# 2015 Chicago Red Stars season

The 2015 Chicago Red Stars season was the seventh season of the soccer club and its third season in National Women's Soccer League. For the first time in NWSL the Red Stars advanced to the playoffs by finishing second in regular season. In addition, the team held the first place for ten consecutive weeks, from week 4 to week 13. However, the club could not reach the NWSL championship, as in the playoffs semi-final the Red Stars lost to the reigning Champion FC Kansas City, by a score of 0–3. It was the club's final season playing home games at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

## First-team squad
### Roster

Players who were under contract to play for the club in 2015 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 | CAN | Karina LeBlanc |
| 2 | FW | USA | Jen Hoy |
| 3 | DF | USA | Arin Gilliland |
| 4 | MF | CAN | Alyssa Mautz |
| 5 | FW | USA | Zakiya Bywaters |
| 6 | DF | NZL | Abby Erceg |
| 7 | MF | USA | Shannon Boxx |
| 8 | DF | USA | Julie Johnston |
| 9 | FW | CAN | Melissa Tancredi |
| 10 | MF | USA | Vanessa DiBernardo |
| 11 | DF | CAN | Rachel Quon |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | FW | USA | Cara Walls |
| 13 | DF | USA | Michelle Lomnicki |
| 14 | DF | USA | Taryn Hemmings |
| 16 | DF | USA | Samantha Johnson |
| 17 | MF | USA | Lori Chalupny |
| 18 | GK | USA | Michele Dalton |
| 19 | FW | CAN | Adriana Leon |
| 20 | FW | MEX | Sofia Huerta |
| 23 | FW | USA | Christen Press |
| 24 | MF | USA | Danielle Colaprico |
| 34 | MF | USA | Mary Luba |

### Reserve players of first-team

Reserve players who appeared in the club's game day rosters during regular season. They should not be confused with the Chicago Red Stars Reserves team which compete in Women's Premier Soccer League.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | DF | USA | Kelley McCloskey |
| 26 | MF | USA | Jackie Esterkamp |
| 28 | FW | USA | Rachel Tejada |
| 29 | DF | USA | Lillie Toaspern |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | GK | USA | Monica Gonyo |
| 31 | DF | USA | Leigh Jakes |
| 32 | DF | USA | Natalie Horner |
Squad correct as of August 16, 2015

