The Stars Didn’t Align Opening Night
Chicago Stars fall 6-0 to Orlando Pride in historic loss
Hey, this is new too!
Hi everyone, it’s LT, from the news side of things at Red Stars Report. What you’re about to dive into is our first opinion piece on the website from our very own Liz. Liz is my Co-Host on the Red Stars Report Podcast. “Liz’s Recaps” may become a weekly fixture on the site to pair with our news content. Enjoy the first edition with Liz’s thoughts on the match against Orlando and what to look for in the Houston match this weekend!
What went wrong?
Chicago started the 2025 season off in what looked to be the much-desired formation change to a 4-3-3, which unfortunately lost its shape into a five-back for most of the match. The team simply couldn’t handle the onslaught of attacks from the Orlando Pride and lost to the reigning champs 6-0. Orlando’s ability to use the width of the pitch by having Marta and Barbara Banda on opposite sides really caused problems for the Stars.
After spending the 2024 season in the midfield, Bea Franklin was asked to start the season in the role of center back. Given the current injuries to Natalia Kuikka and Maitane Lopez, and the pending return of Sam Staab to the defensive line, the role fell to Franklin. She was paired with another second year player, Hannah Anderson, who really impressed last season as a rookie. The center back pairing was flanked by Taylor Malham and Cam Biegalski. The talent of Orlando’s front-line just overwhelmed the back line of Chicago to the point of them being bombarded repeatedly by the Pride attack, anchored by Barbara Banda.
Chicago chose to sit back in a lower block this match in an attempt to absorb some of the offensive pressure from Orlando and then counter down the pitch to their own attacking players. This sort of tactic is extremely tough to do against a team that is so offensively gifted. This playing style is something Chicago fans are used to from the previous season. In this particular match, they couldn’t possess the ball enough to make any sort of progression down the pitch to sustain any momentum. The Pride boasted a whopping 89% pass accuracy, according to Fotmob, against the Stars. That high of a passing accuracy and the high level of talent on Orlando’s roster is a recipe for disaster against a team that is attempting to keep a low block formation together.
Too many times the Chicago midfield was dropping back to the back line to help cover. This created a multitude of problems on both sides of the ball. When players were bailing out and dropping back during the Orlando offensive pressure it was creating gaps around the top of the 18 and opening up space for the Orlando attackers to utilize. You can’t give players like Banda and Marta that much room to work or you will pay and Chicago certainly paid for it.
When Chicago did regain possession on the back line it was a struggle for them to progress down the pitch. When your midfield is dropping all the way back that creates a large gap between your back line and front line. That’s why it felt like every time there was any sort of loose ball in Orlando’s offensive half of the pitch they were getting to them. Next week against Houston, I’m hoping to see less bailing out in the midfield and more attempts to regain possession and movement down the pitch.
After the match, Head Coach Lorne Donaldson stated that “Orlando is just better.” While Orlando is a very talented team, losing a game 6-0 is more than a team being better than you. Bringing Sam Staab into her first game post Achilles injury and playing her at central defensive midfielder was a perplexing move. That was one of several changes that didn’t make sense to me.
Tactically, something has to change for the Stars to be able to compete. This means things have to systemically change from the coaches all the way down through the players. If the tactics are to sit back and absorb pressure with a young and inexperienced back line you are setting players up to fail and they did. The coaching staff has to “be better.”
Orlando is an incredibly talented team that won the shield and championship last year, and played in the Challenge Cup against Washington Spirit the week before, which allowed them to be a little more in-form. So it was a tough task going against them in the first match of the season.
Bright spots
As mentioned, Franklin started as a center back for Chicago in the opener, alongside Anderson. I think they both played well for what was being asked of them. Banda did get the best of Franklin a few times but, as someone who is less experienced in the center back role, I give her credit for how well she did. Banda didn’t score until the 80th minute in the match. Much more experienced center backs have given up goals to Banda much earlier in matches. Prior to the season starting, I believed Anderson was going to be an integral part of the team this season and we would see her progressively get better from what she did her rookie season. Anderson was the anchor of the defense against Orlando and did a fairly decent job against the high octane pressure.
There were very few bright spots offensively for Chicago in this game but 17-year-old Micayla Johnson came off the bench and impressed in the minutes they played. Known as “MJ,” Johnson seems to bring a lot of energy, excellent footwork, and plays well beyond their years. One play in particular stuck out to me during the game when MJ was dribbling the ball between several Orlando players weaving around and even got a shot off around the 18. The amount of area they covered with the ball at her feet while being swarmed by Orlando defenders was impressive.
After 233 days, Sam Staab returned to the pitch. She came off the bench for the first time in her seventh year as a pro.
What’s next?
Chicago returns home against Houston next week, which will hopefully provide a friendlier match up for them. Against Houston, I am hoping to see the Stars possess the ball more and actually be able to stay in a 4-3-3 formation and not bail out to the back line. If Chicago can maintain a 4-3-3 shape, I believe Grosso should be the catalyst to progress the ball down the field using her nifty passes and excellent vision. Ludmila will also return from suspension, which will give the Stars a boost of speed up top.
Ally Schlegel and Jameese Joseph should also play bigger roles offensively in the game against Houston. When your team has less than 40% possession it’s hard for your attackers to get involved in games. The team seems to be missing a player like Mal Swanson, for a variety of reasons, but one thing Swanson does that sticks out is she comes back and demands the ball to move it down the pitch. Chicago doesn’t seem to have a player with that mentality at the moment.
The overall hope is Chicago doesn’t continue to play as defensive minded against Houston. Being able to possess the ball and gain confidence will help this young squad. Utilizing the width of the pitch with Ludmila and Joseph could also help Chicago exploit some of the defensive weaknesses of Houston. Hopefully the home crowd can boost the Stars to their first win under the rebrand.
Chicago Stars vs. Houston Dash kicks off at 2 p.m. CT. If you can’t make it to the home opener in person, the match will be streaming on Paramount+ and NWSL+. The match will also be broadcasted on Fox 32 in Chicago.
During the match, you can join the Red Stars Report community in our Discord server’s Match Chat channel. Join in on the conversation live or hang out and see what others are discussing throughout the match.
Great points made 👏🏼