No. 6 Chicago Red Stars join No. 4 Houston Dash in the NWSL Challenge Cup Final

Topics: NWSL Challenge Cup, Sky Blue FC, Chicago Red Stars, Bianca St. Georges, Rachel Hill, Savannah McCaskill, Evelyn Viens, Houston Dash

The Chicago Red Stars defeated Sky Blue FC 3-2 to join the Houston Dash in the NWSL Final scheduled for July 26 at Rio Tinto Stadium

Chicago did not hesitate to bring out the big guns against Sky Blue on Wednesday night's NWSL Challenge Cup semifinal. The artillery shells began to drop early in the match with Canadian fullback Bianca St. Georges and forward Rachel Hill scoring a goal each after just 11 minutes.

Despite dominating possession in the first half, the Beez lacked finishing shooting seven times with no shots on target. They did get themselves in good positions to score, but it wasn’t until the second half that they would start capitalizing on those.

The Red Stars scored a third in the 60th minute via Savannah McCaskill adding more weight on Sky Blue head coach Freya Coombe’s shoulders. A ticket to the final seemed nearly impossible at this point.

Blink and you'll miss this @chiredstarsPR counter.@smccaskill_21 makes it !

3-0 | #CHIvNJ

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/o1AocPNFV9
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 23, 2020

However, Coombe decided to start moving her chess pieces introducing rookie forward Evelyne Viens from the University of South Florida and forward Imani Dorsey on the 67th minute. The results were positive as Viens went on to score her first professional goal to make it 3-1. And the deficit was cut to just one goal after Red Stars captain Julie Ertz scored an own goal making it 3-2.

@EvelyneViens20 pulls one back!

3-1 | #CHIvNJ

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/o4z4ovUNl9
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 23, 2020

Just like that, what looked like an easy walk on the park for Chicago turned into a careful walk on a tightrope. Anyhow, Sky blue fell short in spite of controlling the closing 20 minutes of the game.

The scenes after the final whistle told the story of the match. Barely any celebrations came from the Red Stars squad given how close they were to giving away a three-goal lead.

Chicago will be matching-up against the Houston Dash in the NWSL Challenge Cup Final on July 26 at Rio Tinto Stadium.