## 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 18, 2015 | 2013 College Draft | Princeton Tigers |
| 4 | MF | Alyssa Mautz | Feb 7, 2013 | in | May 2, 2015 | 2013 Supplemental draft | Chicago Red Stars |
| 13 | DF | Michelle Lomnicki | Feb 7, 2013 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | 2013 Supplemental draft | Sky Blue FC |
| 10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | Jan 17, 2014 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | 2014 College Draft | Illinois Fighting Illini |
| –– | FW | Hayley Brock | Jan 17, 2014 | in | –– | 2014 College Draft | Maryland Terrapins |
| 14 | DF | Taryn Hemmings | Sep 1, 2014 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Signed | Fortuna Hjorring (loaned to) |
| 17 | MF | Lori Chalupny | Sep 4, 2014 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Signed | Chicago Red Stars |
| 6 | DF | Abby Erceg | Sep 4, 2014 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Signed | FF USV Jena (loaned to) |
| 16 | DF | Samantha Johnson | Sep 5, 2014 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Returned | Sydney FC (loaned to) |
| 7 | MF | Shannon Boxx | Jan 14, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | Jan 15, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | Jan 15, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 19 | FW | Adriana Leon | Jan 15, 2015 | in | –– | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 1 | GK | Karina LeBlanc | Jan 15, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 9 | FW | Melissa Tancredi | Jan 15, 2015 | in | –– | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| 11 | FW | Rachel Quon | Jan 15, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Player allocation | Chicago Red Stars |
| –– | FW | Stephanie McCaffrey | Jan 16, 2015 | in | –– | 2015 College draft | Boston College |
| 3 | DF | Arin Gilliland | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | 2015 College draft | University of Kentucky |
| 24 | MF | Danielle Colaprico | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | 2015 College draft | University of Virginia |
| 20 | FW | Sofia Huerta | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | 2015 College draft | Santa Clara University |
| 12 | FW | Cara Walls | Jan 16, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | 2015 College draft | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| –– | FW | Nicole Setterlund | Jan 16, 2015 | in | –– | 2015 College draft | Washington State University |
| 28 | FW | Rachel Tejada | Jan 16, 2015 | in | May 9, 2015 | 2015 College draft | Illinois State University |
| –– | FW | Stephanie McCaffrey | Mar 4, 2015 | out | –– | Traded | Boston Breakers |
| –– | FW | Nicole Setterlund | Mar 6, 2015 | out | –– | Retired | –– |
| 5 | FW | Zakiya Bywaters | Apr 6, 2015 | out | –– | Recovering from surgery | –– |
| –– | FW | Hayley Brock | Apr 6, 2015 | out | –– | Returned to school | –– |
| 18 | GK | Michele Dalton | Apr 16, 2015 | in | Apr 18, 2015 | Signed | Kvarnsvedens IK |
| 17 | MF | Lori Chalupny | Apr 14, 2015 | out | May 2, 2015 | World Cup | United States |
| 7 | MF | Shannon Boxx | Apr 14, 2015 | out | May 2, 2015 | World Cup | United States |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | Apr 14, 2015 | out | May 2, 2015 | World Cup | United States |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | Apr 14, 2015 | out | May 2, 2015 | World Cup | United States |
| 19 | FW | Adriana Leon | Apr 28, 2015 | out | –– | World Cup | Canada |
| 1 | GK | Karina LeBlanc | Apr 28, 2015 | out | May 2, 2015 | World Cup | Canada |
| 9 | FW | Melissa Tancredi | Apr 28, 2015 | out | –– | World Cup | Canada |
| 25 | DF | Kelley McCloskey | –– | in | May 9, 2015 | Preseason trial | University of San Diego |
| 26 | MF | Jackie Esterkamp | –– | in | May 9, 2015 | Preseason trial | Cincinnati Christian University |
| 29 | DF | Lillie Toaspern | –– | in | May 9, 2015 | Preseason trial | Washington University in St. Louis |
| 20 | GK | Monica Gonyo | –– | in | May 9, 2015 | Preseason trial | Loyola University Chicago |
| 6 | DF | Abby Erceg | May 15, 2015 | out | May 15, 2015 | World Cup | New Zealand |
| 34 | MF | Mary Luba | Sep 2, 2015 | in | May 23, 2015 | Signed | Marquette University |
| 31 | DF | Leigh Jakes | –– | in | May 23, 2015 | Preseason trial | NiceFutis |
| 32 | DF | Natalie Horner | –– | in | Jun 28, 2015 | Preseason trial | University of Kentucky |
| 6 | DF | Abby Erceg | Jun 19, 2015 | in | Jun 28, 2015 | World Cup elimination | New Zealand |
| 19 | FW | Adriana Leon | Jun 27, 2015 | in | Jul 12, 2015 | World Cup elimination | Canada |
| 1 | GK | Karina LeBlanc | Jun 27, 2015 | in | Jul 12, 2015 | World Cup elimination | Canada |
| 9 | FW | Melissa Tancredi | Jun 27, 2015 | in | Jul 12, 2015 | World Cup elimination | Canada |
| 17 | MF | Lori Chalupny | Jul 5, 2015 | in | Jul 18, 2015 | World Cup final | United States |
| 7 | MF | Shannon Boxx | Jul 5, 2015 | in | Jul 18, 2015 | World Cup final | United States |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | Jul 5, 2015 | in | Jul 12, 2015 | World Cup final | United States |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | Jul 5, 2015 | in | Jul 12, 2015 | World Cup final | United States |
| 7 | MF | Shannon Boxx | Jul 27, 2015 | out | Jul 18, 2015 | Retired | –– |

## Management and staff
### Front Office

* Owner Arnim Whisler

### Coaching Staff

* Manager Rory Dames
* First Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach Trae Manny
* Second Assistant Coach Christian Lavers

## Regular-season standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 43 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | Chicago Red Stars | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 33 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | FC Kansas City (C) | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 32 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Washington Spirit | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 30 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Houston Dash | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 24 | |
| 6 | Portland Thorns FC | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 23 | |
| 7 | Western New York Flash | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 23 | |
| 8 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 22 | |
| 9 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 43 | −21 | 15 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 20 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 11 | +5 |
Last updated: September 6, 2015 Source: NWSLsoccer.com standings Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

