Red Stars Lose 2-1 to Bay FC at Wrigley Field, Break NWSL Attendance Record

The lights were too bright for the Chicago Red Stars at Wrigley Field and they failed to bring their A-Game, losing 2-1 to expansion side Bay FC while generating less than a handful of chances throughout the match.

35,038 people packed into The Friendly Confines and set the NWSL attendance despite the Red Stars’ shortcomings on the pitch that had been converted from a baseball field over the last two days.

The Red Stars never had control of the contest and Bay FC immediately made attacking runs down the right side towards the left corner through Racheal Kundananji. Bay FC won two corner kicks within the first five minutes of kickoff and they ended up collecting 16 corners to only three for Chicago throughout the contest.

Bay FC broke the deadlock in the 25th minute after the Red Stars were unable to clear the ball from near their own penalty area. Alyssa Malonson’s pass was intended for Kundananji but bounced to Kiki Pickett with plenty of space 25 yards from goal. Pickett lined up a strike and hit her shot past a diving Alyssa Naeher, making her first start after missing the past two matches with a thigh injury, putting Bay FC up 1-0 while notching her first professional goal in the process.

Bay FC didn’t stop pressing after going up a goal and Racheal Kundananji was at the center of it. Alyssa Naeher was forced into a diving save in the 33rd minute after Kundananji got in behind the Chicago defense. Naeher had to make another save to deny Kundananji after she beat everyone to a Joelle Anderson corner kick and the match remained at 1-0 going into halftime.

Chicago mustered two shots on goal before halftime, both from Mallory Swanson, but they failed to truly test Bay FC goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland and she made both of her saves easily.

It was more of the same after halftime despite Chicago making changes at the break.

Kiki Pickett nearly made it 2-0 just after halftime but Naeher was there to deny the effort. Chicago’s Penelope Hocking followed that sequence up with a strong run down the right side but her shot was scuffed wide of the net.

Bay FC finally made it 2-0 in the 79th minute after chaos in front of the Red Stars’ net. Chardonnay Curran’s attempted clearance deflected off the leg of Joelle Anderson and into Chicago’s net, silencing the crowd at Clark and Addison.

Penelope Hocking scored a consolation goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, tapping in a deflected cross from substitute Shea Groom, making it 2-1 with seconds left in the contest.

Match Observations

The Red Stars conceded two corners in the first five minutes due to sloppy defending but were able to clear the subsequent chances away easily. Bay FC finally created a shot on goal in the ninth minute as Racheal Kundananji had the ball near the corner flag with plenty of space. Kundananji’s cross found Asisat Oshoala in the middle of Chicago’s penalty area but Bay FC’s No. 8 hit her shot right at Alyssa Naeher, who made the easy save.

Sam Staab defended her penalty area wonderfully in the tenth minute while thwarting a Bay FC counterattack. Staab had a poor throw-in in the attacking half of the pitch that Racheal Kundananji snagged and then immediately made a half-pitch run into Chicago’s penalty area. Staab slid in and tapped the ball away from Kundananji just as she was ready to shoot, preventing Bay FC from testing Alyssa Naeher once again.

Bay FC took the lead in the 25th minute after the Red Stars had barely possessed the ball to that point. Alyssa Malonson carried the ball down the left side and took a moment before trying to play the ball to Racheal Kundananji but it was tapped away toward Kiki Pickett in the middle of the pitch. Pickett took a couple of dribbles before ripping a right-footed effort that beat the diving Alyssa Naeher, putting Bay FC up 1-0 early at Wrigley Field with her first NWSL goal.

Bay FC nearly doubled their lead in the 36th minute off a corner kick halfway down the left field line. Joelle Anderson hit her cross to Racheal Kundananji near the edge of the penalty area and Bay FC’s No. 9 briefly lost the ball before reclaiming it and hitting a rocket that was saved by Alyssa Naeher diving to her left. Kundananji was the best player on the pitch in the first half by a sizable margin and she nearly put her name on the scoresheet immediately after nearly losing the ball.

Mallory Swanson practically created both of Chicago’s first-half chances on her own through long runs that began nearly in her own half of the pitch. Her run down the left in the 14th minute resulted in an easy save for Katelyn Rowland despite the left-footed effort having plenty of pace behind it. Swanson had a right-footed shot on goal in the 38th minute but Rowland was able to make another easy save to deny Chicago before halftime.

The Red Stars were outshot 14-4 in the first half and Bay FC doubled their shots on goal 4-2.

Penelope Hocking made a run of her own down the right side in the 50th minute that caused some momentary issues for Bay FC. Hocking cut in to her left once she got to the Bay penalty area but she scuffed her shot well wide of the net.

Former Red Stars defender Kayla Sharples made herself big and won a header on a corner in the 58th minute that nearly doubled her side’s lead. Joelle Anderson’s cross flew to the far post over multiple defenders and Kayla Sharples headed an effort towards goal. Alyssa Naeher leaped to her right and made the save right in front of a rebound-seeking Sharples.

Tess Boade, who “scored” in the reverse fixture, created a fabulous chance in the 73rd minute that went to waste. Boade played a perfect pass to Racheal Kundananji in behind the Chicago defenders but her shot hit off the bar and out of play. Kundananji nearly scored a minute later but her left-footed effort rang off the crossbar and away from danger.

Bay FC finally took the 2-0 lead in the 79th minute after denying Chicago’s attempted clearance. Bay had the ball in front of Chicago’s net but Chardonnay Curran’s attempted clearance deflected off Joelle Anderson and into the Red Stars’ net, silencing the record crowd. The goal was a bit reminiscent of Tess Boade’s goal in the reverse fixture and Chicago did nothing to help their cause despite already trailing for over 50 minutes.

Chicago got their consolation goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time but it wasn’t enough to spur a two-goal comeback. Shea Groom’s ball was deflected right to Penelope Hocking, who got a boot on it and directed into the net to give the match its final 2-1 scoreline.

Hannah Anderson made her first NWSL start and played the entire match at center back alongside Sam Staab. The former Texas Tech standout completed 27/39 passes (four in the final third), had 62 touches, five touches in the opposition’s box, five recoveries, and four clearances in her first start, per FotMob .

Penelope Hocking isn’t the first member of her family to play at Wrigley Field. Her father, Denny, did so as a member of Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies in 2004. Scoring a goal on that same field was an emotional moment for the family

“It's just electric to score a goal in front of the crowd and do what I did tonight,” said the Red Stars’ Hocking. To score a goal and have been also playing the same field as him, it's really really special for him. I could just see it in his eyes like when I saw him after the game. And just seeing my family after the game saying how proud they were of playing on this big stage like it was just super emotional and it was just really cool.”

What's On Tap Next?

The Red Stars will be on the road on June 14 when they face the Kansas City Current. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 PM CT.