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That draw does more for Chicago than it does for Seattle who needed to win today.
Full-time: Chicago Red Stars 2-2 Seattle Reign FC
90'+1 SUBSTITUTION: Naughton comes on for Huerta and Mautz comes on for McCaffrey.
Two minutes of added time will be added on here as Seattle push for the winner.
88' A corner kick falls to Winters but Naeher is there to put her body on the line and stop the goal.
86' CHANCE! Mathias plays the ball in and Sam Johnson almost scores an own goal but the ball hits the post and bounces away. That was close!
85' Little is one-on-one with Julie Johnston but the Red Stars defender stays up and gets the ball away from Little.
84' SUBSTITUTION: Pickett comes on for Yanez.
83' Mathias also earned a yellow card for her foul that led to the penalty.
You can't say that goal had not been coming for Chicago. They had been pressing for quite some time and their pressure finally told. Press also gets the chance to redeem herself after her last penalty kick was the miss at the Olympics.
79' GOAL! Press levels it up for Chicago.
78' PENALTY! Chicago get the penalty call after Short is fouled by Mathias.
73' Kawasumi again finds a good diagonal to Rapinoe but Rapinoe also sends her shot way off target.
72' Kawasumi finds Utsugi at the the far post but the left back send her effort wildly high.
69' SUBSTITUTION: Rapinoe comes on for Melis.
64' CHANCE! McCaffrey finds Press who thinks she's scored but Kopmeyer dives to her right and makes a great save. Some fine goalkeeping on display tonight as well.
63' Press and McCaffrey combine but Press' cross is just too far for McCaffrey. Chicago are getting closer to that equalizing goal now.
62' CHANCE! Press is one-on-one with Kopmeyer, goes by the goalkeeper but her angle is too narrow and she sends her shot into the side netting.
61' Kawasumi finds Little who pirouettes in the box before firing her shot over the crossbar.
59' SUBSTITUTION: Da Costa comes on for Walls
58' Short gets forward again and goes by two Reign defenders before her shot goes straight to Kopmeyer.
55' CHANCE! Utsugi finds Yanez and Naeher comes up HUGE to stop the header from close range. Naeher has really stepped up here after conceding those two early goals.
51' Press lines up for a free-kick but it goes wide of the goal.
The second half is under way and neither side has made any changes.
Half-time: Great match so far with both teams not holding back in order to win. Things are set up nicely for an interesting second half as well. Chicago Red Stars 1-2 Seattle Reign FC.
42' CHANCE! Yanez gets onto the end of the pass and Naeher initially bobbles her save after beign sent the wrong direction but she recovers in to time to claw the ball out before it crosses the line.
36' Seattle pass the ball around before Fishlock tries from distance. Her shot is straight at Naeher and Chicago regain possession.
33' Rumi Utsugi plays a ball behind the Red Stars back line but Naeher is quick off her line to get the ball before Melis can latch onto it.
32' The corner is cleared eventually but Seattle still have possession.
31' Fishlock gets forward and wins a corner off of DiBernardo.
30' Chicago had begun to pick their way through Seattle's midfield and the goal is a sign of their overall control in the last 10 minutes.
DiBernardo floats the corner in and Sofia Huerta wins the header at the far post and puts away her header to make the score 1-2 to the Red Stars.
27' GOAL! Chicago are back in this!
27' Short gets forward again and earns Chicago their first corner kick of the night.
25' Chicago are definitely back into this game now. Their oustide backs are creating enough width to stretch Seattle and the likes of Press, Walls and McCaffrey are making their way forward well.
24' Casey Short sends in a cross which is too high for Christen Press and arin Gilliland arrives too late at the far post to make the cross count.
22' CHANCE! Cara Walls finds herself open in the box but Kopmeyer manages to block her shot. Stephanie McCaffrey then sends the rebound wide. Still 0-2 to Seattle.
20' Vanessa DiBernado registers Chicago's first shot of the game. It's from outsid ethe box and straight to Seattle's goalkeeper Hayley Kopmeyer.
18' A long ball almost finds Melis again but Naeher comes out quickly to sweep the ball out into touch.
17' Chicago's back line are not dealing with Seattle's pace at all. Melis and Kawasumi seem to have the speed over their markers and it's giving the Red Stars all sorts of problems.
15' CHANCE! Fishlock slips Melis through again and Naeher comes up big on the 1v1 chance to stop a third goal for Seattle.
13' Mathias gets forward again and tries her chances from way out. Her shot goes wide of Naeher's goal and out for a goal kick.
12' Chicago seem to have no answer right now. Seattle are all over them and giving them no chance to gather themselves.
Lauren Barnes takes the free-kick and bends it into the near post. Alyssa Naeher had no chance whatsoever. Great goal by Barnes!
9' GOAL! Seattle again!
