NC’s Ally Schlegel scores against her former side
By Lesley Ryder
Mallory Swanson returned to the field for Chicago Stars FC for the first time in November 8, 2024, but it wasn’t enough to power the squad on the scoreboard. After a scoreless first half, the Courage rallied to a 4-0 win, extending the Stars’ losing streak to four games.
Adding injury to insult, the Stars lost goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to an apparent hamstring injury in the 21st minute. With Katie Atkinson already on the injury list, Hallie Mackiewicz donned the gloves for the remainder of the game.
While the first half played scoreless, the Courage had their chances at goal. In the 9th minute, Ryan Williams went unopposed down the right side and sent a cross in to 2025 midfielder of the year Manaka Matsukubo. Fortunately for the Stars, the unmarked Manaka’s touch sent the ball over a gaping net.
In the second half, the Stars conceded yet another early goal. in the 47th minute, Ashley Sanchez crossed a ball from outside the box, and Evelyn Ijeh headed it past Mackiewicz for her first goal of the season.
Fourteen minutes later, Ashley Sanchez notched her own goal on a sequence that made the Chicago defense look disoriented.
The onslaught continued with Ally Schlegel scoring her first goal of 2026 against her former side. Manaka Matsukubo spin-cycled her fellow countrywoman Manaka Hayashi and sent a pass that eluded two Chicago defenders to find Ally Schlegel in prime position. Halle Mackiewicz charged forward, but Schlegel’s strike sailed to the back corner of the net.
In the middle of North Carolina’s barrage, the Stars welcomed Mallory Swanson back to the pitch for the first time in 554 days. Her arrival brings some much-needed good news to a team that’s only scored four goals in ten games.
After 86 minutes of dazzling play to set up her teammates, Manaka Matsukubo collected a goal off a corner kick opportunity. She stutter-stepped right to set Kathy Hendrich off balance, then curved a shot around Sam Staab and past a diving Mackiewicz for the fourth goal of the match.
With Saturday’s loss, the Stars drop their fourth-straight game and fall to last place on the table. They now own the longest losing streak in the NWSL.
“It sucks, more or less,” Chicago head coach Martin Sjogren told the media after the match. “We also have a lot of the ‘almost’ opportunities in the breakthrough in the first half, but then when we came out, we let two easy goals in at the start of the second half, which kind of makes this game really hard to to win.”
Defensive Woes continue
The Courage moved the ball with ease, as if they were unopposed. The Stars defended with hesitancy, as if they didn’t know where they were supposed to go. Some of that confusion may be genuine. An injury-depleted lineup forced the Stars to once again move players into unfamiliar roles. With Michelle Alozie becoming the latest defender to join the injured list, Nadia Gomes became the latest forward called to try her hand at defending. It’s admirable she stepped up, but the Stars should have never put Gomes in this position.
Last winter, the Stars began their season with just four healthy defenders. Taylor Wood’s Ironwoman season saved the team from these same short-handed times. Since then, the team brought in true defenders Kathrin Hendrich, Michele Alozie, and Aaliyah Farmer. But with Natalia Kuikka and Taylor Wood suffering long-term injuries in preseason, the Stars are still working with a defender deficit in a curse of their own making.
So far, the Stars have tried Tessa Dellarose, Emma Egizii, Bea Franklin, Maitane, Jenna Bike, and Nadia Gomes in defending positions. Curiously, they’ve never tried Elise Evans, an actual defender they recruited in the offseason. [More on that here, I gotta keep it moving- LR]
As a result of this defender plug-n-play, the Stars have already conceded 22 goals in the first third of the 2026 season. Their four goals scored makes for a lopsided -18 goal differential—the worst in the league by twelve goals.
Understandably, June’s World Cup break can’t come soon enough. The Stars are team in desperate need for a reset, and regroup. “My main focus is like trying to make this team better every week. I haven't really succeeded with that,” Sjogren is hopeful that the break will help players return to the squad healthy. “Something that has been a problem for us throughout the season is player availability [its] had an impact on the way we perform.”
But injuries come for every team, every season. Those who prepare by building depth into their roster find a way through the tough times and move forward.
Return of the Mal
Mal Swanson’s return will be a welcomed boost to the attacking line, but what can she do for a Stars side that struggles to bring the ball forward? As far as we know, the Chicago Stars aim to be a possession based team that builds up their attack. The problem is, the Stars don’t have the roster to make that dream a reality. The Stars’ suffered through this problem with a healthy Swanson in 2024. Though they made the playoffs, they were last in the league in just about every progressive measure on the field. Swanson scored seven goals in the first half of the season, but was held scoreless after the Olympic break.
Not much has changed for the Stars since then. They still struggle to progress the ball upfield, and in some games, have struggled to even put a shot on net until the later stages of the game. A Star can’t score without chances.
Not great, Bob!
With the Stars floundering towards another season at the bottom of the table it’s difficult to gauge the temperature from the Chicago front office. The threat of another losing season ought to be spurring some kind of response from an ownership group that vowed to bring a team out of the darkness cast by their previous owner into the light. Upon completing the $60-million sale, Laura Ricketts told fans "To build the world-class organization that our fans deserve, we need to attract the world's best players, coaches, and staff, as well as create an environment that fosters their success. We're going to make that happen.”
Nearly three years later, the Stars may have a new name, and a new crest, but they remain in the same place they were at the end of that 2023 season: dead last. For now, Stars fans are left waiting for a promise that may never be fulfilled.