By Lesley Ryder
In 2023, the Chicago Red Stars finished in last place. They missed the playoffs for the first time in team history. After several seasons of embarrassing scandals, former owner Arnim Whisler finally sold the team to Laura Ricketts and her women-led investment group. The new leadership group promised a fresh start, and a better future for the troubled club. Laura Ricketts made her goals for the organization clear: "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.”
Two years later, the Stars are a different organization off the field, but they find themselves back in the throes of another chaotic season led by four different head coaches, and a potential last-place finish. The 2026 season is set to be the third year of GM Richard Fuez’s rebuild. The Stars future success will rest on what lessons Fuez takes away from the last calendar year. For now, the Chicago Stars are suffering a crisis of their own making. A lack of sporting vision, and spending on the open market has stalled the promise of a new beginning.
Early doom
The Stars 2025 season has been difficult from the start. After a quiet offseason, preseason camp opened with the announcement of Mal Swanson’s absence, and a roster featuring four healthy defenders. The backline ranks thinned even further after Natalia Kuikka suffered a knee injury on international duty for Finland. Despite the roster shortfall, the team chose not to make additional signings in the winter window.
When Richard Fuez was asked about the lack of winter business, he spoke of a desire to not spend money on transactions whenever possible. He proudly touted the fact that the team hadn’t spent a single dollar on the transfer market since his arrival.
How did Fuez’s business strategy work out? Well, opening day brought the worst loss in team history at the hands of the Orlando Pride. The team started the season with a 1-5 record. Four of those losses were clean sheets for the opponent. Head coach Lorne Donaldson was fired after six matches, giving way to the first interim head coach of the season, Masaki Hemmi.
A coaching carousel
Hemmi couldn’t fare much better than his predecessor. It’s not surprising, as Hemmi didn’t do much to change the Stars’ play on the field. In his first two matches in charge, he continued with the same Starting XI as Donaldson.
He led the team to a 0-4-3 in the seven games leading up to the midseason break. On July 1st, the Stars announced Hemmi was leaving the club for a permanent head coach position at Lexington SC of the USL Super League. Assistant coach Ella Masar became the team’s second interim head coach.
The Ella Masar era brought the most striking change to the Stars so far. The Stars came out of the summer break revitalized. They were eager to press and fight for possession in the midfield. A familiar grit returned to their game. Masar credited the change to the team’s accountability work over the summer break, where players crafted their own mission statement for the season moving forward.
Chicago’s players responded well to Masar’s leadership. In the four games with Masar at the helm, the Stars went undefeated with four straight draws, including two late comeback results against Seattle and North Carolina. But Masar’s time as interim head coach came to a close with the announcement of next season’s new permanent head coach hire, Martin Sjogren. New assistant coach Anders Jacobson became the team’s third interim head coach of the season.
Jacobson continued the Stars unbeaten run out of the break, extending the streak to 7 games. The Stars notched their second win on the season at their new future home in Evanston in a decisive 5-1 revenge match against the Orlando Pride. Chicago’s hot streak finally went cold on the road in Houston, and the Stars playoff hopes went on ice after Friday’s 4-1 loss in Kansas City.
Now what?
Chicago’s technical staff eventually made signings during the summer transfer window, adding German defender Kathrin Hendrich, Sam Cary Angel, and Colombian Ivonne Chacón. Angel signed for an undisclosed fee, and Chacón signed for a reported deal worth nearly half a million Euro.
The signings were welcome, but they came six months too late to help the Stars playoff hopes. Even the strongest second half can’t make up for a one-win first half in the most competitive league in the world.
After Friday night’s match, I asked Ally Schlegel about the team’s growth over this past season. “I think each and every one of us has grown on the field, off the field, in our character, in how we show up. I mean, we all know these cliches of you get put through the fire, and that ends up refining you. And I think that these are definitely those moments that we're living in real time. And I think right now, it is difficult to see that in its entirety, but [I’m] definitely not letting that go.”
Interim coach Jacobson praised the group for their strength and resilience. “When I see this squad, [they’ve] been through many difficulties, I think, this year, but there are some things in this group and the staff that has amazed me, and that is, they want to be better. And I have the feeling that players know that we have started a project that is going forward.”
All season, players and coaches alike have commented on the team’s resilience through difficult times. But this season begs the question, why should this team spend the season suffering when leadership has promised something better? Why should players sign on to this group project that has yet to take off in two years? These are questions that the Stars organization must answer if they want to join the ranks of successful NWSL clubs.