July 25, 1996 (aged 26)	2018	California Golden Bears
3	DF	USA	Arin Wright	(1992-12-25)December 25, 1992 (aged 30)	2015	Kentucky Wildcats
6	DF	USA	Casey Krueger	(1990-08-23)August 23, 1990 (aged 32)	2016	Avaldsnes IL
12	DF	USA	Tierna Davidson	(1998-09-19)September 19, 1998 (aged 24)	2019	Stanford Cardinal
23	DF	USA	Tatumn Milazzo	(1998-04-17)April 17, 1998 (aged 24)	2021	South Carolina Gamecocks
28	DF	USA	Kayla Sharples	(1997-06-17)June 17, 1997 (aged 25)	2019	Northwestern Wildcats
31	DF	USA	Amanda Kowalski	(1998-09-01)September 1, 1998 (aged 24)	2022	Butler Bulldogs
2	MF	USA	Samantha Fisher	(1999-08-26)August 26, 1999 (aged 23)	2023	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4	MF	USA	Cari Roccaro	(1994-07-18)July 18, 1994 (aged 28)	2023	Angel City FC
5	MF	BRA	Julia Bianchi	(1997-10-07)October 7, 1997 (aged 25)	2023	Palmeiras	INT [b]
13	MF	USA	Addie McCain	(1999-08-28)August 28, 1999 (aged 23)	2023	Kansas City Current
14	MF	PUR	Jill Aguilera	(1998-01-05)January 5, 1998 (aged 25)	2022	Arizona Wildcats
16	MF	USA	Sophie Jones	(2001-07-17)July 17, 2001 (aged 21)	2023	Duke Blue Devils
18	MF	GER	Sandra Starke	(1993-07-31)July 31, 1993 (aged 29)	2023	VfL Wolfsburg	INT [b] LOAN [c]
22	MF	CAN	Bianca St-Georges	(1997-07-28)July 28, 1997 (aged 25)	2019	West Virginia Mountaineers	INT [b]
29	MF	USA	Sami Feller	(2000-04-04)April 4, 2000 (aged 22)	2023	Denver Pioneers	D45 [d]
32	MF	USA	Taylor Malham	(1999-05-20)May 20, 1999 (aged 23)	2023	Arkansas Razorbacks
7	FW	JPN	Yūki Nagasato	(1987-07-15)July 15, 1987 (aged 35)	2022	Racing Louisville FC	INT [b]
8	FW	USA	Ella Stevens	(1997-12-11)December 11, 1997 (aged 25)	2020	Duke Blue Devils
9	FW	USA	Mallory Swanson	(1998-04-29)April 29, 1998 (aged 24)	2021	NJ/NY Gotham FC	SEI [e]
15	FW	USA	Sarah Griffith	(1999-04-30)April 30, 1999 (aged 23)	2022	Purdue Boilermakers	D45 [d]
20	FW	JAM	Cheyna Matthews	(1993-11-10)November 10, 1993 (aged 29)	2023	Racing Louisville FC
24	FW	USA	Jenna Bike	(1998-06-01)June 1, 1998 (aged 24)	2023	NJ/NY Gotham FC
25	FW	USA	Ava Cook	(1997-06-17)June 17, 1997 (aged 25)	2021	Michigan State Spartans
27	FW	AUS	Chelsie Dawber	(2000-01-12)January 12, 2000 (aged 23)	2022	Adelaide United FC	INT [b] LOAN [f]
34	FW	USA	Ally Schlegel	(1997-06-17)June 17, 1997 (aged 25)	2023	Penn State Nittany Lions
55	FW	USA	Penelope Hocking	(1999-12-29)December 29, 1999 (aged 23)	2023	Penn State Nittany Lions

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Preseason

Non-competitive friendlies

NWSL Challenge Cup

Group stage

Central Division standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	T	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KC	LOU	HOU	CHI
1	Kansas City Current	6	4	1	1	14	4	+10	13	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–0	3–1	4–0
2	Racing Louisville FC	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12	Advance to knockout stage based on ranking		3–2	—	3–0	2–0
3	Houston Dash	6	2	0	4	4	11	−7	6			0–2	1–0	—	2–0
4	Chicago Red Stars	6	1	1	4	3	10	−7	4			0–0	0–2	3–0	—

