Late goal lifts Stars past Bay FC
By Lesley Ryder
The Chicago Stars won their first match since April 25th. All it took was a two-player advantage, and a moment of brilliance from Mallory Swanson.
Bay FC went down a player early thanks to an effort at goal by Jordyn Huitema. Defender Aldana Cometti tripped up the Chicago striker as she tried to cut past. The center official ruled the play a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, and ejected Cometti from the match in just the 12th minute of play.
Despite the player advantage, Bay FC seemed to open the scoring. In the 39th minute Cristiana Girelli set up a Taylor Huff goal, but a VAR review ruled an offside pass in the build-up.
Mallory Swanson entered the match after a scoreless first half. The halftime entry built on her minutes since returning to the squad from maternity leave. Though her presence seemed to boost the Stars, Bay FC continued to gain opportunities on the attack.
But the plucky Bay FC effort took another blow in the 62nd minute. Maitane sent a long pass downfield hoping to catch Ryan Gareis on the run. Jordan Silkowitz came out of her box to charge, but misjudged the ball’s trajectory. She jumped to catch the pass as it started to bounce over her head, and was swiftly shown a red card for the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.
Now the Stars had a two-player advantage. In the 70th minute, Maitane sent a pass out wide right to Mal Swanson. The advantage gave Swanson room to dribble closer to goal. She touched the ball left, and sent a shot right beating keeper Emmy Allen to the short side. The goal marked Swanson’s first tally for the Stars since July 6, 2024.
Swanson left the match in the 90th minute after appearing to suffer an ankle injury. Fortunately after the match head coach Martin Sjogren told reporters that it was a precautionary measure.
Bay FC continued to fight back. In the second half they took 21 touches in the Chicago box, to Chicago’s 12. They were nearly even on total shots. As the last of 11 minutes of stoppage time ticked away, Bay FC’s Hannah Bebar rocked a strike off the crossbar. Chicago survived with the lead at the final whistle to take their first win in nearly a month.
“We should dominate more”
The Chicago Stars are plenty happy to take three points and climb out of last place, but the difficult path to victory with a two player advantage must be examined. “It took a little while before we got into it,” Sjogren said after the match. “I think we should dominate more, but I think the the state that we are in, that we have been losing a lot of games lately, I also think that affects the players.” It seemed the players wanted the win so badly that they took a step back, rather than a step forward.
But three points are three points. “I'm so happy that we have won this game, because we really needed it, and the girls been working so hard, so I think we deserved to win.” Sjogren had plenty of praise to give his team, especially Swanson in her return to the scoresheet. “When she comes on, then all of a sudden we create chances and we create breakthroughs,” Sjogren said. “I'm really happy for us, and I'm also really happy for her sake, because she's been away for a long time, and now we also see what kind of impact she has.”
Katie Atkinson shared the gaffer’s sentiment on Swanson’s return. “I think it gives our whole team confidence to have such an amazing player out there on the field. I think her leadership and what she brings to the field gives everybody energy to know that, like, we have a threat there,” Atkinson said. “We're so happy for her to come in and to make such an impact so early. Yeah, we're really lucky to have her.”
Atkinson returned in goal for the Stars after missing the last four matches with a thigh injury. She picked up her second clean sheet result in three appearances.
Up next: a familiar foe
The Stars will close out the first part of the season at home on Sunday against San Diego Wave FC, a team that bullied them for all 90 minutes in their last meeting on March 28th. Sjogren is hopeful that this win can power them to a positive result. “We know it's going to be a tough game. San Diego is one of the best teams, I think, in this league.” Player advantages aside in this last match, there were still positive things to pull from their experience. “I think if we do some of the things we did today, I think we at least will put up a good performance.”
Head coach Martin Sjogren also hopes that the league’s parity can keep the door open for the Stars. “We also know that this league is so, it's so even, and everyone can beat everyone, so we know also that the objective is still to make it to the playoffs.”
As of today, the Stars sit in fifteenth place on the league table—five points, and 17 goals behind the 8th-place Orlando Pride.
[Photo by Gretchen Schneider, courtesy of Chicago Stars FC]