With just one game left to go in the season, the Chicago Red Stars announced that head coach Chris Petrucelli will not be back for the 2024 season.
Assistant coach Ella Masar will lead the team in their final game against the OL Reign on Sunday. Masar joined the Red Stars at the start of this year.
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“We appreciate Chris’s service as coach, especially during this ownership, and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Red Stars owner Laura Ricketts.
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Petrucelli took over the team in February of 2022 following the resignation of Rory Dames, who stepped down amid allegations of emotional and verbal abuse.
The 2023 season has been a trying one for the Red Stars as the club as they missed out on the playoffs and are set to finish near the bottom of the league table. Chicago dealt with a number of departures prior to the start of the season and were unable to add enough players to replace them. Things got worse following the injury to forward Mallory Swanson.
With the new ownership, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise they would want to start their tenure with a head coach of their choosing. Finding a head coach is the latest addition on the Red Stars’ to-do list as they also need to find a general manager and decide whether they want to re-sign their free agents.
Some of those players out of contract at the end of the season include Swanson, Tierna Davidson, Bianca St. Georges and Casey Kreuger.
In his first season as head coach, Petrucelli guided the Red Stars to nine wins, six draws, seven losses and a sixth place finish. His record in 2023 was seven wins, three draws, 11 losses and, as things stand, a last place finish.