Cristiane's Trick Bag Helps Chicago Send Gold Pride to Playoffs ICU

Bridgeview, IL  July 12, 2009  The Chicago Red Stars faced their first truly "Must-Win" match, and delivered as required.

It was a fight for survival in the playoff race between fifth place Chicago and last place FC Gold Pride.

Early in the game, Chicago seemed a little lethargic, were not attacking at full tilt, and Gold Pride was penetrating the defense with numerous runs. The game certainly appeared to be going the Bay Area’s way.

But then it happened.

Chicago's Cristiane was fouled in the box by Marisa Abegg. The Brazilian star was awarded a penalty kick in the 31st minute, which she buried to the right of FC Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. It was the Red Stars first PK of the season, but it was only the beginning for Cristiane, and the Red Stars.

Cristiane struck again in first-half stoppage time, taking a feed from Megan Rapinoe, dancing around Barnhart before taking a shot that deflected off defender Erika and slowly trickled into the net, giving Chicago a 2-0 halftime advantage.

The balance on penalty kicks evened out early in the second half. 

In the 64th minute, Megan Rapinoe was whistled for fouling Tiffeny Milbrett in the box. Milbrett took the shot herself, high into the left corner. For a split second it appeared that Chicago keeper Caroline Jonsson, leaping fast and high into the shot, might deflect. The ball could not have passed her fingertips by more than a centimeter, but it was enough to give Milbrett her third goal this season.

Gold Pride was unable to use that score as a game-changer, however.

It took less than three minutes for the Red Stars to find the back of the net a third time, and for a third time, it was Cristiane making the score.

On her way to the net, Cristiane put on a dazzling show of footwork, dribbling around Milbrett, turning three times before shaking the defender, burying the shot in the upper left, past Barnhart's outstretched arms.

The goal was doubly historic in that it was the first hat trick in team history, and it would seal the the club's first two-game win streak.

The most impressive aspect of the game, and most promising omen for a strong finish, was the ascension of Cristiane to the level of play that had been expected of her from day one, but until tonight had not come to fruition.

The Brazilian international started the season coming off an injury and took longer than expected to return to full form, but the timing couldn't have been better. "She was certainly every bit of the legend that preceded her," an unidentified fan commented after the contest. 

It was no surprise when Cristiane was named Player of the Game by fan votes, and will be a huge suprise if she is not also named the WPS Player of the Week.

Aside from Cristiane's brilliant play, however, there some cause for concern. Chicago Coach Emma Hayes acknowledged as much when she said, "I don’t think it was our best game.  But, we showed what you do when your best players do their very best things.”

And therein lies the irony. It certainly wasn't the Red Stars best game. For a change it was Chicago capitalizing on every opportunity, with the opponents seizing every opportunity to give the game away.

In fact, Gold Pride dominated the game at both ends in the same way Chicago typically dominated their opponents in past defeats, outshooting Chicago 16-14, and equaling shots on goal (5). Gold Pride also enjoyed a 7-3 corner kick advantage.

Gold Pride Coach Albertin Montoya gets the award for the understatement of the match when he said, “I thought it was an exciting game for the fans, it could have been 6-6 or 7-7.”

Yes, and it could also have been 6-3 or 7-3 for the visitors.

There were certainly more than a couple of Bay Area chances that the FC squandered, including a couple of breakaway shots that were blown badly by Gold Pride shooters.

Chicago was often tentative on the attack. The forwards sometimes seemed reticent to chase long balls, due, perhaps to what has seemed to be an inordinate and unjustified number of off-sides calls in recent games, often nullifying what has appeared to be legitimate goals. "But," as a fan said during the game, "the only thing worse than being off sides is not being there at all."

To be fair, Lindsay Tarpley played with her usual drive and Carli Lloyd seemed to step up her level of play compared to recent games, but the rest of the side seemed to hold back on the attack, at least as often as they pushed hard.

Decision making from the backline and midfield was sometimes suspect, when long balls were launched in lieu of strategic passing, and with passes going inside, sometimes off target, when they could have gone outside.    

Chicago’s defense was also more tentative than normal. There appeared to be less commitment to win loose balls, and the line was atypically porous, hence the number of excellent chances Gold Pride received.

Other than the score, Chicago's only statistical lead came in the number of cautions issued: 3-1. Red Stars Carney, Tarpley, and Lloyd were each issued a yellow iin the 44th, 63rd and 69th minutes respectively while Formiga received the only booking for the Bay, in the 83rd. 

Tonight's attendance of 5,127 was also a Chicago record. The section of Toyota Park that is normally open for WPS games (West side stands) looked quite full, and the crowd was noticeably louder and more active than in previous home games with, typically, a thousand more empty seats.   

The loss puts the Bay Area's lions on the verge of extinction for the post-season.

Conversely, victory keeps The Red Stars in fifth place in the WPS standings, but also advances them to within a point of a tie for third place, currently shared by Boston and (NY-NJ) Sky Blue FC, Chicago's next two opponents.

Chicago's next match is on Wednesday, July 15 at Harvard Stadium, versus Boston.  

Photo by: David Durochik | isiphotos.net