The Chicago Fire has been scoreless for the second straight game and is struggling to find the back of the net.
The Red Stars, led by Mallory Swanson, have won again and remain at the top of the National Women's Soccer League.
And the DePaul men's soccer team won the Chicago Cup for the second year in a row.
Every other Tuesday, the Tribune provides an update on what happened and what's next for the Fire, Red Stars and local soccer.
Red Stars regain scoring power with Mallory Swanson
The 3-1-1 Red Stars continued their lead in the league with another win thanks to the performance of Mallory Swanson.
Swanson contributed two goals in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Seattle Reign, running full field with the ball and setting up Arie Schlegel's first goal four minutes into the game, then scoring her own goal. Ta. At 31 minutes. After four games, Swanson is tied for third in the league with two goals.
The Red Stars remain third in the NWSL table with 10 points, ahead of Kansas City Current (13) and Washington Spirit (12). They have allowed just four goals, tied for the second-fewest points in the league.
Fire kept scoreless in consecutive games.
The Fire have been scoreless in two games and are struggling to maintain their offense in the Eastern Conference.
In the game against New York on April 13, the Red Bulls lost one man early in the game, Andres Reyes received a red card in the 42nd minute, and although the Red Bulls had a scoreless draw with just three shots on target, the Fire could not score. He had five shots on goal against Real Salt Lake this weekend, but never posed a real challenge in a 4-0 loss.
Scoring goals hasn't always been a problem for the Fire, who were reinforced in the first few weeks of the season by native midfielder Brian Gutierrez. However, this series of cold losses further depressed the Fire, which boasts the league's top number of goals conceded due to its porous defense.
DePaul wins Chicago Cup
The DePaul men's soccer team won the Chicago Cup again this year, a local tournament for the city's college programs. This is the second straight win for the Blue Demons.
Back to back has a nice sound ๐๐
The Blue Demons defeated UIC to win the Chicago Cup for the second straight year. #bluegrit ๐ต๐ pic.twitter.com/BtlQNvWA2j
โ DePaul Men's Soccer (@DePaulMSOC) April 21, 2024
The tournament included matches against Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, UIC, and Loyola University. The Blue Demons closed out the tournament with a win over UIC on Sunday.
The Chicago Cup is a major highlight of the spring schedule for local soccer programs that participate in the NCAA season during the fall semester.
Number of weeks: 18
The Fire led the Eastern Conference in points, giving up 18 points in the first nine games of the regular season. Only two teams in the Western Conference allow that number: San Jose (24 teams) and Portland (18 teams). Fire goaltender Chris Brady had 31 saves, ranking sixth in the league with a save percentage of 64.6%.
Next is fire
- April 27th: Atlanta United FC, 7:30 p.m., Soldier Field (Apple TV)
- May 4th: New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m., Soldier Field (Apple TV)
Next up is Red Stars
- April 27th: Portland Thorns, 6:30 p.m., SeatGeek Stadium (ION)
- May 1st: Washington Spirit, 7 p.m., SeatGeek Stadium (Marquee Sports Network)
Quotable
“In times like these, it's important that we come together. Now more than ever. Our fans deserve better. Our organization deserves better. We ourselves You deserve better.โ Kellyn Acosta after the Fire's 2-4-3 start to the season