Unbroken: Boston 0, Red Stars 1, recap

The Chicago Red Stars are carrying on from 2015 by stringing together 1-0 wins in search of glory, as the struggling Boston Breakers served as unwitting prey to a Red Stars team out for blood.

The home side nearly went ahead in the 15th minute when a corner kick ping-ponged off of several Breakers heads and was just barely cleared off the line.

In the 40th minute, Julie Johnston decided to explore a possible post-soccer career in the WWE with a takedown of Kristie Mewis in the box. Mewis took the penalty and managed to beat her former teammate Alyssa Naeher, but the ball pinged the inside of the post and bounced out.

The Red Stars had their own chances in the first half but the only reason they went into the tunnel level was due to Boston’s bad luck more than anything else.

As is becoming Chicago’s tried and true formula, the team managed to hold the line until Christen Press found her moment. It came right around the hour mark when a half-cleared corner bounced to Press right on the edge of the box; she ran up and hit the half-volley, sending the ball careening into the upper corner.

After the goal, Boston seemed utterly deflated. While they had a few sorties forward, there just wasn’t enough in the team to pose much of a threat. The Red Stars held on through 92 minutes to secure their third win in four games.

We're seeing a formula with Chicago-- hold tight in the first half, go into halftime level, wait for Press to work some magic in the second half, then lock it all down. There are worse things to build an identity around.

The win lifts the Red Stars to second in the NWSL table, one point behind Washington. The Breakers remain bottom of the table having lost all four games of the campaign.

The Red Stars are back in action on Friday as they travel to Kansas City to take on the defending champions.