Louisville, Kentucky
– The Chicago Red Stars defeated Racing Louisville FC, 4-0, behind braces from forwards Mallory Pugh and Yuki Nagasato while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher kept a clean sheet on the other end to earn an impressive win.
Louisville, Kentucky
– The Chicago Red Stars defeated Racing Louisville FC, 4-0, behind braces from forwards Mallory Pugh and Yuki Nagasato while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher kept a clean sheet on the other end to earn an impressive win. Action kicked off early on in the game with the Red Stars finding the back of the net after just three minutes of play at Lynn Family Stadium. Quick buildup resulted in defender Bianca St-Georges playing a long diagonal ball across the field and over the defense for forward Mallory Pugh to latch onto. Taking a touch to settle, Pugh then burst into the box and fired low toward the near post as she beat Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund and opened the scoring in the blink of an eye. Then, in the 18 th minute, Chicago wasted little time doubling their lead as forward Yuki Nagasoto produced a powerful header off a set piece to send the visitors two-up on the hosts. Pugh stood over the free kick on the right side and flicked a ball into the middle of the box for Yuki to sprint toward. Leaping up to produce a strong headed effort, Yuki directed her attempt over the defense and past Lund for the Red Stars’ second on the night. Only continuing to apply pressure to the Louisville goal, Chicago then found their third goal of the night in the 23 rd minute after their second with Pugh and Yuki connecting again as the attacker scored a brace inside five minutes. This time, Pugh stood over a free kick from the left side and curled in a low left-footed ball toward the center of the penalty area. Yuki then did well to get in front of the defense and produce a beautiful touch to flick it toward the back post and in as the Red Stars crashed the Louisville goal for three goals inside the first half of the first half. Louisville did manage to test Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher with a bullet of an effort in the 36 th minute. Midfielder Wang, who was making a first start for Louisville on the night, was in possession just outside the box. Wang then shifted left and curled a left-footed shot toward the top left corner that Naeher did well to meet with two hands as she pushed the shot away and out of danger. Just before the half, Chicago then threatened the Louisville goal one final time as Pugh broke ahead and took a pass toward goal where she fired and watched in agony as her effort ricocheted off the post and back into play as the chance went missing. At the half, Chicago held onto its strong three-goal lead as Pugh’s opener was followed by Yuki’s brace from back-to-back set pieces. Into the second half, Louisville made a push toward goal and had a few chances to threaten the Chicago goal beginning in the 54 th minute. Defender Tatumn Milazzo had to break up good attacking play before, two minutes later, Naeher punched away a corner to repel the danger. Just past the hour mark, Louisville would end up striking the post through midfielder Savannah DeMelo after a goalmouth scramble saw the hosts fail to convert from close in. A ball in from defender Emily Fox toward DeMelo was initially cleared, but only as far as forward Nadia Nadim who was waiting just outside the box. Nadim then rifled a shot toward goal that was saved by Naeher but the follow up ball was still in play for DeMelo. The midfielder then clipped an effort toward goal that bounced off the left post and back into play where it was eventually cleared as Louisville’s search for a goal continued. However, despite Louisville’s best efforts, the night would only go from bad to worse as the forward Pugh would score her eighth goal of the season and the fourth on the night for Chicago on a breakaway in the 73rd minute. This time it was Yuki providing the pass for Pugh as her long ball forward sent the forward in behind the defense. From there, Pugh beat a pair of defenders with pace and finished clinically with a low effort to the far post that could not be stopped as the visitors only piled on to their lead. Though Louisville would continue to pester the Chicago goal, including hitting the post a second time, the hosts would not find the back of the net a single time as the Red Stars earned a four-goal win and clean sheet as the club’s push a playoff position continued.
