How’s this for a story: Let’s say there’s a player who signed professionally with a team that plays just minutes away from where she grew up. She’s already made quite the name for herself at the local and collegiate levels and big things are expected of her. She struggles a bit for awhile, enters the second season of her career, catches some flak from some corners (this corner included), is benched as a starter, her head coach is dismissed and a new manager is appointed. She nearly doesn’t travel with her team for their next away game but her faith is restored after seeing that her coach has put her on the first team sheet. She scores two goals in that game; the first two of her career. She then scored two more goals over the next three games and her team, once languishing at the bottom of the standings, is now a bona fide mid-table club. The sky’s the limit for both her goal-scoring record and her team’s ascent up the table.

It’s a story that defies reality and reason. Even more so that it’s true. Chicago Red Stars forward Ella Masar is right in the middle of an incredible career renaissance. Her renewed confidence and self-belief is inspiring, and her team – and WPS itself – is all the better for it.

Ella was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions about her recent high’s, her recent low’s, why she nearly walked away from the game, what life is like in the Red Stars camp now and why the person most surprised by Ella Masar’s recent form is Ella Masar herself.

AWK: Congratulations on your Player of the Week honors. What’s life been like for you in the past few weeks?

EM: I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it’s real. I was so happy with scoring the first two goals and I couldn’t imagine scoring two more. I keep joking with one of my best friends saying that if I score six goals I’ll put her up on a blind date [laughs]. So I keep pushing for two more goals and it’s been a whirlwind of emotions and craziness.

AWK: If you score two more goals you’ll be third in the goal scoring chart which would be pretty amazing.

EM: Yeah and we’re heading to Atlanta [on July 21] but I don’t care if I score goals or not. The best part about all of this is that we’re in fourth place right now and that’s something that not a lot of people thought that we could do.

AWK: You’re definitely changing people’s opinions for sure. So as you’ve mentioned, you’ve scored four goals in four games. What do you think is behind your recent sudden success?

EM: I don’t know. I wish I had figured it out a long time ago. It’s just been a lot of work and sometimes as a forward you need to have a short memory. Each game I just kept telling myself “it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come” and about 30 games later it’s finally started to come. I’m not sure what’s happening but I’m finding myself in positions where I’m actually putting the ball away which is good.

AWK: Right, and I think that being a striker requires more mental strength than anywhere else on a soccer field so do you go into a match with a different mentality now?

EM: No, not really. For a long time I lost the love of the game. I tried to fix things that were out of my control and I just kind of vowed to myself and prayed a lot about it and decided that I’m just gonna enjoy the game again. And if this is going to be my year or if I want to walk away, whatever happens just to let it go. And honestly I’ve never taken it for granted after that. We don’t know how long the league is gonna last, we don’t know how long we’re going to have this amazing opportunity so I’m just playing like every game’s my last game so I’m going to run as hard as I possibly can. I also want to play for my teammates around me. They make me better everyday. We want to go out on a bang, whatever happens.

AWK: When do you think that mental shift take place for you?

EM: I don’t really know. I didn’t even know if I was going to travel to Boston [for the game on June 25 in which she scored two goals]. That was how bad my mind set was, to be honest with you. And then I saw that [Coach Namazi] had put me in the starting line-up and I had a great talk with Janet Rayfield who coached me in college [at the University of Illinois]. I kind of put everything out there and she told me she had always believed in me. And then in Boston I scored two goals and it’s kind of been going well since.

AWK: Your two-goal performance in Boston on June 25 seems to have started this streak. Was there anything particular about that match that allowed to have such a fine performance?

EM: I just went out, enjoyed it and had fun. There’s so much history in Boston. Last time I was there I had a really bad experience so I’ve had to let all that stuff go. I was thinking before the game that it’d be so funny if I went out there and made a difference. I wanted to prove to people that I belonged there and God was good. I put two away and I was composed. I was joking with Megan Rapinoe and she was saying, “when you had that breakaway I didn’t know if you were going to power it or shoot it and you placed it [in the back of the net]“. So she was so excited and it was just amazing.

