Chicago Red Stars Injury Update: Alyssa Naeher Unlikely vs. Gotham FC

It’s looking like the Chicago Red Stars will be without their starting goalkeeper and captain Alyssa Naeher when they face off against the defending NWSL champions Gotham FC on Sunday.

Red Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson said during his weekly media session that the club is “still evaluating [Naeher], but no, it doesn’t look good” regarding her availability for the match in Harrison, New Jersey.

So that leaves Mackenzie Wood, who replaced Naeher after she was injured last weekend, and New Jersey native Sydney Schneider as the goalkeepers for Chicago this weekend. Neither has ever started a match in the NWSL but Wood has been the backup to Naeher all season, leaving her as the presumed starter for the weekend.

Wood finally made her NWSL debut in Chicago’s 2-1 win over Utah last weekend and conceded a fabulous goal to Cameron Tucker while making a single save. Wood has two starts as a professional, both of which came this January in the Coupe de France Féminine while she was on loan with Stade de Reims. The Granger, Indiana native made 86 appearances in college between her four seasons at Northwestern and fifth year at Notre Dame while conceding less than a goal per match.

Schneider joined the Red Stars in the offseason after making 15 appearances since 2022 with Czech side AC Sparta Praha. The Jamaican international was selected 29th overall by the Washington Spirit in the 2021 NWSL Draft and spent a season there before joining the Kansas City Current in 2022 and eventually making the move to Europe. Schneider was a standout at UNC-Wilmington and has made 12 appearances (10 starts) for Jamaica on the international level.

Donaldson has plenty of belief in his two available goalkeepers, who he thinks need more competitive minutes to take the next step in their careers.

“Both keepers just need games. I think they’re both good keepers, they’re backing up the best ‘keeper in the world, so they just need to find time to get games. I wish there was a system in this country where you can loan somebody out and they come back and have some games. They just need more games, they’re good ‘keepers.”

What’s On Tap Next?

The Red Stars will be in New Jersey on Saturday to play Gotham FC. The match will kick off at 4 PM CT and will air on NWSL+.