8' Seattle win another free-kick in Chicago's half.
Yanez finds Melis with a cute little ball into the box and Melis makes no mistake to give the Reign the lead.
5' GOAL! Seattle Reign takes the lead!
4' Merritt Mathias gets forward from the back and the ball eventually comes to Nahomi Kawasumi who sends her cross out of bounds.
3' Beverly Yanez and Manon Melis combine but Yanez sends her effort well wide.
2' Jess Fishlock is fouled near the centre circle and Seattle get ready to push forward. The free-kick is cleared.
KICK-OFF!
19:05 PM EST: The national anthem is done and the teams are beginning to get into position on the field.
18:58 PM EST: A few more minutes left here as the teams head back into the locker rooms after warming up.
18:35 PM EST: We're about 30 minutes away from kick-off and the weather should be good all throughout the match. No sign of rain on the radar either.
Naeher; Gilliland, Johnston, Johnson, Short; McCaffrey, Colaprico, DiBernardo, Walls; Huerta, Press (4-4-2).
18:20 PM EST: Here is your official starting lineup for the home side, the Chicago Red Stars.
Kopmeyer; Mathias, Fletcher, Barnes, Utsugi; Winters, Fishlock, Little; Yanez, Melis, Kawasumi (4-3-3).
18:10 PM EST: Here is the official starting lineup for the away side, Seattle Reign FC.
18:05 PM EST: Hello everyone! Team lineups are filtering in and we will be following all the action here at VAVEL USA Live! I'm Kudzi Musarurwa, your commentator for the evening.
Chicago Red Stars 1-2 Seattle Reign FC
Prediction: It will be close. Both teams can turn it on or show up and completely disappear from the match. They both know that a win for either team will give them a big push towards the playoffs. The Chicago Red Stars can afford to lose this game as they will still be two points ahead of Seattle if that happens. Seattle Reign, on the other hand, know that they have to win all of their remaining matches to make it to the playoffs this season.
The head coach of the Red Stars is Rory Dames. For the Reign, it's Laura Harvey.
Kopmeyer; Fletcher, Barnes, Utsugi; Mathias, Winters, Fishlock, Yanes; Kawasumi, Little; Melis.
Projected Lineup: Seattle Reign FC (3-4-3)
Naeher; Gilliland, Johnston, Johnson, Short; McCaffrey, Colaprico, DiBernardo, Walls; Huerta, Press.
Projected Lineup: Chicago Red Stars (4-4-2)
Here the projected lineups for both the Chicago Red Stars and Seattle Reign FC.
The officiating crew for this match is led by center official Christina Unkel. Assistant one on the team bench side is Cory Richardson, while Brooke Mayo will be opposite on the far end. The fourth official is listed as Alex Beehler.
The match is being played at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Game time is set for at 7:00 PM EST.
The two teams last met in May and that match ended with a 2-1 away win for the Chicago Red Stars. The goal scorers on the day were Jen Hoy with a brace for Chicago and Kim Little converted a goal for the only goal Seattle Reign FC managed on the day.
Seattle also welcomed back Megan Rapinoe who had missed most of the season until last week due to injury and the US international wasted no time in getting on the board for the first time this season. The Reign will be without the services of Hope Solo for the rest of the season due to personal leave granted by the club. Hayley Kopmeyer has filled in well for the veteran goalkeeper in the mean time.
The away team tonight is reigning NWSL Regular Season champions, Seattle Reign FC. The Reign are currently playing catch-up to the top four teams in the league after an indifferent season so far. Their last match however, was a solid 3-1 win over one of the form teams of this season, Portland Thorns FC.
Chicago's last game was a 3-1 win away at Sky Blue FC. If it had not been for Naeher and some unlucky finishing from Sky Blue, the score line would have been much different for Chicago. They will need to put together a better performance tonight if they want to stay in the playoff spots.
Chicago had dropped pointd due to defensive lapses at the most inopportune moments. If they are to prevent that from happening again tonight, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher will have to have a big performance to stop their opponents lethal attack.
The big story of Chicago's season so far has been the performance of Vanessa DiBernardo. The midfielder has pretty much created most of Chicago's chances and has kept the midfield ticking over in each game. Sofia Huerta has also been in fine form for the Red Stars and both players will be needed tonight if Chicago want to get all three points. As always, Christen Press will be the most marked Chicago player. The forward is capable of scoring from almost any position and usually doesn't need a second invitation to shoot.
The Chicago Red Stars come into this game on a run of three wins out of five games. This run of form has kept them in the playoff spots but has also allowed those below them to catch up to them, and in the case of the Western New York Flash, surpass them.
Hello there, and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of the National Women's Soccer League! This matchup features the Chicago Red Stars who host Seattle Reign FC in a match for the last playoff spot. My name is Kudzi Musarurwa and I will be your host this evening!