By Lesley Ryder
Ally Schlegel started her career with a bang.
The Englewood Colorado native was drafted by the Stars in 2023 out of Penn State University, and scored in her debut for the club against Seattle Reign. The Stars finished that season in last place, but new ownership, and a team revamp gave hope for brighter days ahead. The next season, Schlegel scored seven goals, sharing the team’s golden boot award with Mal Swanson. The rebuilding stars improved to a 10-1-14 record in 2024–good enough to sneak into the playoffs. While questions surround the Stars lineup ahead of the 2025 season, one thing is for certain–Ally Schlegel has the opportunity for a breakout season, and is poised to meet the challenge.
The third-year veteran credits her growth to her time spent on the field last season with Mal Swanson. “Of course, I'm asking her every question, and she would tell me ‘you can read the game!’ She's not really a black and white type of player, she's very intuitive. She's just, like, constantly reading and moving and adjusting… And I think Mal was challenging me to be thinking ahead, and read the game.” Schlegel told Gal Pal Sports.
It took time for Schlegel to let her intuition drive her play. “It’s kind of going back to, I don't know, your innate child, like, understanding of soccer, like, it's still this game. You're just reading space. I think this year I can see those improvements of not being so like so in my head. Cari [Onwualu] would always look at me and tell me like she sees the smoke coming out of my ears. Like, ‘you don't need to overthink this!”
After many hours of study, and with trust in her preparation, Schlegel feels she’s found her way “You can only be free if you actually understand what's going on, which is why last year was so important, because I was watching and studying and, re-watching and doing all the things. But now, because that work has been put in. It's giving me the ability, I think, to be a little bit more just like a little bit more free.”
With Swanson’s status for 2025 unknown, and Ludmila set to miss the first match of the season finishing a 2024 suspension, Schlegel may be leading the attack in Friday night’s season opener against the Orlando Pride–the same team that ended their 2024 campaign.
“In my mind, this is another start of our NWSL season. I don't want to say it's like, no different than the rest, but it's like we've been preparing for every single game. I always talk about “Chop Wood, Carry Water.” That's my favorite book, but like, that's what we're doing, chopping wood or carrying water or doing the preparation, and we're gonna go out there and really put our best, front foot out there.” The significance of the match-up is not lost on Schlegel. “It does matter that we think about how this is a team that knocked this out, but don't let it overcome [our] minds because it's still like, this is a new game, a new season, let's step into this fresh.”
Early season predictions place Chicago last in the league table, but Schlegel feels this 2025 squad is building on the work that began last season. “I think you can't really undermine how awesome it is to have consistency over the last two years. With this second year of having similar principles, a similar makeup of the team, I think we're really building on a lot of those things from last season and getting better at them. There’s really no replacement for time.”
The time together seems to be paying off for the Stars. “Our relationships have gotten so much better on the field. So the vibes are great. I think the girls are just buzzing.”
The good vibes on the Stars start from the top. “Lorne [Donaldson] is a relaxed, and funny guy.” “He wants to encourage soccer IQ. He wants us making our own decisions, reading the game, making decisions based on what's presented to us. And so I think you can just feel in the way we're playing together, that there's been growth in that.”
On a roster with young standouts like Micayla Johnson, and Alyssa Naeher, one of the last remaining original NWSL players, Schlegel falls somewhere in the middle. “I'm still asking my veterans and everybody questions all the time, but I also have a little bit more confidence in sharing my thoughts with the group, and being confident in what I'm saying.” Schlegel added “I feel so blessed and just reassured by having players who have really seen it all, like they have really seen it all, and I hope to be one of them one day.”
The gregarious Schlegel has become a prominent public face for the club. She featured in the Wrigley field promotion last season, (riding a mower, naturally) and started this season representing Chicago Stars FC at NWSL media day, and in the Amazon Prime documentary For the Win.
“These are just things I like doing. I obviously like talking. And so I have a lot of gratitude towards our club. I think they recognize that I enjoy those things.” Schlegel’s joy at this moment of the interview is palpable. “I love representing our club. I love representing what we're about. I love telling people about it, and I love talking about my teammates because they're so wonderful. I feel really, really grateful for it, and hope that I can continue to represent the club as best as possible, because that's really important to me, and it's important that, like, I'm sharing our experiences and getting our names out there.”
The Stars FC forward is an avid angler in her free time. “I feel like I learn a lot from the water, I really do, and I learn a lot from these fishies. I don't know how to explain it. It's just like such a “flow rhythm” experience for me. And there’s so much patience involved,” Schlegel beamed “I love the shirts that say it's called fishing, not catching for a reason. I've learned this so many times … fishing is like 20% catching a fish. It’s just like soccer, soccer is 80% training and relationships and conversations and figuring stuff out, and 20% of like, you know, having your face on a poster and scoring a goal and winning A championship–Not even 20% that's like 1% and 99% of it is all the rest. If you only care about the 1% or you're only focused on the 1%, what's the point of that? ”