May 26, 2012
ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET
Red Stars blank Indiana again

SOUTH BEND, IN. – Lauren Fowlkes and Lori Chalupny each scored to give the Chicago Red stars a 2-0 win over FC Indiana Friday night.

It was the second straight game Chicago has won over their neighbors to the east by a 2-0 score. Jamie Forbes held the shutout in goal for the Red Stars.

In just the 6th minute, Michele Weissenhofer found Alyssa Mautz making a run towards the end-line. With a perfectly placed pass, Mautz was able to take a touch towards the line and rocket a pass across the goal-face and onto the body of Fowlkes, who pushed the ball into goal.

“It was good to come out and get an early goal,” said Red Stars’ Head Coach Rory Dames. “But we still got caught too stagnant and didn’t get enough width in the game. When we brought on some fresh players in the second half, like (Vanessa) DiBernardo, it brought a little energy and we started to find more width and the game opened up a bit.”

DiBernardo was a spark in the midfield for the Red Stars in the second half in her season debut with her ability to needle passes through tight spaces in the Lionesses’ defense.

“I’ve only had a few training sessions with the group so I’m still trying to get to know everyone on the field,” she said. “We’re still learning how to play with one another.”

One player she had no trouble adjusting to is team captain Chalupny, whose goal she assisted in the 64th minute. DiBernardo sent a ball through to Chalupny who was positioned in a potential 1v1 challenge with the goalkeeper. As Chalupny leapt over the sliding body of FC Indiana’s Geraldine Saintilus, the ball managed to sneak its way underneath and back into the path of Chalupny for an easy slot-in, and a 2-0 lead.

“I thought all the players that came in really added something to the game,” remarked Chalupny. “We’ve got a couple younger players that have just returned to the team from college so it’s a work in progress as we get used to each other and develop our chemistry.”

With the win, the Red Stars move to 2-0-0 on . The Lionesses fall to 0-4-0.