AWK: And I think those two goals were a reflection of your confidence. It’s pretty amazing.

EM: Yeah, I’m never going to forget this feeling. It’s been rough for a long time.

AWK: Just to go back to the past for a little bit: The Red Stars have now lost just one in eight games since the appointment of Coach Omid Namazi. What’s been the biggest difference between his coaching style and Emma Hayes’?

EM: It’s hard for me to compare because they’re so different but he just really focuses on defense and defending from the top back. I think Emma did as well but Omid doesn’t know names, he doesn’t know the women’s game so he came out into an environment where he had prove he belonged to be here. And for him it doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is. I just think he’s demanded what he’s needed from every player on both sides of the ball. We’ve actually come together now as a team. I mean we’ve been so close off the field for the past two years and people kept saying “oh, you have such a talented team” and after a while it gets a little tiring to hear that. And I think we just wanted to make a name for Chicago and we’re just taking it one game at a time. Every game’s a new game and we’re going in with that mind set.

AWK: Do you think your recent form has been the spark for the Red Stars’ success of late or vice versa?

EM: I think my team’s success has helped me out. Those girls have been behind me from day one. From the seven players who were here last year to the new girls that came on board, it’s been an incredible journey so far. Everyday they’re pushing me to get better and I can only hope to do the same for them. I’ve been the last player to put the ball in the back of the net but that couldn’t have happened without [goalkeeper] Jillian Loyden who put me in position as well as the other girls in defense. So the credit really goes to them.

AWK: I take it that team spirit is fantastic right now but what was it like at the point of Emma Hayes’ dismissal?

EM: It was a little eerie. Saint Louis [Athletica] had folded at the same time. And it doesn’t matter if you got along with the coach or not, you never wish for anyone’s career to go down the drain. I think Emma will rebound, I think she’ll be a coach again one day. She loves the game and I think she’s a phenomenal coach and she’ll be back in the game one day. You don’t wish that on anybody but we needed a change. We changed all of our players and the coach was the next thing to do.

AWK: As you mentioned, the team did change a lot from last year but the team you have right now has Emma Hayes’ fingerprints all over it really. It’s a credit to Coach Namazi’s coaching abiltities to be able to come in and just change everything so quickly and to find success rapidly. What was his mind set when he first came into the job?

EM: We were joking about it, the first day he was like, “I don’t want to brag but you know I’ve never not been to the playoffs.” So we were all like “Ohh, welcome Coach” [laughs]. Every day we play, we play to get fit, we’re always with a ball from warm-up’s to the end. I think he brings a lot from his experience with professional indoor soccer and he’s also a player. His career’s been kind of crazy. He was cut at the beginning because he was told he was too soft and from that point on his career took off because he said, “I’m going to prove that I’ll never be soft again”. We have that player and we have a very technical coach, as he’s coached in WUSA too. He honestly wants every player to better. And I think he still thinks of himself as a player too; he slide-tackled a girl in practice yesterday. He jumps in and talks trash with us. We found that love again and I think that goes across the board. We’re so happy to play this. It doesn’t matter if you’re a starter or on the bench. It finally feels like a family and I’ve missed that so much since college.

AWK: Wow, so this is really the first time you’ve felt like this since your college playing days?

EM: Mm-hmm, like I said it’s been a really long road.

AWK: Another thing that Coach Namazi has adopted from Emma Hayes is your 4-3-3 formation. You’ve also seemed to play in the middle of that last line of three. Is that your preferred position?

