The Red Stars are looking to follow up a dominant win over Houston in the Challenge Cup opener.
The Chicago Red Stars made a positive start to their 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup bid with a come-from-behind 3-1 win in Houston last week, and they will be looking to build on that as they face Kansas City at home. The Red Stars sit atop the Central group standings with 3 points, while KC are in second with 1. The match will kick off at 7:30 PM Central Time at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
The Red Stars will have a few key absences. Kealia Watt is out with a long term knee injury and Morgan Gautrat will be out for a few more weeks with a calf injury, while Rachel Hill is also still injured with a hip injury. Sarah Woldmoe and Casey Krueger are on maternity leave, and Tierna Davidson is questionable after sustaining a knee injury. It will be interesting to see how much Chris Petrucelli rotates the lineup to take a look at some different players given that this is a preseason tournament, and if he sticks with the three-at-the-back system seemingly built around Tierna Davidson, who remains a question mark due to injury.
The Kansas City Current tied their opener 1-1 against Racing Louisville, with their lone goal coming from Addie McCain. After a very disappointing season last year, the newly-named Current are hoping to reach the playoffs, and that starts with building a strong foundation in preseason. Some of their star names include Sam Mewis and Adrianna Franch, while they also have recently-acquired Cassie Miller as an option. Lynn Williams has been ruled out due to injury, as have Mallory Weber and Victoria Pickett.
Last season, the Red Stars had a 3-0 record in the regular season against Kansas City.
The match will be aired on Paramount+.
Chicago Red Stars vs. Kansas City Current
NWSL Challenge Cup Matchday 2 | Friday, March 25 | SeatGeek Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Streaming: Paramount+