I knew by halftime that it wasn’t happening.
I say this with no pleasure, or smugness. It was just clear to me at halftime that the Chicago Red Stars were, for the fourth season in a row, unable to advance to the NWSL Championship game. Sure, the Red Stars were the better team on the night. They had more possession and a much higher passing accuracy. They had the better scoring chances. But this was an all too familiar script in the history of Chicago soccer. Playing out before us was the 2000 MLS Cup final between the Fire and Kansas City Wizards.