It turns out the Red Stars did sign a golden-boot-level striker this summer: Own Goal. The Red Stars notched two more in the OG column early in the second half of Sunday’s match with OL Reign to turn a 1-0 deficient into a 2-1 advantage and seize the lead for good.
Mallory Pugh provided the crosses for both, the first deflecting off of defender Lauren Barnes and looping over Sarah Bouhaddi in the Reign goal and the second a corner that bounced in off Alana Cook amidst a scrum of players in the six-yard-box (although Pugh asserted that she believes rookie defender Tatum Milazzo should be credited with the goal).