Chicago Red Stars lose Michele Vasconcelos for rest of 2019 season
The Chicago Red Stars received some heart-breaking news this week, as forward Michele Vasconcelos suffered a torn ACL in the team’s Week 12 loss to Sky Blue FC. Her 2019 season is over.
Few players have been forced to overcome as much as Michele Vasconcelos, who was in the midst of a critical bounce-back year as a key player for the Chicago Red Stars. Vasconcelos registered on the score sheet twice and assisted three times in her first 11 games in 2019, with both of those goals being her first in the NWSL after being the 11th overall pick in 2017.
Sadly, Vasconcelos will be unable to add to her banner year. The Red Stars officially announced that the 25-year-old forward tore her ACL in a non-contact injury during the team’s 2-1 Week 12 loss to Sky Blue FC, making the sting of the loss to the NWSL’s worst team (Sky Blue hadn’t won a game prior to Week 12) even worse. This is the second torn ACL of her soccer career.
Vasconcelos’s injury leaves a hole in Chicago’s attack, and it puts more focus on Savannah McCaskill, whom Vasconcelos replaced as a substitute before her injury, to produce at a high level in her absence alongside superstar striker Sam Kerr. McCaskill has already made a profound impact on Chicago’s attack since joining the team via a trade from Sky Blue FC in mid-June.
The Red Stars enter Week 13’s matchup with the Houston Dash, who are also reeling from star player and World Cup standout Nichelle Prince’s injury, in the bottom-half of the NWSL table in sixth placed. Vasconcelos’s injury means that making the playoffs will be even more difficult for the Red Stars, but, as of today, they would only be four points behind the fourth-placed Washington Spirit for the final spot. And they do have Kerr and McCaskill as main attacking options with Vanessa DiBernardo and Danielle Colaprico also chipping in.
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But above all else, best wishes go to Michele Vasconcelos in her recovery. Any injury is heart-breaking, but especially an ACL tear to a player who was having a heart-warming comeback season. Here’s to hoping Vasconcelos will once again be back with a vengeance in 2020.
In the meantime, let’s look back at this wondergoal she scored on Mother’s Day.