2023 Chicago Red Stars Season

The 2023 Chicago Red Stars season was the team's fifteenth as a professional women's soccer team, and tenth in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Background

Team sale

On October 3, 2022, the United States Soccer Federation published the Yates Report detailing the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal. The report detailed alleged abuses experienced by players from coaches and staff, and included reports of abusive behavior by former Red Stars head coach Rory Dames, who resigned in November 2021. The Yates Report indicated that Red Stars majority owner Arnim Whisler was aware of the allegations and either declined to take action or actively defended Dames, and a report in ''The Athletic'' described a letter sent by minority owners to all Red Stars investors and board members as early as January 3, 2022, that detailed allegations of abuse by Dames and complaints against Whisler over poor player housing conditions and his continued influence over club operations.

On October 5, Whisler stepped down as the team's representative to the NWSL's board of governors. Later that day, the Red Stars board of directors voted to remove Whisler from the club's board of directors. The team transitioned to being managed by its board with Kim Vender Moffat as its chairwoman.

On October 10, Chicago Red Stars players released a joint statement asking Whisler to sell his stake in the team.> Red Stars chief business officer Vicky Lynch resigned the same day, and the club named Mike Ernst as her interim replacement.

On December 5, Whisler confirmed his intent to sell his stake in the club through investment bank Inner Circle Sports. On December 15, the club's board released a statement confirming the sale process.

Hirings

On November 3, 2022, assistant coach Morinao Imaizumi left the Red Stars to become assistant coach of NWSL competitors Washington Spirit. On January 11, 2023, the Red Stars hired former Red Stars player and Kansas City Current assistant coach Ella Masar as the club's new assistant coach.

On January 19, 2023, the Red Stars promoted associate general manager Michelle Lomnicki to general manager. On May 5, the Red Stars announced that the team had fired Lomnicki on May 4 due to a "lapse in judgment to not share important information with club leadership". Lomnicki had not informed the club of the hiring of former Red Stars assistant coach Craig Harrington by Chicago Empire FC, a Chicago-area youth soccer club formerly affiliated with the Red Stars where Lomnicki's husband serves as sporting director. Harrington had been banned for two years by the NWSL following the publication of the league's joint investigation with the NWSL Players Association into the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal, which implicated Harrington in allegations of inappropriate behavior around players.

Kit changes

Chicago released a new primary kit, named the Foundation Kit, on March 15, 2023. The black kit features a connected offset pattern of gray six-pointed stars around the team's traditional Flag of Chicago motif of four red stars at the center.

Summary

Offseason

On December 23, 2022, the Red Stars announced that defender Tierna Davidson would train during the offseason with German club VfL Wolfsburg, which had agreed to become strategic partners with the Red Stars during the 2022 season.

The team traveled to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for its preseason training camp.

March/April

May

On May 27, the Red Stars faced the Orlando Pride at home. In the match's 22nd minute, Yūki Nagasato scored her 20th career regular-season goal, becoming the 12th player to be credited with 20 goals and 20 assists in a regular-season NWSL career. The goal held up as the match winner in a 1–0 shutout. In the 49th minute, Naeher recorded her 518th regular-season career save, breaking the NWSL career record previously held by Ashlyn Harris. After the match, the Red Stars honored Naeher's 150th regular-season career NWSL appearance and the 100th regular-season NWSL appearance of Cari Roccaro.

June

The Red Stars won their second consecutive regular-season match for the first time in the 2023 season on June 6, defeating Angel City FC on the road 2–0 behind an 11-minute brace by Ava Cook in the first half. The match also marked the 100th NWSL appearance for defender Casey Krueger, all with Chicago, making her the sixth player in league history to record 100 regular-season appearances with the same club.

On June 30, the league issued a one-match suspension to midfielder Julia Bianchi for major game misconduct, for an offense committed in 63rd minute of the June 25 match against NJ/NY Gotham FC, and fined head coach Chris Petrucelli an undisclosed amount of money for comments "detrimental to the league" on social media on June 26. Petrucelli had tweeted "When do the charters start in this league?" during a four-hour delay returning home from the June 25 match against Gotham FC.

Stadium and facilities

The Red Stars continued to play in SeatGeek Stadium, their full-time home since the team's 2016 season.

Broadcasting

On April 26, 2023, the Red Stars announced the continuation of its local broadcast agreement with WCIU-TV ("The U"), including matches broadcast on WMEU-CD and WCIU-TV. Broadcast talent included play-by-play announcer Dan Kelly and color commentators Erica Ayala and former Red Stars player Jackie Santacaterina Manny.

Team

Staff

Players

Competitions

Preseason

Non-competitive friendlies

NWSL Challenge Cup

Group stage

Central Division standings

Results by matchday

Regular season

Matches

Regular season standings

Results summary

Results by matchday

Statistics

Awards

NWSL weekly awards

Transactions

Draft selections

Draft selections are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2023 NWSL Draft was held on January 12, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Contracts

Loans

Transfers

Retirements

Preseason trialists

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago Red Stars
2023
American soccer clubs 2023 season
2023 National Women's Soccer League season
2023 in sports in Illinois