Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Stars: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Orlando Pride (8-6-4, 28 points) return to NWSL action today as they face Chicago Stars FC (1-9-8, 11 points) in Illinois (3 p.m., FDSN Sun, NWSL+, Paramount+). This is the second and final time these teams will square off in the regular season.

Here’s everything you need to know about today’s game.

History

The Pride and Stars have played every season since Orlando’s entrance into the NWSL except 2020. The teams have played 22 games, with the Pride going 8-12-2. The Pride have done well in Chicago with a 5-5-0 record.

The last meeting between the Pride and Stars was on March 14 in Orlando. It was a dominant performance by the Pride as they struck early through Haley McCutcheon, and Ally Watt doubled the lead before halftime. A Hannah Anderson own goal, a Julie Doyle strike, and a Barbra Banda brace saw the Pride come away with a 6-0 win.

The Pride and then-Red Stars met first in 2024 on March 29 in Orlando, the Pride took the lead early through a Taylor Malham own goal, but Mallory Swanson equalized in the 64th minute, resulting in a 1-1 draw. The teams then met in Illinois on Sept. 8, 2024. Marta’s 37th-minute goal was the difference as the Pride came away with a 1-0 win.

The Nov. 8, 2024 meeting was the Pride’s first-ever home playoff game and they dominated. Watt set up a McCutcheon goal in the 26th minute to give the hosts the lead, and Barbra Banda netted a brace with a goal on each side of halftime. Marta made it 4-0 with a penalty in the 57th minute, sealing the result. It would’ve been a clean sheet, but Anna Moorhouse cleared the ball off of Jameese Joseph and into her own net, ending the game with a 4-1 result.

The first meeting of 2023 was on May 27 in Illinois. Orlando dominated the entire 90 minutes, with Chicago only getting two chances on its home field. But the Pride struggled to hit the target, and Yuki Nagasato’s goal was the difference as the Pride fell 1-0.  The Aug. 20 matchup was the debut of Pride center back Rafaelle, and the Brazilian scored in the 15th minute to give Orlando the lead. The hosts continued their attack, resulting in four more goals. Messiah Bright scored a pair, new signing Mariana Larroquette scored her first Pride goal, and Mikayla Cluff capped off the night with a goal as the Pride won 5-0.

The first meeting of 2022 took place on May 22 in Orlando. Sarah Griffin gave the visitors the lead, and Bianca St-Georges and Swanson made it 3-0 Chicago. It appeared as though the Red Stars would run away with the game, but the final 10 minutes saw three goals and two penalties for an exciting finish. Sydney Leroux missed a penalty, but Amy Turner scored the Pride’s first goal late. Swanson converted her penalty moments later, and Leah Pruitt scored her first goal for the Pride a minute after that in a 4-2 Red Stars win. The second meeting of the 2022 season was on June 12 in Illinois. Swanson capitalized on an early Pride turnover and the Red Stars held on for the 1-0 win.

The teams met three times during the 2021 season but didn’t play until Aug. 8 in Illinois. Jodie Taylor and Leroux scored for the Pride before halftime. The 2-0 win ended a six-game winless streak and was the first NWSL victory for interim head coach Becky Burleigh.

The second meeting was Oct. 13 in Bridgeview, a rescheduled game that was originally supposed to take place Oct. 2. Kealia Watt scored early and the Red Stars defended that lead for 84 minutes on their way to a 1-0 result. The teams met again Oct. 29, 2021, in Orlando in the final game of the regular season. The Red Stars controlled the game but the Pride held off the Chicago attack for 65 minutes, at which point Kealia Watt scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Chicago win.

The Pride and Red Stars didn’t play in the 2020 Fall Series, so the last meeting prior to 2021 came in 2019. The first game was June 30 at Exploria Stadium. Goals by Chioma Ubogagu and Marta were topped by a Sam Kerr hat trick as the Red Stars won 3-2. The second game was on Aug. 21 in Bridgeview. The Pride took a 2-0 lead with goals by Rachel Hill and Ubogagu. Tierna Davidson cut the lead in half for Chicago, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride won 2-1. 

The third meeting in 2021 came on Sept. 11 in Orlando. Casey Short stole the game for Chicago with the game’s lone goal five minutes into second-half injury time as the Red Stars won, 1-0.

