2016 Chicago Red Stars season
# 2016 Chicago Red Stars season

The 2016 Chicago Red Stars season was the eighth season of the soccer club and its fourth season in National Women's Soccer League.

After a banner 2015 season, the team expected to do well again. The club ended the regular season at third place, and played the play-off semi-final at Boyds, Maryland against Washington Spirit on September 30, falling 2–1 and did not reach the championship match.

This season the Red Stars returned to Toyota Park for its home games, where it last played on a regular basis during its 2010 season in Women's Professional Soccer league. In 2016 season, the Red Stars honored the retirements of several long time members; Michelle Lomnicki, Julianne Sitch, Jackie Santacaterina, and Lori Chalupny. The jersey number 17 worn by Chalupny, a 3-year captain, an Olympic gold medalist and a FIFA world champion was retired in honor of her accomplishments.

After the season, National team coach Jill Ellis called up 5 Red Stars, Christen Press, Alyssa Naeher, Arin Gilliland, Casey Short and Danielle Colaprico to national team training camp. On October 7, NWSL announced the voting results of NWSL Best XI and NWSL Second XI; while Press and Gilliland were named to Best XI; 5 Red Stars, Naeher, Julie Johnston, Short, Colaprico and Vanessa DiBernardo were named to NWSL Second XI.

In the off-season 8 Red Stars, the highest number in team history, went to play in Australia on loan to W-League sides; Samantha Johnson to Melbourne Victory; Jen Hoy and Arin Gilliland to Newcastle Jets; Alyssa Mautz and Vannesa DiBernardo to Perth Glory; and Katie Naughton, Danielle Colaprico and Sofia Huerta to Adelaide United. Chicago Red Stars loaned the largest number of players to W-League, 4 more than any other NWSL club.

## First-team squad

### Roster

Players who are under contract to play for the club in 2016 NWSL season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | USA | Alyssa Naeher |
| 2 | FW | USA | Jen Hoy |
| 3 | DF | USA | Arin Gilliland |
| 4 | MF | CAN | Alyssa Mautz |
| 5 | DF | USA | Katie Naughton |
| 6 | DF | USA | Casey Short |
| 7 | MF | USA | Taylor Comeau |
| 8 | DF | USA | Julie Johnston |
| 9 | FW | USA | Stephanie McCaffrey |
| 10 | MF | USA | Vanessa DiBernardo |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 11 | FW | MEX | Sofia Huerta |
| 12 | FW | USA | Cara Walls |
| 13 | MF | POR | Amanda DaCosta |
| 14 | DF | USA | Sarah Gorden |
| 15 | DF | USA | Courtney Raetzman |
| 16 | DF | USA | Samantha Johnson |
| 18 | GK | USA | Michele Dalton |
| 23 | FW | USA | Christen Press (C) |
| 24 | MF | USA | Danielle Colaprico |
| 34 | MF | USA | Mary Luba |

### College draft

Players selected by the club in 2016 NWSL College Draft.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | DF | USA | Katie Naughton |
| — | DF | USA | Sarah Gorden |
| — | MF | USA | Courtney Raetzman |
| — | FW | USA | Janelle Flaws |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | USA | Adrienne Jordan |
| — | DF | PAN | Candace Johnson |
| — | FW | USA | Ashleigh Ellenwood |

Naughton, Gorden and Raetzman joined the Red Stars first team; Flaws, Jordan, C Johnson and Ellenwood joined the Red Stars Reserves team which competes in Women's Premier Soccer League. Janelle Flaws played for 45 minutes in NWSL regular season, in an away match against Washington on July 9.

