**Bridgeview, Illinois** – The Chicago Red Stars battled back from two goals down to end up scoring not one, but two stoppage time goals to help earn a point against the North Carolina Courage in a 2-2 draw at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday. It was actually Chicago who looked the sharper of the two sides in attack in the opening few minutes with midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo forcing an early save out of North Carolina goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland in the 21^st minute. Receiving a pass from teammate Zoe Morse, DiBernardo took the ball to the right side of the field where she struck a rocket toward the top left corner. Rowland did well to leap to push the ball over the bar though and conceded the corner. After defending the previous corner by Chicago, North Carolina would then go on the run with midfielder Carson Pickett leading the charge ahead. Pickett helped to work the ball to forward Brianna Pinto, who then returned it to Pickett in the penalty area. Pickett’s initial attempt on goal was saved, though, with her follow up effort blocked on goal as the ball sat on the field just a few yards out from goal. Pouncing on what would be the third time asking, Pickett then pushed an effort past Chicago goalkeeper Emily Boyd to open the scoring in the 22^nd minute. The goal was Pickett’s first in league play. Looking now for an equalizer, Chicago saw another opportunity created through Vanessa DiBernardo in the 28^th minute. As the midfielder pushed forward, teammate Rachel Hill slid another good ball into her path to set DiBernardo in on goal. Taking a whack at the ball though, she sent her shot off the edge of the post and wide as the chance went missing. The first half came to a close with another good look for the Red Stars following a corner kick. In the second minute of stoppage time, a corner kick came in that Chicago’s Ella Stevens came close to capitalizing on. A scramble in front of goal saw Stevens end up putting a shot toward goal that Rowland did well to push away, but Stevens was judged to have made contact on the ball with her hand resulting in a free kick the other way. At the break, North Carolina held onto a one goal lead thanks to Pickett’s goal. The second half got off to a quick start, but this time with the Courage again putting pressure on the Chicago goal in the 49^th minute. A throw-in for North Carolina on the right flank saw the ball delivered to midfielder Merritt Matthias, and she then spun on a defender in possession and fired a low ball toward the center of goal. Waiting in the wings was forward Brittany Radcliffe, who didn’t get much on the ball but got enough to beat Boyd from close in to put her side two goals up. Just past the hour mark, another good opportunity for Chicago fell the way of substitute Ava Cook who tested the Courage backline with a powerful drive toward goal. Slipped in toward goal with a great ball from teammate Sarah Griffith in the 62^nd minute, Cook took contact from a defender and still managed to keep possession as she raced toward goal. Beating a high drive toward Rowland, Cook was ultimately unable to test the netminder as her effort went just wide of goal on the high side. Then, in the 76^th minute, Chicago saw what had been their best shot up to that point of the match end up rattling the crossbar and back into play and out of danger via the foot of the substitute Griffith. After Griffith received the ball outside the penalty area, she lined up a powerful strike that sailed through the defense and toward goal but bounced off the bar as Chicago’s desperation for a goal was upped minute by minute. However, just as all had looked lost for the hosts, a goal from Griffith in the first minute of stoppage time sparked a new hope. Seemingly out of nowhere, a skillful curling ball from DiBernardo to the run of Griffith then saw Griffith lift a shot over both a defender and Rowland as it bounced into the back of the net to pull one back. As a result of the goal, too, the initial three minutes of stoppage time were inevitably stretched longer and that then allowed Chicago another opportunity at goal and a first at bringing the match level once more. In the fifth minute of added time, the Red Stars saw the unbelievable then happen as defender Amanda Kowalski rose to meet the corner kick delivery of teammate Danielle Colaprico and buried the chance past the onrushing Rowland to pull even late on. What would eventually be an added time of ten total minutes expired with the fulltime whistle, and the home crowd celebrated with glee as North Carolina’s two-goal advantage was erased by late goals from Griffith and Kowalski to steal a point. The result increases Chicago’s unbeaten run to nine games, while the Courage squandered their first opportunity at a win in three matches.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights