On July 21, the Chicago Red Stars fell to the host Racing Louisville FC 2-0 in UKG Challenge Cup play.
Racing Louisville had scored its two goals by the 19th minute of the match.
The star of the match for Chicago was Casey Krueger, who ranked in the top five among Red Stars players in Chances created (three), completed passes in the final third (seven), crosses attempted (four) and recoveries (seven).
Chicago will next play the Kansas City Current on Saturday, July 29, at 7 p.m. CT at SeatGeek Stadium.
The two-time defending-champion U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) began its quest for an unprecedented three-peat at the Women's World Cup by beating Vietnam 3-0 in Auckland, New Zealand on July 21. Sophia Smith scored two goals while Lindsey Horan added another.
This is the Asian country's first appearance at the women's soccer tournament.
Vietnam, ranked #32 in the world, did not attempt a single shot against the United States in the first half (while the Americans had 16 chances), NPR noted.
The United States has the most successful team in the history of the tournament, which began in 1991, having won the title four previous times. However, some have noticed that the gap between the Americans and other countries has closed significantly over the years.
The USWNT is playing its three matches in Group E playagainst Vietnam, the Netherlands and Portugalall in New Zealand. The Americans will next face the Netherlands (considered to be a tougher opponent) on Wed., July 26, at 8 p.m.; the match will air on Fox.
Andrew Davis