Results by matchday

Regular season

Matches

Regular season standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
8	Washington Spirit	22	7	9	6	26	29	−3	30
9	Racing Louisville FC	22	6	9	7	25	24	+1	27
10	Houston Dash	22	6	8	8	16	18	−2	26
11	Kansas City Current	22	8	2	12	30	36	−6	26
12	Chicago Red Stars	22	7	3	12	28	50	−22	24

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
22	7	3	12	28	50	−22	24	4	2	5	14	20	−6	3	1	7	14	30	−16

Results by matchday

Statistics

As of matches played July 7, 2023. ^{[28] [29]}

Goalscorers, per competition

Player				Goals by competition
Pos.	No.	Nat.	Name	NWSL	Cup	Playoffs	Total
FW	8	USA	Ella Stevens	4	0	—	4
FW	55	USA	Penelope Hocking	3	0	—	3
FW	25	USA	Ava Cook	2	0	—	2
FW	7	JPN	Yūki Nagasato	2	0	—	2
MF	34	USA	Ally Schlegel	2	0	—	2
DF	22	CAN	Bianca St-Georges	1	0	—	1
MF	4	USA	Cari Roccaro	1	0	—	1
FW	9	USA	Mallory Swanson	1	0	—	1
DF	3	USA	Arin Wright	1	0	—	1
Total				17	0	—	17

Assists by player, per competition

Player				Assists by competition
Pos.	No.	Nat.	Name	NWSL	Cup	Playoffs	Total
MF	5	BRA	Julia Bianchi	3	0	—	3
FW	15	USA	Sarah Griffith	1	0	—	1
FW	6	USA	Casey Krueger	1	0	—	1
DF	23	USA	Tatumn Milazzo	1	0	—	1
FW	7	JPN	Yūki Nagasato	1	0	—	1
MF	34	USA	Ally Schlegel	1	0	—	1
DF	22	CAN	Bianca St-Georges	1	0	—	1
FW	8	USA	Ella Stevens	1	0	—	1
Total				11	0	—	11

Clean sheets by goalkeeper, per competition

Player				Clean sheets by competition
Pos.	No.	Nat.	Name	NWSL	Cup	Playoffs	Total
GK	21	USA	Emily Boyd	2	0	—	2
GK	1	USA	Alyssa Naeher	1	0	—	1
Total				3	0	—	3

Disciplinary cards by player, per competition

Player				NWSL		Cup		Playoffs		Total
Pos.	No.	Nat.	Name
MF	5	BRA	Julia Bianchi	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
DF	23	USA	Tatumn Milazzo	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
DF	22	CAN	Bianca St-Georges	2	0	1	0	—		3	0
FW	24	USA	Jenna Bike	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
FW	25	USA	Ava Cook	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
MF	4	USA	Cari Roccaro	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
DF	12	USA	Tierna Davidson	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
FW	55	USA	Penelope Hocking	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
MF	32	USA	Taylor Malham	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
FW	7	JPN	Yūki Nagasato	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
FW	8	USA	Ella Stevens	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
DF	3	USA	Arin Wright	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Total				17	0	4	0	—		21	0

Awards

As of June 29, 2023.

NWSL weekly awards

Player of the Week

Wk.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Won	Ref.
3	FW	USA	Penelope Hocking	2nd	[30]
5	DF	USA	Tatumn Milazzo	Nom.	[31]
9	GK	USA	Alyssa Naeher	2nd	[32]
10	FW	USA	Ava Cook	Nom.	[33]

Save of the Week

Wk.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Won	Ref.
7	GK	USA	Alyssa Naeher	Nom.	[34]
8				Won	[35]
9				Won	[36]

Transactions

Draft selections

Draft selections are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2023 NWSL Draft was held on January 12, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2023 NWSL Draft selections, by round

Round	Pick	Pos.	Nat.	Player	College	Status	Ref.
1	7	FW	USA	Penelope Hocking	Penn State University	Signed to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year on March 20, 2023.	[37] [38]
2	14	MF	USA	Grace Yochum	Oklahoma State University	Declined to report to preseason training.	[37] [39]
	23	FW	USA	Ally Schlegel	Penn State University	Signed to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year on March 20, 2023.	[37] [38]
4	43	MF	USA	Sophie Jones	Duke University	Signed to a two-year contract on March 20, 2023.	[37] [38]

