Stars end long home dry spell with win over Pride

Chicago Stars FC 5-2 Orlando Pride

EVANSTON, IL—It had been 351 days since Chicago Stars FC had won a home game, 147 days since the Stars won any game. Both streaks are now over as the Stars defeated Orlando Pride, 5-2, at Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University—their home in 2026. 

It was the first time that the Stars have scored five in a match in seven years and three days (2,560 days). In terms of matches, the win ended a 12-match home winless streak and 14-match winless streak this season. Orlando, who had beaten the Stars 6-0 in the season opener, has now lost three on the bounce and are now winless in their last eight. 

All of the scoring occurred in the second half starting in the 50th minute as Sam Staab would put a free kick into the upper 90 to give the Stars the lead. Three minutes later, the Pride responded as Haley McCutcheon would feed Carson Pickett who would beat Alyssa Naeher far post. 

The Stars’ response to that goal was even quicker. Ninety seconds after Orlando’s equalizer, Jameese Joseph would restore the Stars’ lead. That lead would then extend. 

Ludmilla would get her first ever NWSL assist send a cross into the area that Bea Franklin would head in to make it 3-1. Four minutes later, Grosso would be on the end of a long ball and found space between two defenders to make it 4-1. 

Orlando would pull one more back three minutes laters as McCutcheon getting on the end of a cross from Julie Doyle. But Ludmilla would put the match to bed in the 89th minute after bundling in a cross from Nadia Gomes for her tenth of the year—becoming the fourth player in club history to net ten in a single season. 

It had been seven years since the Stars had scored five in a match and that match over what is now Gotham FC saw five different Stars players score on that day. 

In their future home, before the largest crowd of the season for a standalone match (10,127), there was a sense of added energy that hasn’t been at Bridgeview in recent years. 

“I feel like it’s just a really cool atmosphere and a lot more people can come now and it’s really good vibes and I think that the new stadium gave us that win,” said Stars midfielder Julia Grosso. 

“I can second that,” said Jameese Joseph. “I would say that just being on the field and just the atmosphere, obviously a smaller venue allows a lot more people to come so it feels like it’s packed out so I definitely felt like it was packed having the band there, it was nice having like music and stuff. So I felt like calm and stuff when I was playing, I would say, because of everyone there.”

The Stars still have three more home games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview and the first of those will be next Sunday against Portland at 2pm CT (Paramount+) while Orlando will look to change their fortunes at home Saturday against Bay FC (5pm ET, Ion) .

Photos by Leslie Smith

SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Sam Staab (unassisted) 50
ORL-Carson Pickett (McCutcheon) 53
CHI-Jameese Joseph (Grosso) 54
CHI-Bea Franklin (Ludmilla) 65
CHI-Julia Grosso (Biegalski) 69
ORL-Haley McCutcheon (Doyle) 72
CHI-Ludmilla (Nadia Gomes) 89

BOOKING SUMMARY:
ORL-Rafaelle (caution, reckless foul) 48
CHI-Bea Franklin (caution, tactical foul) 81
CHI-Jameese Joseph (caution, unsporting behavior) 85
CHI-Leilanni Nesbeth (caution, tactical foul) 90+4

CHICAGO STARS FC (4-3-1-2):  #1-Alyssa Naeher; #30-Camryn Biegalski, #3-Sam Staab, #6-Kathrin Hendrich, #32-Taylor Malham; #21-Julia Grosso, #77-Maitane (#26-Nadia Gomes 75), #20-Bea Franklin; #34-Ally Schlegel; #8-Jameese Joseph (#13-Leilanni Nesbeth 88), #14-Ludmilla  

Subs Not Used:  #19-Mackenzie Wood, #2-Samantha Angel, #7-Ava Cook, #11-Meg Boade, #16-Manaka Hayashi, #23-Micayla Johnson. #41-Hannah Anderson

ORLANDO PRIDE (4-2-3-1):  #1-Anna Moorhouse; #19-Carson Pickett (#8-Luana 76), #4-Rafaelle, #12-Cori Dyke, #6-Emila Sams; #2-Haley McCutcheon, #15-Angelina; #10-Marta (#28-Summer Yates 76), #30-Ally Lemos (#11-Ally Watt 71), #21-Oihane (#20-Julie Doyle 46); #18-Simone Charley (#13-Jacquie Ovalle 46)

Subs Not Used:  #40-McKinley Crone, #14-Vivana Villacorta, #23-Grace Chanda, #35-Simone Jackson

TOTAL SHOTS:  CHI 19-13 ORL
SHOTS ON GOAL:  CHI 8-5 ORL
FOULS:  CHI 12-11 ORL
OFFSIDES:  CHI 2-0 ORL
CORNER KICKS:  CHI 3-2 ORL
SAVES: CHI 3-3 ORL

Referee:  Mark Verso
Assistant Referees:  Sarah Gaddes, Brian Marshall
Fourth Official:  Ryan Shanklin
VAR:  Anya Voight
AVAR:  John Krill
Weather:  Sunny and 62º
Attendance:  10,127
Woman of the Match:  Julia Grosso (CHI)

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