Chicago Red Stars' Summer Cup scoring woes continue, lose 1-0 to Chivas

International competition didn't help the Chicago Red Stars’ goal-scoring woes in their second group stage match of the inaugural NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.

Chivas de Guadalajara Femenil only needed Gabriela Valenzuela’s 45th-minute goal to defeat the Red Stars 1-0 at SeatGeek Stadium on Friday , pushing Chicago into the cellar of Group D with one point after two matches.

The Red Stars came out firing from kickoff and created a great chance after winning a corner kick less than 60 seconds after kickoff. Jenna Bike’s corner floated to the head of Ally Cook but the rookie’s looping header was denied by Chivas goalkeeper Blanca Félix.

Taylor Malham made a run for Chicago in the 42nd minute before cutting to her left and hitting a perfect cross for Cook at the six-yard box of Chivas. Cook won another header over both of the opposition’s center backs but Félix was there once again to deny Chicago’s number 33.

Chivas took advantage of a defensive lapse from the Red Stars in the 45th minute to take the 1-0 lead for good. Karla Martínez hit a cross in from the right side that somehow got past multiple defenders and fell right to Gabriela Valenzuela right in front of goal. Chivas’ number nine had no problem tapping in the point-blank effort just before the first 45 minutes elapsed.

Chivas were the side that had more going their way in the second half and the Red Stars struggled to create chances of the same caliber despite chasing the match.

Nádia Gomes had the best chance for Chicago in the second half minutes after coming on as a substitute. Gomes got around a charging Félix at the edge of Chivas’ penalty area in the 67th minute but Kinberly Guzmán was there to intervene before the Red Stars attacker could get a shot off.

Chicago had a handful of chances as the match wound down but Chivas were able to relatively cruise through the final portion of the contest in Bridgeview.

Match Observations

Chicago won a corner kick in the opening minute after some miscommunication at the back from Chivas. Jenna Bike’s ball was won inside the six-yard box by Ally Cook but her looping header was saved by the sprawling Blanca Félix to deny the rookie. Cook’s header didn’t look like much when she initially connected and it clearly caught Félix off guard in front of her own net.

Leilanni Nesbeth was playing further up the pitch than she has throughout her rookie season but her high-pressing skills came in handy in the 18th minute. Nesbeth danced between multiple Chivas defenders at the edge of their penalty area before hitting a right-footed shot that was deflected out for a corner kick, which the Red Stars did nothing with.

Sydney Schneider made her first save in a Red Stars jersey in heroic fashion, denying Chivas after they turned Chicago over deep in their own half of the pitch. Viridiana Salazar tapped the ball away from Julia Bianchi 25 yards from goal and the loose ball fell kindly to Carolina Jaramillo with time. Jaramillo hit a high-arcing shot that was heading into the far corner of the net before Scheider fully extended herself to her left and parried the shot out of play. Jaramillo’s attempt was completely against the run of play and Schneider did well to remain dialed in despite her side having possession seconds earlier.

Julia Bianchi repaid the favor in the 33rd minute by creating a turnover well into Chivas’s half of the pitch. The ball eventually made its way to Leilanni Nesbeth before the Red Stars’ 2024 first-round pick hit a perfect cross into Chivas’s penalty area. Jameese Joseph let the cross bounce and got enough on the ball to direct it goalbound before Blanca Félix made herself big to stop the shot. Joseph had the opportunity to take another touch to try and get around Félix but she opted to go for goal and created a half-decent because of it.

Ally Cook was a matchup problem for the Chivas center backs and nearly took advantage of it in the 42nd minute. Taylor Malham had the ball on the right side about 30 yards from goal, cut to her right, and hit a cross into the middle of the Chivas 18. Cook got between both central defenders to win the header but Blanca Félix covered her ground well and made the save once again.

Chivas took the lead just before halftime after the Red Stars struggled to clear the ball from their defensive end of the pitch. A half-clearance was recycled to Karla Martínez on the right and she made a run to the end line before hitting a cross into Chicago’s penalty area. No defender cleared Martínez’s ball before it finally reached Gabriela Valenzuela, who had no problem tapping in the point-blank effort to give her side the lead.

Both teams had two shots on target before halftime but Chivas outshot the Red Stars overall four-three.

Chivas came out of halftime with a purpose and came close to scoring in successive minutes from attacks generated on each side of the pitch. Viridiana Salazar hit a perfect cross in the 47th minute into Chicago’s penalty area to Alicia Cervantes in space. Cervantes’ effort trickled just wide of the far post, sparing the Red Stars for a moment. Chivas created another chance down the left side through Montserrat Hernández but Sydney Schneider tipped away the shot from Salazar, stopping the momentum Chivas had built.

The Red Stars created another great goal-scoring opportunity from an aerial attack in the 50th minute but Blanca Félix, again, denied the on-target effort. Julia Bianchi hit her corner kick near the six-yard box and it met the head of Hannah Anderson. The center back’s header had pace behind it but Félix was there to make the save.

Chivas were inches away from doubling their lead in the 64th minute. Alicia Cervantes got out on the break down the left side and hit a shot just as she entered the Chicago penalty area. Her effort rang off the crossbar and her follow-up effort was knocked out for a corner kick, which was subsequently dealt with by the Red Stars.

Nádia Gomes came on in the 61st minute and nearly created a goal on her own in the 67th minute. Gomes got around Chivas goalkeeper Blanca Félix at the edge of Chivas’ penalty area as the goalkeeper attempted to intervene on the breakaway. Gomes took another dribble before attempting to line up a shot before the ball was taken away by Kinberly Guzmán, who tracked back to bail out her goalkeeper.

Goalkeeper Sydney Schneider, who joined the Red Stars in the offseason, made her first NWSL start and kept Chicago in the match with two saves despite a handful of great chances for Chivas. She was thrilled to finally get the opportunity after being initially drafted in 2021.

“It's good to have that under my belt,” said Schneider. “Obviously, as a team, it's not the result we want. So for me it's bittersweet but personally good. As a team, I feel like we can take the lessons and just bring it into the league.”

Ally Cook had her chances to score but wasn’t able to convert any of those into goals despite pressuring Chivas’ backline throughout her appearance.

“I was told to stay in central as my position, staying between the center backs,” said Cook. “We knew in the air for us would be, especially with my height compared to them, should be a place we could dominate. So it was kind of just unfortunate they didn't go our way.”

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