New-look Red Stars open year with win
It was the opening game for the expansion Utah Royals, and they were playing at home.
But there are a lot of new things about the Red Stars, too, including new ownership and a new coach in Lorne Donaldson. And the newlook Red Stars took care of business with a 2-0 victory in the season opener before a sellout crowd of 20,370 at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
Allison Schlegel scored the first goal of the season in the 50th minute off an assist from Sam Staab. Ava Cook provided an insurance goal in the 77th minute off an assist from Allison McKenna Cook.
‘‘Keeping that hard work, that effort, that grit, you know, that’s from Chicago . . . I think we wear that on our sleeves and that’s something we’re going to grow into as the season moves forward,’’ Schlegel said.
The Red Stars’ home opener is at 3 p.m. Saturday against the Seattle Reign at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
The game marked the return of Mallory Swanson, who suffered a torn patellar tendon last April.
The Red Stars finished with a league-worst 7-12-3 record last season, so starting off with a win is a good start to 2024.
Excitement in K.C.
Vanessa DiBernardo scored the first goal for Kansas City in its new stadium and the Current held off the Portland Thorns 5-4.
It was the first game at CPKC Stadium, which the team says is the first U.S. stadium built expressly for women’s pro soccer. The privately financed $120 million facility sits on the banks of the Missouri River and seats 11,500.
The game was a sellout. It also was the first NWSL game broadcast on ABC as part of the league’s new media rights deal. The NWSL inked a new broadcast deal worth $60 million annually that will feature the league’s matches on ESPN networks, CBS Sports, Amazon Prime Video and Scripps Sports.