So, those preseason rankings? Maybe Sky Blue isn’t going to be that dominant after all and maybe Chicago won’t be quite the unmitigated disaster that was previously expected. And Saint Louis? Still dependant on Aluko but if they can keep their parts polished all season, they’ll be as good as predicted.

Saint Louis 2 FC Gold Pride 0 Again, it’s unfair to pull much from a game that wasn’t seen. But it’s nice that Chalups played 90 minutes. Boxx appears to pick up right where she left off. Don’t know if stats mean anything but Millbrett had the most shots and shots on goal on Gold Pride, and she played nearly 80 minutes. Both teams were fairly even on shots, shots on goal, offsides and fouls.

Philadelphia 0, Atlanta 0 Notes to come

Sky Blue FC 1, Chicago Red Stars 0 Chicago proved to be fiesty and adventurous but not always entirely organized. Their lack of ability to produce CLEAR goal scoring opportunities was frustrating but Emma Hayes has a lot to be proud of. It was nice to see so many players come in and contribute in the final third but the lack of end product was concerning. The Red Stars didn’t manage to take advantage of Sky Blue FC’s vanishing offense as the match went on.

After Sky Blue scored the first goal it was almost as if the midfield just closed shop and allowed Chicago free reign before shutting them down in front of Bardsley. Perhaps they knew that Chicago just weren’t capable of converting. Regardless, that was wonderful work from O’Reilly and Kai for the first goal.

Sky Blue FC

GK Karen Bardsley 8 Seemed a little timid at the beginning, but then won the aerial battles she needed to in the first half. This gave her the confidance to venture out of the box and snuff out dangerous balls from Chicago’s nervy forwards. Wasn’t tested too much on the ground, but succeeded in dealing with everything in the air.

D Keeley Dowling 6.5 Was missing for much of the first half but then made her presence known with some well-timed overlapping runs. Also dealt with Asllani’s runs well as she had the physical advantage. Came off fairly early with an apparent limp

D Brittany Taylor 5 No major blunders but no outstanding moments either. She was among the Sky Blue defenders to cram the box as Chicago looked like scoring

D Daphne Koster 7.5 Was a consistent shot-blocker throughout the match. She thwarted most of Chicago’s shots off the ground, including making two big blocks on Cristiane at the end of the match

D Meghan Schnur 6.5 Also contributed in the overlap and succeeded in winning man-to-man battles around the goal

M Yael Averbuch 8 Consistent throughout the match and helped break up play in the midfield, particularly in the first half. Also connected will with the long ball to the center of the field as well as out wide. She got subbed early and perhaps that’s one reason why Chicago appeared much more dangerous at the end of the match

M Heather O’Reilly 6 Looked as industrious and technically skilled as usual in the first half. She assisted in Kai’s goal in finding her run but then totally dropped off. Looked like she got her postitioning confused

M Kacey White 7.5 Was Sky Blue’s most creative player in midfield. She successfully completed most of her aerial passes and got on the end of some runs with her excellent pace. But also went missing for some patches of the match

M Carli Lloyd 5.5 Seemed a little tactically lost as White and O’Reilly swapped flanks throughout the first half. She had one wonderful moment where she literally beat three defenders and seemed to have an open look but crossed it into the feet of two Red Stars defenders. If she was a second earlier it would have been two goals for Sky Blue. Also had trouble staying consistent in midfield with her creativity and seemed a fatigued by the end of it

F Tasha Kai 7 High marks for the goal and for her precisely-timed runs in the first half. She was athletic, quick, crafty and possessed a great touch but got a little ambitious with her shots in the second half

F Laura Kalmari 4.5 Not entirely sure what her function was. Didn’t really hold up the ball for Kai or take any shots or spray the ball out wide.

Subs:

M Rosana 7 (Averbuch 66′) Came on pretty late but exhibited great control on the ball and danced around Chicago’s defenders. Also had some good shots that were just off

F Jessica Landstrom 6.5 (Kai 73′) There were a few first match jitters as Landstrom lost the ball on her first touches and seemed to get turned by defenders much smaller. But her tactical awareness to convince the Chicago defenders of an offside ball that wasn’t offside resulted in a great save from Loyden. She could be a target woman if played with Kai

D Danielle Johnson (Keeley Downing 88′) Inconclusive

Chicago Red Stars

GK Jillian Loyden 7.5 Also appeared to be a little timid in goal at the start and bobbled some balls. But she made some big saves (such as the one against Landstrom) and was fairly lucky to have Ifeoma Dieke handle fall on the ball to prevent a goal midway through the second half

D Miriam Dalmy 7 Excellent set piece taker and was really unlucky to no have had a teammate get on the end of one of her balls. Markgraf had to cover a bit positionally but eventually ventured forward more and added to the Red Stars attack towards the end

D Kate Markgraf 6 Steady, some good blocks on shots from Kai and O’Reilly but didn’t appear to be totally dominant at the back

D Ifeoma Dieke 6 Was definitely more pacy than Markgraf and got in front of many attackers with her speed. Also contributed a bit in midfield

D Whitney Engen 5.5 Made some good stops but also had some very poor touches on the ball in the beginning. Still held up strong against O’Reilly, particularly for a rookie

M Kosovare Asllani 7 Very tricky, technical and quick. She made a number of probing runs and beat the initial defender but would get outsized by the second and eventually lose the ball before being able to cross it in. She also contributed some excellent back post passes and succeeded in widening play

M Brittany Klein 6 Nifty back heels, fiesty play to win balls back and some ambitious shots on goal but didn’t quite do enough to congeal the play in midfield

M Katie Chapman 6.5 Also did her job effectively in breaking up play with a hard tackle at times. She bullied the midfield for much of the match and also completed runs in some quick one-two’s but couldn’t find the killer pass

M Julianne Sitch 6.5 The extra .5 for the skill it takes to chest the ball down, pause a moment to collect herself and then rocket a shot off her right foot. She had some of Chicago’s best chances with her shots and also beat defenders with her excellent technical ability. Could have perhaps done more if she stayed on for longer

F Cristiane 7.5 Proved to be a nuisance the entire match but couldn’t find that single brilliant pass or the shot that was completely on target. In the first half she really created everything for Chicago but in the end her crafty work was in vain

F Ella Masar 4.5 Seemed to be out of place positionally frequently. Either she was offside or ran right into Sky Blue defenders. Couldn’t convert the chances she was gifted by her teammates

Subs:

M Karen Carney 6.5 (Sitch 66′) Looked off the pace in the beginning and lacked acceleration but as the match wore on she contributed wide pretty well. She also made some long runs into the final third and dished out lovely passes to her teammtes

F Casey Nogueira 6.5 (Masar 78′) The high score for those pretty tricks that she’s become known for. She also whipped in a good cross for Carney as soon as she came on. If Coach Hayes develops a set position for her (perhaps as a winger) she’ll be one to look out for

F Jessica McDonald (Engen 87′) Again inconclusive but it was a shame she couldn’t redirect her header on the far post at the end of the match

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