EM: Well in most games we’ve actually played in a 4-2-2. We have so many players like Kosa [Asllani], Pinoe, myself, Cristiane and Casey [Nogueira] as forwards and it doesn’t matter what formation is. If it’s a 4-2-2 we’ve got Casey and Pinoe up there. I don’t care if I’m in the last line of defense or on the wing. If Casey plays she’s going to want to get the ball at her feet because she’s so good with her feet and I’ll be in the last line trying to stretch it. That’s what we did in Boston. We came out in Jersey [last weekend] and it was almost like a 4-1-4-1. You have Cristiane playing balls in, you have Kosa running in that last line which she’s so good at doing then you have Casey coming in as well. I think our positions will change each game because we’re comfortable playing in either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. And if you have strong midfield then that’s what’s gonna win us game. We have Karen Carney and Katie Chapman and Formiga. That’s the best midfield in the world to me. We get all of our power from them.

AWK: Were the midfield players among the first to get the system?

EM: Since [Red Stars GM] Marcia McDermott took over two months ago we’ve been running with the 4-3-3 with a holding midfielder and two attacking midfielders. We know the formation will always be Kaz [Karen Carney], Formiga and Chapman so it took time for that relationship to build and the dangerous thing is that each game they’re getting better. They understand that if Chapman makes a run, Kaz will follow, if Kaz drops, Chapman will go, if Kaz drops, one of us drops in. It’s kind of like, “Oh, Kaz is dropping off I need to cover Formiga but wait, Megan Rapinoe is coming in”. It’s really terrifying for any team to deal with. I’m glad I’m with Chicago because you can’t shut one down without thinking the other two won’t rise to the occasion.

AWK: You’re a true Illinois native as you were born and raised there and attended the University of Illinois. Is it extra special playing in your home state?

EM: I kind of dealt with it back in college because it was a 10 minute drive from my college to my home. It’s kind of been a blessing and a curse at the same time. When you’re not scoring goals you kind of want to fade into the background and tell people, “I’m not playing, I don’t know, I don’t want to be here” but at the same time I was around my family and that’s the most important thing to me. And now I’m scoring goals and I get to see my family everyday and that’s been the best part. Chicago’s my home for me and I hope to keep it that was for awhile.

AWK: Did you have a soccer-playing role model growing up and do you model your game after anyone in particular now?

I will never admit this to his face but I have to say my brother. I always played with him growing up and we played in the local leagues up here. And he’s someone that I always love to watch play. He’s going to be 28 and I still love to watch him play even after work. I’ve always loved him and I think he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen. I’m always competing with him and he jokes and tells me “oh, you’re finally scoring goals”.

AWK: Is he a forward?

EM: Yep, he’s a forward and an attacking mid. He waddles like crazy. The frustrating thing is that he’s really good with his feet but he doesn’t have technique. He’s athletically-gifted though.

AWK: The Red Stars continue to make climb up the table. Where do you realistically see the team finishing this season? Playoffs for sure, right?

EM: Right. I don’t think we can really put a stopping point on us. Bay Area is pulling away with each game but second, third and fourth we all play soon. We play Sky Blue FC twice and Washington on the road. Boston’s also putting on a good showing. We haven’t beaten Atlanta yet either so we know that each game is important. We also know that even getting third place will give us home-field advantage [in the playoffs]. We know that we just need to keep winning games.

AWK: How conscious are you of the teams that are around you in the table?

EM: We like to say that when we watch Bay Area play Washington or Boston play Atlanta, we’re paying attention to the standings. You want [those teams] to do well but you also want it to be fair. We are paying attention as I hope they are with us. We just want to know that regardless of where we play or what we do they say, “ugh, I don’t want to play Chicago” and we hope we can keeping putting that thought into WPS and we’ll be happy with that.

AWK: And finally, what’s been the most memorable moment you’ve had in a Red Stars jersey so far?

EM: When Emma had to step down and Saint Louis folded, just watching the team kind of form their own identity. The last month has been pretty crazy for us and we’ve really come together as a unit. And of course scoring that last goal [against Sky Blue FC] and looking around and having my whole team looking at me and they had their arms open. That’s a picture I’ll never forget.

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