The 2018 NWSL season saw the Pride and Red Stars meet three times. On May 2 in Bridgeview, Hill and Ubogagu scored in a 2-0 Pride win. They met in the same location May 26, with a Leroux brace and goals by Hill, Alex Morgan, and Dani Weatherholt leading to a 5-2 Pride win. The Red Stars were led by a Kerr brace in a 3-1 Chicago victory on Aug. 25 in Orlando in the third meeting of 2018.

The Pride and Red Stars met three times in 2017 — the first year that they played that many games against each other. A Christen Press goal on July 1 lifted Chicago to a 1-0 win. On July 22 in Bridgeview, a Press brace led her team to a 2-1 win. The final meeting came a week later in Orlando. Morgan and Sofia Huerta traded goals in a 1-1 draw.

The Red Stars won both meetings in 2016 by 1-0 final scores.

Overview

The Pride currently sit in fifth in the NWSL, largely because of their lack of offense. They’ve only scored 22 goals this year, fifth fewest in the league. Things got worse when Banda suffered a season-ending injury against the Kansas City Current on Aug. 16.

A four-game goalless streak came to an end Tuesday night when the Pride beat LD Alajuelense at home 3-0 in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. While that might sound like breaking out of the offensive slump, Alajuelense comes from a far inferior league to the NWSL, so the challenge will be more difficult today.

Fortuatnely, the Pride’s defense has kept them in the playoff positions. Their 15 goals conceded is second in the league behind the Current, who have only conceded 10 times this year. The Pride have only conceded multiple goals three times, but the most recent was their last league game, a 2-0 loss to NJ/NY Gotham FC.

The lack of offensive prowess is why the Pride are still winless in the league since the summer break ended. The team’s last win was a 1-0 victory over Bay FC on June 13. Since returning to action, they’re 0-2-3. The good news for Orlando is that recently acquired Mexican international winger Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle is available for selection for today’s game, although new players tend to take some time to work their way into getting minutes.

If there’s a team that could see the Pride break out of their NWSL goalless drought, it’s the Stars. They’ve only won once this season and have conceded 36 goals, most in the league.

Similar to the Pride, the Stars have lacked offensively this season, only scoring 19 times, second fewest in the league. Nine of those 19 goals have come from Ludmila, and Ally Schlegel and Shea Groom are the only other two with multiple goals, both scoring two.

The main problem for the Stars this season is the absence of Swanson. The U.S. international is away on maternity leave after becoming pregnant before the season. The loss has proven to be substantial as the Stars have struggled to replace her production.

While the Stars have eight losses, they’re currently on a five-game point streak dating back to their 1-0 loss to the Portland Thorns on June 21. However, all five games were draws as their only victory this year was a 2-1 win over Bay FC on April 13.

Their most recent game was a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit, who currently sit second with 32 points. The Spirit took the lead in the second half, but Ludmila equalized 10 minutes later, lifting her team to another draw.

“Chicago has gone through some changes,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said ahead of today’s match. “Obviously, with a new coach coming in and implementing his ways, getting a positive result away from Washington. They’re obviously on a high as well, so we have to focus on ourselves. We have to get back to winning ways. We had a really good result Tuesday night in the Concacaf Champions Cup, so we’re looking to build on that performance and that result.”

The Pride remain relatively healthy heading into this game, with only Banda (hip) out. Meanwhile, Chicago is without Jenna Bike (lower leg), Groom (lower leg), Natalia Kuikka (thigh), Cari Roccaro (excused absence), and Swanson (maternity leave).

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Carson Pickett, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Emily Sams.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Angelina.

Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Marta, Oihane.

Forward: Simone Charley.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Luana, Ally Watt, Jacquie Ovalle, Viviana Villacorta, Julie Doyle, Grance Chanda, Summer Yates, Simone Jackson.

Chicago Stars (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher.

Defenders: Camryn Biegalski, Sam Staab, Kathrin Hendrich, Taylor Malham.

Midfielders: Julia Grosso, Maitane Lopez, Ally Schlegel, Bea Franklin.

Forwards: Ludmila, Jameese Joseph.

Bench: Mackenzie Wood, Samantha Cary, Ava Cook, Meg Boade, Leilanni Nesbeth, Manaka Hayashi, Micayla Johnson, Nadia Gomes, Hannah Anderson.

Referees

REF: Mark Verso.
AR1: Sarah Gaddes.
AR2: Brian Marshall.
4TH: Ryan Shanklin.
VAR: Anya Voigt.
AVAR: John Krill.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 3 p.m.

Venue: Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium — Evanston, IL.

TV: FDSN Sun.

Streaming: NWSL+, Paramount+.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

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Enjoy the game. Go Pride!