Contracts

Contract expirations

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Notes	Ref.
December 1, 2022	MF	USA	Danielle Colaprico	Free agent declined new contract.	[40]
	MF	USA	Morgan Gautrat
	FW	USA	Rachel Hill
January 8, 2023	DF	USA	Zoe Morse	Contract expired; new contract offer declined.	[41]

Contract re-signings

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Notes	Ref.
November 11, 2022	FW	JPN	Yūki Nagasato	Re-signed to a one-year contract with an option for an additional year.	[42]
November 15, 2022	DF	USA	Arin Wright	Re-signed to a two-year contract.	[43]
November 16, 2022	DF	USA	Tatumn Milazzo	Contract option exercised.	[44]
	FW	USA	Ella Stevens
	DF	USA	Kayla Sharples
	DF	CAN	Bianca St-Georges
	GK	USA	Emily Boyd
December 13, 2022	DF	USA	Tatumn Milazzo	Signed new two-year contract with an option for an additional year.	[45]

Waivers

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Notes	Ref.
November 16, 2022	MF	USA	Channing Foster	Waived.	[44]
	DF	USA	Mikenna McManus
June 28, 2023	FW	USA	Brenna Lovera	Released.	[46]

Loans

Loans in

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.
April 16, 2023	MF	GER	Sandra Starke	VfL Wolfsburg	Loaned through June 30.	[24]

Loans out

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
October 31, 2022	FW	AUS	Chelsie Dawber	Adelaide United FC	Loaned until May 4, 2023; recalled on March 2, 2023.	[47] [48]
	FW	USA	Sarah Griffith	Newcastle Jets FC	Loaned until April 6, 2023.
March 2, 2023	FW	AUS	Chelsie Dawber	IFK Norrköping	Loaned until the end of the 2023 Damallsvenskan in November.	[48]

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Former club	Fee/notes	Ref.
January 9, 2023	MF	USA	Addie McCain	Racing Louisville FC	Acquired via waiver wire and signed to a two-year contract with an option for a third year.	[49]
January 11, 2023	FW	USA	Jenna Bike	Racing Louisville FC	Acquired via waiver wire and signed to a two-year contract with an option for a third year.	[50]
January 25, 2023	MF	USA	Cari Roccaro	Angel City FC	Acquired in exchange for $65,000 in allocation money.	[51]
	MF	BRA	Julia Bianchi	Palmeiras	Signed to a two-year contract.	[39] [52]
March 20, 2023	MF	USA	Taylor Malham	Racing Louisville FC	Acquired via discovery after being waived and signed to a one-year contract.	[53]
March 25, 2023	FW	JAM	Cheyna Matthews	Racing Louisville FC	Free agent signed to a one-year contract with an option for an additional year.	[54]
	DF	USA	Sami Feller	Denver Pioneers	Preseason trialist signed to a three-year contract with an option for an additional year.
	FW	USA	Brenna Lovera	Selfoss	Preseason trialist signed to an injury replacement contract for Addie McCain.
	GK	USA	Mackenzie Wood	Northwestern Wildcats	Preseason trialist signed to an injury replacement contract for Emily Boyd.
April 7, 2023	GK	USA	Meagan McClelland	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Signed to a national team replacement contract for Alyssa Naeher.	[55]

Transfers out

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
December 13, 2022	FW	USA	Sarah Luebbert	Club América	Transferred for an undisclosed fee.	[56]

Retirements

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Ref.
December 7, 2022	MF	USA	Sarah Woldmoe	[57]

Preseason trialists

Pos.	Nat.	Player	Previous club	Ref.
GK	USA	Meagan McClelland	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	[39]
GK	USA	Morgan Messner	Penn State Nittany Lions
MF	USA	Abby Boyan	Georgia Bulldogs
MF	USA	Meg Brandt	MSV Duisburg
MF	USA	Meghan Cavanaugh	Puerto Rico Sol FC
MF	USA	Sami Feller	Denver Pioneers
MF	USA	Carlee Giammona	Pepperdine Waves
MF	USA	Brenna Lovera	Selfoss
MF	USA	Brenna Ochoa	MSV Duisburg
FW	USA	Bayleigh Chaviers	UMF Valur Reydarfjördur
MF	USA	Taylor Malham	Racing Louisville FC	[58]
FW	JAM	Cheyna Matthews	Racing Louisville FC	[59]

References