It’s been a tricky start for Chicago, with two losses coming on two second-half penalty kicks. Though Mallory Swanson only has one goal so far (as compared to three and four respectively for her Big Three cohorts Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith), her dominance of the Red Stars attack makes her a very valuable fantasy asset. So far, she leads Chicago in shots/90, shots on goal/90, and chances created/90 – and she has almost twice as many as her closest competitor in all three categories. The goals will come as the new-look Red Stars work out the kinks in the early season.
In the meantime, what other Red Stars should you consider for your fantasy team? Chicago has implemented a 3-4-3 this season, and five other forwards have logged minutes so far. Of those, only Yuki Nagasato has played all 180 minutes, and, at this point, is probably the only other Red Star FW I would start until we get a little more clarity and consistency from the starting lineup. If your team features Sophia Smith and Alex Morgan, Yuki could prove to be an ideal third forward at only $175k. She’s already logged one goal and is working with one of the most prolific scorers in the league – this may be as close as you can reasonably get to having the whole Big Three in one XI. Also, though Yuki is a forward for FNWSL, she’s been playing in a defensive midfielder role so far this year, giving her additional upside for defensive points.
Unfortunately, it’s a similar situation in the midfield, as only Cari Roccaro has played every minute so far and there probably is not enough consistency in the Red Stars lineup to commit a fantasy lineup spot at MF. In the back line, Tatumn Milazzo continues to be a lock in the starting XI while the other two spots are filled by some combination of Tierna Davidson, Arin Wright, and Casey Krueger. I’m never going to tell you to not play Milazzo, but considering the number of fouls and goals conceded by Chicago in the first two rounds, you could probably get the same value from one of the other three at a lower cost. My choice would be Davidson, as her minutes will continue to increase as she recovers from her ACL injury, and she costs only $150k. For what it’s worth, the Red Stars have logged the most clearances by a significant margin and are also top three in interceptions.