### Amateur call-up

Amateur players listed below were called up during the absence of international players training or playing for the national team at the 2016 Olympics or international friendly

| Player | Pos | Home town | College |
| - | - | - | - |
| Brianna Smallidge | GK | Port Orchard, Washington | Seattle University |
| Jannelle Flaws | FW | Glenview, Illinois | University of Illinois |
| Kassidy Brown | MF | Lake Zurich, Illinois | University of Illinois |
| Rebekah Roller | MF | Brookfield, Wisconsin | DePaul University |

## Player movement

Joined in previous seasons  During preseason  During regular season

| N | Pos | Player | Date | Trans | GDR | Method | Club |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | FW | Zakiya Bywaters | Jan 18, 2013 | in | –– | 2013 College Draft | UCLA Bruins |
| 2 | FW | Jen Hoy | Jan 18, 2013 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2013 College Draft | Princeton Tigers |
| 4 | MF | Alyssa Mautz | Feb 7, 2013 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2013 Supplemental draft | Chicago Red Stars |
| –– | DF | Michelle Lomnicki | Feb 7, 2013 | in | –– | 2013 Supplemental draft | Sky Blue FC |
| 10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | Jan 17, 2014 | in | –– | 2014 College Draft | University of Illinois |
| –– | DF | Taryn Hemmings | Sep 1, 2014 | in | –– | Signed | Fortuna Hjorring (loaned to) |
| –– | MF | Lori Chalupny | Sep 4, 2014 | in | –– | Signed | Chicago Red Stars |
| –– | DF | Abby Erceg | Sep 4, 2014 | in | –– | Signed | FF USV Jena (loaned to) |
| 16 | DF | Samantha Johnson | Sep 5, 2014 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2014 preseason trial | USC Trojans |
| –– | FW | Adriana Leon | Jan 15, 2015 | in | –– | 2015 Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| –– | FW | Melissa Tancredi | Jan 15, 2015 | in | –– | 2015 Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| –– | MF | Rachel Quon | Jan 15, 2015 | in | –– | 2015 Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 3 | DF | Arin Gilliland | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2015 College draft | University of Kentucky |
| 24 | MF | Danielle Colaprico | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2015 College draft | University of Virginia |
| 11 | FW | Sofia Huerta | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2015 College draft | Santa Clara University |
| 12 | FW | Cara Walls | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | 2015 College draft | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| 18 | GK | Michele Dalton | Apr 16, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Signed | Kvarnsvedens IK |
| 34 | MF | Mary Luba | Sep 2, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Signed | Marquette University |
| –– | MF | Brittany Bock | Oct 22, 2015 | in | –– | 2015 NWSL waiver wire | Houston Dash |
| 14 | DF | Taryn Hemmings | Nov 2, 2015 | out | –– | Expansion draft | Orlando Pride |
| –– | DF | Abby Erceg | Nov 10, 2015 | out | –– | Trade | Western New York Flash |
| –– | FW | Adriana Leon | Nov 10, 2015 | out | –– | Trade | Western New York Flash |
| –– | DF | Whitney Engen | Nov 10, 2015 | in | –– | Trade | Western New York Flash |