### Results by round

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

## Match results

Win  Tie  Loss

### National Women's Soccer League
#### Regular season
#### NWSL awards

| Date | Award | Recipient | Reference |
| April 21, 2015 | Player of the week of week 2 | Christen Press | |
| May 1, 2015 | Player of the month of April | Christen Press | |
| May 12, 2015 | Player of the week of week 5 | Sofia Huerta | [26] [n 2] |
| May 19, 2015 | Player of the week of week 6 | Sofia Huerta | [27] [n 2] |
| June 3, 2015 | Player of the month of May | Sofia Huerta | |
| September 10, 2015 | Player of the week of week 21 | Karina LeBlanc | |
| September 14, 2015 | Rookie of the year 2015 | Danielle Colaprico | [30] [n 3] |
| September 25, 2015 | NWSL Best Eleven | Christen Press | |
| September 25, 2015 | NWSL Best Eleven | Julie Johnston | |
| September 25, 2015 | NWSL Second Eleven | Arin Gilliland | |
| September 25, 2015 | NWSL Second Eleven | Danielle Colaprico | |
| September 25, 2015 | NWSL Second Eleven | Sofia Huerta | |

## Squad statistics

Source: NWSL
Key to positions: FW – Forward, MF – Midfielder, DF – Defender, GK – Goalkeeper
| N | Pos | Player | GP | GS | Min | G | A | WG | Shot | SOG | Cro | CK | Off | Foul | FS | YC | RC |
| 7 | MF | Shannon Boxx | 4 | 2 | 231 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Lori Chalupny | 11 | 11 | 944 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Danielle Colaprico | 20 | 20 | 1776 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Vanessa DiBernardo | 20 | 19 | 1733 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 34 | 19 | 5 | 73 | 0 | 25 | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Abby Erceg | 14 | 12 | 1085 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Arin Gilliland | 19 | 17 | 1533 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Taryn Hemmings | 18 | 17 | 1528 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | FW | Jen Hoy | 18 | 14 | 1110 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Sofia Huerta | 19 | 15 | 1343 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | Leigh Jakes | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Samantha Johnson | 14 | 13 | 1215 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Julie Johnston | 11 | 11 | 990 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Adriana Leon | 5 | 4 | 277 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Michelle Lomnicki | 12 | 7 | 614 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Mary Luba | 3 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Alyssa Mautz | 15 | 13 | 1076 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Kelley McCloskey | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Christen Press | 11 | 10 | 931 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 50 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | Rachel Quon | 17 | 12 | 1046 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Melissa Tancredi | 8 | 2 | 246 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Rachel Tejada | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Cara Walls | 10 | 1 | 256 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| N | Pos | Goal keeper | GP | GS | Min | W | L | T | Shot | SOG | Sav | GA | GA/G | Pen | PKF | SO |
| 18 | GK | Michele Dalton | 12 | 12 | 1080 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 113 | 58 | 47 | 11 | .917 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 1 | GK | Karina LeBlanc | 8 | 8 | 720 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 79 | 39 | 28 | 11 | 1.375 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

### Chicago Red Stars team awards

On September 23 Chicago Red Stars announced the winners of 2015 team awards. For the second time in 2 years Julie Johnston was the recipient of the award for Defensive Most Valuable Player, having been named Defender of the Year in 2014. Lori Chalupny who was the Team Most Valuable Player in 2014, was named the Iron Women of Character. Christen Press was named Team Most Valuable player, and was in 2014 the Golden Boot recipient. Danielle Colaprico was named the team's Rookie of the Year, while she was also the recipient of the NWSL Rookie of the Year. Vanessa DiBernardo who had a team high of 5 assists, and served a team high of 73 corner kicks, was named the Unsung Hero.

#### Team Most Valuable Player

Christen Press

#### Defensive Most Valuable Player

Julie Johnston

#### Rookie of the Year

Danielle Colaprico

#### Unsung Hero

Vanessa DiBernardo

#### Iron Woman of Character

Lori Chalupny

## Images

| Team MVP Christen Press | Team Defensive MVP Julie Johnston | Rookie of the Year Danielle Colaprico | Unsung Hero Vanessa DiBernardo | Iron Woman of Character Lori Chalupny |