A season ago, the Chicago Red Stars traveled to the Maryland SoccerPlex to take on the Washington Spirit. It was a Wednesday night in early August, and while the Spirit had long been eliminated from postseason contention, the Red Stars were still alive, however barely. But Chicago needed a lot of things - among those, a lot of help from other teams - to stay alive. The part of their own destiny that the Red Stars could control was to get a win in DC. But the pesky late-summer weather kept getting in the way. Lightning forced the teams off the field in the 77th minute, with the Spirit leading 1-0. When play finally resumed, more than an hour later, both teams came out firing. Chicago’s season was on the line, and Washington badly wanted the win which would have been its first at home and just the second on the season, some small solace in a disappointing year.
NWSL, week 18 preview: The penultimate week
Two weeks to go, two postseason spots still up for grabs. Washington, Portland and Chicago fight for the playoffs as the season hits the homestretch.
The restart lasted three minutes before the lightning alarms went off in Maryland, again. The referees conferred, then-Red Stars captain Leslie Osborne pulled her best Jack McCoy courtroom-style plea, the fans chanted for the game to go on. But it never resumed, the clock - and the Red Stars season - permanently stuck at 80:04. Nearly an hour after the second delay was called, the game ended, as did Chicago’s slim postseason hopes.
A year later - almost to the day - the weather that had ended Chicago’s postseason dream came for a visit again, and with it a two hour delay in Kansas City and an eventual solitary half that would be all the Blues needed to clinch a home playoff game. The 2-1, 45 minute win assures a second straight second place finish for Kansas City, with three other teams -- Washington, Portland and Chicago -- left to fight it out for the honor of not having to play Seattle in the first round.
Chicago Red Stars vs. FC Kansas City
Benedictine U. Sports Complex Stadium, Saturday 8:00 PM ET
While the playoffs are a sure thing for FCKC, Chicago is still on the outside of the postseason picture looking in, and the gap between the fifth place Red Stars and fourth place Thorns is at five points. A Chicago win would put Rory Dames’ side at least temporarily two points back on Portland, and with a game in hand on the Thorns, still very much alive. But as a win could save Chicago, a loss would all but totally sink the Red Stars’ ship. Chicago would be eliminated with a loss, a Spirit win or draw, and Portland win on Sunday. To get their win, the Red Stars will have to beat a team they’ve lost to twice this season and that boasts the league’s second leading scorer in Amy Rodriguez, who netted her 13th of the season on Wednesday.
Houston Dash vs. Sky Blue FC
BBVA Compass Stadium, Saturday 9:00 PM ET
The already-eliminated Dash take on the all-but-eliminated Sky Blue FC in the game that is, of course, our ESPN3 game for the week. Sky Blue is currently just a point from elimination, and would need a win and a Portland loss to stay alive. The Jersey side hasn’t had much luck against the Dash this season, dropping the only previous meeting 3-0. Sky Blue is coming off a 1-0 win over Western NY last week, while Houston hasn’t won since July 11th, gaining only a single point in its last five games. Saturday is the final home game for the Dash, before closing out its inaugural season next weekend in Boston.
Seattle Reign FC vs. Washington Spirit
Moda Pitch Memorial Stadium, Saturday 10:00 PM ET
Yael Averbuch’s stoppage-time heroics last weekend put the Spirit on the edge of the postseason a year after finishing dead last, and a win on Saturday would clinch a playoff berth for Washington. But they’ll have to go through Seattle to get it, and the Reign is firing on all cylinders with just two regular season games remaining. Seattle will head into the postseason as the top seed, regardless of what happens in those two games, and while Washington can’t fall out of the top four this weekend, the Spirit could drop into fourth, lining this one up as a possible first round preview.
Boston Breakers vs. Portland Thorns FC
Harvard Stadium, Sunday 6:30 PM ET
The Thorns, like Washington, aren’t in danger of dropping out of a playoff spot this weekend, but a win and Chicago loss would clinch a playoff spot for Portland. But while a match with the bottom-of-the-table Breakers may seem like a sure thing, the two previous meetings between the teams have been anything but predictable. Each side has won one round of the thrice-annual Crazytown Goalfest, with the teams combining to score 14 times. In two games. So, we’re pretty much guaranteed an alien pitch invasion, 0-0 draw and for frogs to start falling from the sky in this one, right?
The Breakers have allowed a massive 51 goals this season, 16 of those in their last five games, which is exactly what you want heading into a game against one of the league’s top offenses. The Thorns are coming off a 1-0 win over Houston that saw 19,123 fans pack Providence Park last weekend, while Boston remained incapable of just playing a normal game, on Wednesday adding “loss in a 45 minute mini-match” to the list of ridiculously inexplicable things that they’ve been involved in this season.