| 10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | Nov 12, 2015 | out | –– | Loan | Perth Glory |
| –– | DF | Whitney Engen | Nov 23, 2015 | out | –– | Trade | Boston Breakers |
| 1 | GK | Alyssa Naeher | Nov 23, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Trade | Boston Breakers |
| 6 | DF | Casey Short | Nov 24, 2015 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Signed | Avaldsnes IL |
| –– | MF | Lori Chalupny | Dec 8, 2015 | out | –– | Retire | –– |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | Jan 13, 2016 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | Jan 13, 2016 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 5 | DF | Katie Naughton | Jan 17, 2016 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | College draft | University of Notre Dame |
| 14 | DF | Sarah Gorden | Jan 17, 2016 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | College draft | DePaul University |
| 15 | MF | Courtney Raetzman | Jan 17, 2016 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | College draft | University of Kentucky |
| –– | FW | Janelle Flaws | Jan 17, 2016 | in | –– | College draft | University of Illinois |
| –– | DF | Adrienne Jordan | Jan 17, 2016 | in | –– | College draft | University of Northern Colorado |
| –– | DF | Candace Johnson | Jan 17, 2016 | in | –– | College draft | University of Missouri |
| –– | FW | Ashleigh Ellenwood | Jan 17, 2016 | in | –– | College draft | University of Arkansas |
| –– | MF | Amanda DaCosta | Jan 25, 2016 | in | Apr 16, 2016 | Trade | Washington Spirit |
| –– | FW | Melissa Tancredi | Feb 8, 2016 | out | –– | Player allocation | –– |
| –– | DF | Michelle Lomnicki | Mar 1, 2016 | out | –– | Retire | –– |
| –– | MF | Rachel Quon | Mar 14, 2016 | out | –– | Career on hold | –– |
| 10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | Mar 14, 2016 | in | Apr 14, 2016 | Return | Perth Glory |
| –– | DF | Candace Johnson | Mar 14, 2016 | out | –– | Not on roster | –– |
| –– | FW | Ashleigh Ellenwood | Mar 14, 2016 | out | –– | Not on roster | –– |
| –– | FW | Brittany Bock | Mar 15, 2016 | out | –– | Not on roster | –– |
| 5 | FW | Zakiya Bywaters | Mar 29, 2016 | out | –– | Not on roster | –– |
| 7 | MF | Taylor Comeau | Apr 11, 2016 | in | Apr 23, 2016 | 2016 preseaon trial | Portland Thorns FC |
| –– | DF | Adrienne Jordan | Apr 11, 2016 | out | –– | Not on roster | –– |
| –– | FW | Janelle Flaws | Apr 11, 2016 | out | –– | Not on roster | –– |
| 1 | GK | Alyssa Naeher | May 18, 2016 | out | Jun 22, 2016 | Friendly/Olympics | USWNT |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | May 18, 2016 | out | Jun 22, 2016 | Friendly/Olympics | USWNT |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | May 18, 2016 | out | Jun 22, 2016 | Friendly/Olympics | USWNT |
| 9 | FW | Stephanie McCaffrey | Jul 22, 2016 | in | Jul 23, 2016 | Trade | Boston Breakers |
| 1 | GK | Alyssa Naeher | Aug 12, 2016 | in | Aug 27, 2016 | Olympics elimination | USWNT |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | Aug 12, 2016 | in | Aug 27, 2016 | Olympics elimination | USWNT |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | Aug 12, 2016 | in | Aug 27, 2016 | Olympics elimination | USWNT |

