Chicago Red Stars midfielder Casey Nogueira netted her first goal
in her young Women's Professional Soccer career, and Chicago played
Saint Louis Athletica to a 1-1 draw during Saturday's home opener
in front of 5,134 fans at Toyota Park.
Nogueira found the far right post and carved a shot past
Athletica goalkeeper Hope Solo in the 59th minute. Red Stars
midfielder Katie Chapman assisted the play as Chicago (0-1-1, 1
point) overcame an early 1-0 deficit against Saint Louis (1-0-1, 4
points).
Next up for the Red Stars is a 5 p.m. match on Sunday, April
25, against defending WPS champion Sky Blue FC at Toyota Park.
Chicago fell to Sky Blue, 1-0, in the 2010 season opener at
Piscataway, N.J.
Saint Louis didn't waste any time getting the upper hand
Saturday. In the 4th minute, Athletica's Lori Chalupny had an
unassisted goal after Chicago goalkeeper Jillian Loyden batted away
a shot earlier in the sequence.
Nogueira had a nearly mirror image of a scoring opportunity
in the 89th minute, but she sent her shot well over the crossbar,
and a comeback victory did not pan out for Chicago.
Former Red Stars midfielder Lindsay Tarpley made her first
appearance of the season for Athletica when she entered the match
in the 77th minute for Eniola Aluko. Tarpley was traded to Saint
Louis for current Red Stars goalkeeper Loyden during the offseason.
For the game, Solo had six saves for Athletica and Loyden
made a pair of saves and batted away several other potential Saint
Louis scoring opportunities.
