Chicago's Hopes Begin Slip Sliding Away With Loss to Breakers

Bridgeview, IL 6/21/09 — The Chicago Red Stars dominated every aspect of their second meeting with the Boston Breakers except the scoreboard today, in front of 3800 fans in Toyota Park. But that wasn't completely Chicago's fault.

There have been rumblings around the WPS about the poor quality and inconsistency of the officiating, and this afternoon's match was a textbook case.

In the past Chicago has beaten themselves by failing to connect on scoring opportunities combined with momentary defensive lapses. The Red Stars have especially had difficulty taking the game back after falling behind.

Today's match was different. Amy Rodriguez scored for Boston in the 22nd minute after a defensive lapse put her one on one at short range with Chicago keeper Caroline Jonsson, but unlike past instances, the Red Stars did not lose heart when their opponents took the lead.

Led by Player of the Game (fan vote) Karen Carney, who was either leading an attack or fighting for possession without relent, along with Brittany Klein who was a human dynamo in the midfield and Natalie Spilger who anchored the defense (any one or all three of these could have been Player of the Game), and inspired play by Megan Rapinoe, the Red Stars turned their play up a notch after the Boston score, and continued to play with heart, skill, and determination to the last whistle.

The game stats tell the story: Chicago dominated all of them, outshooting Boston 8-2, leading shots on goal 5-2, on crosses 12-5, and corners 7-1.

With such dominance, Chicago should have and could have won. Unfortunately, while they were beating their opponents in all aspects of the game except the one that counts, they could not beat the officiating.  

Late in the first half, Frida Ostberg appeared to have scored a beautiful shot to the top of the net, but it was waved off.  In the eyes of everyone but the assistant referee, that was a legitimate, and powerful goal. At that point, it should have been 1-1.

Chicago came out fighting in the second half, much as they had in the first. In addition to hustle and heart, their passing was much improved over recent games. Their ball control was impressive—perhaps the best of the season. This caliber of play created numerous chances when the Red Stars came within a hair's breadth of scoring.

Later in the game, the referees failed to call a blatant Boston push in the penalty box and soon after a blatant handball. Had both infractions been called, Chicago could have led 2-1.

In extra time Chicago's Nikki Krysik was called for a slightly less egregious foul in the box than the Boston transgression that had been ignored a few minutes before. Kristine Lilly scored on that PK and the game was over.

We crtiticize the officiating reluctantly, and in fact have chosen not to mention it in previous matches when Chicago seemed to bear the brunt of an equally inconsistent and uneven application of the rules, but the problem has reached critical mass and must be addressed by the league.

It is true that the Red Stars continue to have difficulty putting the ball into the net under the best of circumstances, but when a legitimate goal is stolen from them due to poor officiating, and PK opportunities are not meted out with equal justice, it is time to cry foul.

Another down note for Chicago was the apparent serious injury to Marian Dalmy in the 16h minute. After contact with Boston's Kelly Smith, Dalmy went down hard, writhing and in tears. Smith received a caution for reckless play. Dalmy appeared to have injured an ankle and also perhaps her ribs, but at the time of this writing, an injury report is not available.

Dalmy, normally a defender, was playing midfield today very effectively, including getting some looks at the goal before having to leave the game.

Frustrated with the team's lack of offensive production after Thursday night's loss, Coach Emma Hayes had promised a personnel shakeup. Dalmy's move forward appeared to be part of it, and appeared to be extremely effective as long as it lasted.

Dalmy is perhaps the Red Stars' most unsung hero. She has consistently anchored the defense and led the counter attack impressively throughout the season thus far. As effective as she has been on defense, she was having an even greater impact in the midfield.

One can only imagine how different the outcome of today's match might have been, had Dalmy remained healthy and on the pitch. One can only hope today's injury will not prove to be as serious as it appeared.  

Other adjustments to the lineup included starting Jill Oakes in place of Carly Lloyd again, and holding offensive weapons Megan Rapinoe and Cristiane back for later deployment. This plan, as regards Rapinoe, had to be scuttled when Dalmy went down. Rapinoe was subbed in to replace her. Cristiane started the second half in lieu of Dieke Ifume. In the 71st minute, Lloyd was brought in for Oakes, who continues to impress as a starter. 

Having fallen from a fourth place tie to seventh place as a result of their first road loss, in New Jersey on the 18th, the Red Stars further entrenched themselves in the league basement with today's loss.

Although the season is barely more than half spent, Chicago is approaching the point of no return unless they can find a way to prevent momentary but deadly defensive lapses and find the inside of the net much more frequently than they have thus far.