Red Stars midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo (right) dashes by Houston's Shea Groom in a 4-1 loss Saturday in Houston. Photo by IMAGN

Red Stars midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo (right) dashes by Houston's Shea Groom in a 4-1 loss Saturday in Houston. Photo by IMAGN

Pro Soccer Report: Houston’s hat trick too much for Red Stars; Bezerra hat trick not enough for Fire II

Spread the love

By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer

Bad things came in threes for the Chicago Red Stars.

Houston’s Ebony Salmon scored three goals against the Red Stars’ defense and Chicago lost by three, 4-1, in an NWSL match July 16 at PNC Stadium. It snapped the Red Stars nine-game unbeaten streak.

The loss dropped the Red Stars (5-2-5) from second to third in the standing, as they were overtaken by red-hot Portland.

Salmon, 21, who was traded to Houston from Racing Louisville on June 27, scored in the 11th minute and during extra time in the first half, and completed the hat trick in the 55th minute to give Houston interim coach Juan Carlos Amoros his first victory in his first try.

What was galling about this setback for the visitors was that even though the Red Stars were missing key players because of injuries and international play, Houston (5-4-3) was missing 11 players for various reasons, according to Amoros.

“This is one of the best teams in the league,” Amoros said of the Red Stars. “They were tied at the top of the league in the beginning of this fixture and hadn’t lost a game in the last nine, and just lost once in the league against [NWSL leader] San Diego.

“We were able to score four past them, so I’m very, very pleased with everyone.”

Like the 2-2 draw with North Carolina on July 10 at SeatGeek Stadium, the Red Stars scored late. This time it was too late.

Chicago scored two goals in extra minutes against North Carolina for a thrilling tie but couldn’t find the back of the net in the first 90 minutes.

That plagued the Red Stars again on Saturday in Houston. They missed some key opportunities until rookie Samantha Fisher scored in the 88th minute, but they were already down 3-0 at the time.

 

Help on the way

After the NWSL takes a week off, the Red Stars host league-leading San Diego at 7 p.m. July 30 at Soldier Field.

Goal-scoring machine Mallory Pugh and goalie Alyssa Naeher are scheduled to be back after playing for the United States this month. Bianca St-Georges will be back after playing with Canada and Chelsie Dawber will return after her stint with Australia.

 

Gautrat back in August?

Midfielder Moran Gautrat continues to nurse a left calf injury that has kept her our most of the season, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Red Stars coach Chris Petrucelli said Gautrat might be three weeks away from returning.

“She is moving forward,” he said. “She’s doing some running. She’s touching the ball and I do think there is some hope that she will be back some time in August.”

The coach said that it’s a tricky injury because it needs full rest, and walking complicates it.

“Over the course of three months, she’s tried to come back a couple of times and she’s had a number of setbacks, and we finally got to a point where we shut it down,” he said. “She shut down for three or four weeks and now she’s in the process of trying to pick it up.”

 

Hat trick not enough for Fire II

Red hot Victor Bezerra had the game of his life for the Chicago Fire II.

But his hat trick was not enough for a team victory as the Fire lost to Orlando City B 4-3 Sunday at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview in an MLS NEXT Pro game.

Bezerra’s goals in the 35th, 39th and 49th minutes gave the Fire (4-8-4, 17 points) a 3-1 lead, but Orlando City (4-8-3, 17 points) scored three goals in the final 20 minutes, including the game-winner from Neicer Acosta. Bezerra also had two goals in a 4-3 win over New England on June 26.

The Fire II has a week off and visits Rochester on July 30.

Local News

Funeral2

Obituaries March 28, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the loveHONORATA BIS Honorata Bis (nee Donicz), age 71, passed away peacefully with loving family by her side February 27. Beloved wife of Adam Bis; loving mother of Konrad Bis and Monika (Mariusz) Sarna; dear grandmother of Michael, Matthew, Amelia and Szymon; dearest daughter of the late Irena (nee Szaniawska) and the late Jan…

Sheri Cannataro, of Cannataro Farms, demonstrates the gear she wears to extract honey from a bee hive for visitors who stopped by to see her products at the Hills Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…

Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters speaks about zoning codes at the March 25 council meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…

Ridgeland sd122 logo

SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…

CRR_NH

Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound March 27, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the love

Mary Stanek

Will the month of March leave like a lion?

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…

Peggy Zabicki

Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…

Kathy Headley

Get those Easter baskets blessed at St. Thomas More

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . We’ve got several events coming up in the near future that I want to share with you, so let’s get started. The traditional Blessing of Easter Baskets takes place at St. Thomas More, 2825…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice,…

Neighbors

Appeals court skeptical of Mike Bost’s case to stop ballot counts after Election Day

Appeals court skeptical of Mike Bost’s case to stop ballot counts after Election Day

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A panel of federal appellate judges on Thursday seemed skeptical of legal arguments made on behalf of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, who claims Illinois’ law allowing counting of mail-in ballots for two weeks after an election is in violation of federal law. Bost’s late 2022…

DCFS hires on-the-spot at hiring events

DCFS hires on-the-spot at hiring events

By BETH HUNDSDORFER  Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Cyrenthia Threat spent Wednesday morning at a hiring event in Fairview Heights waiting for word on whether she was hired by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.  Threat wants to move to Illinois from Georgia where she works as a social worker. She has 20 years…

Capitol Briefs: Advocates push for guaranteed income, child care assistance

Capitol Briefs: Advocates push for guaranteed income, child care assistance

By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear the case of actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted for staging a hate crime against him in 2019 in a case that drew criticism for Cook County’s top prosecutor. Smollett made what turned out to be…

Illinois teacher shortage persists, survey finds

Illinois teacher shortage persists, survey finds

By PETER HANCOCK  Capitol News Illinois  phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com  SPRINGFIELD – Illinois continues to suffer from a shortage of teachers and other education professionals, although recent efforts by the state to ease the strain have made an impact.  That’s according to the latest annual survey of school officials from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools,…

Bills in state Senate would further regulate battery storage and disposal

Bills in state Senate would further regulate battery storage and disposal

COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Two bills that would regulate battery disposal and storage are awaiting action from the full Illinois Senate after unanimous committee approval.   Senate Bill 3481, sponsored by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, would require facilities that store electric vehicle batteries to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency…

Prisoner Review Board chair, member resign in wake of boy’s fatal stabbing by released inmate

Prisoner Review Board chair, member resign in wake of boy’s fatal stabbing by released inmate

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The longtime chair and a relatively new member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board have resigned, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced Monday. The governor’s office announced the pair’s resignations within hours of each other nearly two weeks after Crosetti Brand was released from Stateville Correctional Center. Brand is…

Highest-ranking woman in state police history reflects on experience as force looks to diversify

Highest-ranking woman in state police history reflects on experience as force looks to diversify

By ALEX ABBEDUTO   Capitol News Illinois  abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com  The night before Rebecca Hooks started at the Illinois State Police Academy in 2002, she spoke on the phone with her father and her brother – both of whom worked in law enforcement.  Her father encouraged her, telling her she was strong and could get through the…

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…