By Lesley Ryder
The Chicago Stars FC’s first Match Day-1 press conference was brimming with hope from team Captain, Alyssa Naeher, new head coach Martin Sjogren, and new signee, Jordyn Huitema.
After a last-place finish in 2025, Alyssa Naeher hopes the Stars can start this season on the right foot. It’s a long season, of course, but Naeher is approaching her 14th season premiere with the same mentality like any other match “We want to get a win. We want to get a shut out. We want to put together a good 90-minute performance,” Naeher remarked to media. “We want to execute on the things we’ve been working on, and show growth from last year.”
The Stars’ Captain sees a lot of potential in this season’s group. The offseason brought in seasoned veterans like Michelle Alozie and Brianna Pinto alongside NCAA standouts like Stanford’s Elise Evans. “I think we have a good young group with also a mix of some great veteran presences,” Naeher said. ”If we can get that combination right, I think we'll be able to continue to make great strides this year.”
High Energy, high belief
Up next came head coach Martin Sjogren. While he had hoped to get more time with his players after their preseason trip to Spain, he knows the fickle FIFA window timing comes for every team. The extended time away for so many veteran international players allowed them to give more reps to their young talent. “We know that throughout the season of 30 games in a very competitive league, we're going to need numbers in the squad. We're going to need depth in the squad. So I think this period has been good for for a lot of the young players coming in.”
When asked what his ideal first game would be, Sjogren joked “A 5-0 win.” Adding of course, with the excitement of what will certainly be a packed BMO Stadium, he had a good feeling about the match. “This week has been really good for us. So it's a high energy level in the within the team and the squad. And I just, you know, I just want us to maybe lower our shoulders a little bit and just really do the things we are training on. Having a high belief in that we are, what we're doing is going to take us, hopefully with that, of course, I want to win.”
Welcome to Chicago
Saturday’s pre-match presser also served as an introduction for the team’s new striker, Jordyn Huitema.
Chicago’s newest player knows the timing of her move isn’t the most ideal, but she’s excited to make a new start. “I think, like even off of what we've built in three trainings, it's already looking really special. So I'm excited to keep kind of growing that,” Huitema said in her introductory presser.
The Canadian international can already feel like herself around her new teammates. “[I] already feel friendships forming within a few days. So I think that's been exciting… obviously, it will take time to build into that more and more. But even feeling it this early is very exciting.” Huitema emphasized the decision to leave Seattle was career-focused. “The players and the teammates I had around me like were like sisters to me, and leaving them was the hardest part of this whole decision.”
Huitema comes in with high hopes for 2026 and beyond. “[I’m] definitely looking to be a goal scorer, a threatening nine. Once those relationships and opportunities start flowing, she of course wants to put them away and on the scoreboard. In her on-field play, she aims to be a more than just a tall target. “I think the diversity of being able to be a target and a spot to be a hold up nine is huge. And be able to link and get the team up higher on the field dominate aerially. I think it's exciting.”
Head coach Martin Sjogren noted that Jordyn Huitema comes into the Stars with a busy preseason between Seattle’s training, and Canada’s SheBelieve Cup campaign. She will be available for selection in tonight’s match, and will almost certainly make her debut.