## Management and staff

### Front Office

* Owner Arnim Whisler

### Coaching Staff

* Manager Rory Dames
* Assistant coach Bonnie Young
* Assistant coach Brian Kibler
* Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach Jordi King

## Regular-season standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 41 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | Washington Spirit | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 39 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | Chicago Red Stars | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 20 | +4 | 33 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Western New York Flash (C) | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 40 | 26 | +14 | 32 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 30 | |
| 6 | FC Kansas City | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 26 | |
| 7 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 30 | −6 | 26 | |
| 8 | Houston Dash | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 22 | |
| 9 | Orlando Pride | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 20 | 30 | −10 | 19 | |
| 10 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 47 | −33 | 11 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: September 24, 2016. Source: NWSLSoccer.com: 2016 Schedules: Chicago Red Stars

### Results by Round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Stadium | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | W | W | D | W | D | D | W | L | L | L | W | D | W | W | D | L | D | W |
| Position | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |

## Match results

Win  Tie  Loss

### Preseason

On February 8 Chicago Red Stars announced its preseason schedule.

### National Women's Soccer League

**NWSL awards**

| Date | Award | Recipient |
| - | - | - |
| May 4, 2016 | Goal of the week of week 3 | Christen Press |
| May 11, 2016 | Goal of the week of week 4 | Christen Press |
| May 17, 2016 | Player of the week of week 5 | Alyssa Naeher |
| June 1, 2016 | Player of the Month of May | Alyssa Naeher |
| June 21, 2016 | Player of the week of week 9 | Sofia Huerta |
| August 31, 2016 | Save of the week of week 16 | Alyssa Naeher |
| September 7, 2016 | Save of the week of week 17 | Alyssa Naeher |
| September 14, 2016 | Goal of the week of week 18 | Christen Press |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Best XI of 2016 | Arin Gilliland |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Best XI of 2016 | Christen Press |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Second XI of 2016 | Alyssa Naeher |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Second XI of 2016 | Julie Johnston |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Second XI of 2016 | Casey Short |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Second XI of 2016 | Danielle Colaprico |
| October 7, 2016 | NWSL Second XI of 2016 | Vanessa DiBernardo |

## Squad statistics

Source: NWSL

Squad statistics are of regular season matches only

Key to positions: FW - Forward, MF - Midfielder, DF - Defender, GK – Goalkeeper

| N | Pos | Player | GP | GS | Min | G | A | PK | Shot | SOG | SOG% | Cro | CK | Off | Foul | FS | YC | RC |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | MF | Danielle Colaprico | 20 | 20 | 1783 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 50% | 0 | 34 | 0 | 21 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Taylor Comeau | 16 | 6 | 666 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 75% | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Amanda Da Costa | 13 | 8 | 665 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 57% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | Michele Dalton | 7 | 7 | 630 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | 20 | 20 | 1787 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 13 | 41% | 0 | 63 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Jannelle Flaws | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Arin Gilliland | 20 | 20 | 1719 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 75% | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Sarah Gorden | 4 | 0 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | FW | Jen Hoy | 15 | 9 | 674 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 50% | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Sofia Huerta | 20 | 20 | 1742 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 16 | 46% | 5 | 0 | 11 | 26 | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Samantha Johnson | 19 | 19 | 1676 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | 12 | 12 | 1080 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Mary Luba | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Alyssa Mautz | 18 | 10 | 1036 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 38% | 4 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Stephanie McCaffrey | 6 | 5 | 352 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 63% | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | Alyssa Naeher | 13 | 13 | 1170 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Katie Naughton | 16 | 9 | 860 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW/MF | Christen Press | 14 | 14 | 1260 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 62 | 39 | 63% | 0 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Courtney Raetzman | 6 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Casey Short | 20 | 20 | 1781 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 8 | 47% | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Cara Walls | 12 | 8 | 701 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 64% | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | Team Total | Team Total | 20 | — | 19800 | 24 | 16 | 1 | 215 | 114 | 53% | 18 | 100 | 60 | 161 | 133 | 12 | 0 |
| N | Pos | Goal keeper | GP | GS | Min | GA | GA/G | PKA | PKF | Shot | SOG | Sav | Sav% | YC | RC |
| 18 | GK | Michele Dalton | 7 | 7 | 630 | 7 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 25 | 17 | 68% | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | Alyssa Naeher | 13 | 13 | 1170 | 13 | 1.00 | 1 | 2 | 129 | 57 | 43 | 75% | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | Team Total | Team Total | 20 | — | 1800 | 20 | 1.00 | 1 | 2 | 198 | 82 | 60 | 73% | 0 | 0 |

## Chicago Red Stars team awards

On October 5 Chicago Red Stars announced the winners of 2016 team awards. For the third time in 3 years Julie Johnston was the recipient of the award for Defensive Most Valuable Player. For second consecutive year, Christen Press was named the Most Valuable Player, and Vanessa DiBernardo the Unsung Hero. New Red Star Alyssa Naeher, with 75% save percentage, was named the Iron Women of Character, while another new Red Star Casey Short was named the Rookie of the Year.

### Team Most Valuable Player

Christen Press (received this same award in second consecutive year)

### Defensive Most Valuable Player

Julie Johnston (received this same award in third consecutive year)

### Rookie of the Year

Casey Short

### Unsung Hero

Vanessa DiBernardo (received this same award in second consecutive year)

### Iron Woman of Character

Alyssa Naeher

