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

Welcome to your match preview and live thread as the Orlando Pride (6-8-2, 20 points) return home to play Chicago Stars FC (4-11-0, 12 points). This is the second and final time these teams will meet during the regular season.

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

History

The Pride and Stars have played every season since Orlando’s entrance into the NWSL except 2020. The teams have played 23 games, with the Pride going 8-13-2 overall and 2-7-2 at home in the regular season. Orlando has also faced the Stars in the playoffs once, wining at home.

The last meeting between the Pride and Stars took place on March 25 in Evanston, IL. Jacquie Ovalle had arguably her best game for the club, netting a goal and adding an assist. Her goal was the second of the night with strikes by Barbra Banda and Hannah Anderson securing the 3-0 win.

The first game last season took place 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. An own goal by Anderson (then with Chicago), a Julie Doyle strike, and a Banda brace saw the Pride come away with a 6-0 win. On Sept. 7, 2025, in Evanston, IL, Sam Staab gave the hosts the lead early in the second half and Carson Pickett equalized a few minutes later. The tie score didn’t last long, as a minute later Jameese Joseph made it 2-1 Chicago. Goals by Bea Franklin and Julia Grosso put the game away, despite McCutcheon getting one back. A late conversion by Ludmila secured the 5-2 win for Chicago.

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 second half, resulting in a 1-1 draw. The teams then met in Illinois on Sept. 8, 2024. Marta’s 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 to give the hosts the lead, and Banda netted a brace with a goal on each side of halftime. Marta made it 4-0 with a penalty, sealing the result. It would’ve been a clean sheet, but Anna Moorhouse cleared the ball off of Joseph and into her own net, capping the scoring in a 4-1 Orlando win.

The teams first met in 2023 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 return matchup was the debut of Pride center back Rafaelle, and the Brazilian scored to give Orlando the early 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 goals by 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 held 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 and 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 teams first met 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 teams met again 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 the Pride won 2-1. The third meeting in 2021 took place 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. 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 have struggled since returning to action from the FIFA World Cup break. They’ve lost three of their four games, getting shut out in all three losses. Surprisnigly, the win came in a dominating 3-0 second half against a red-hot Kansas City Current team.

A major reason for the offensive slump is that Banda is in the process of returning from a thigh injury. She played the final 14 minutes against Kansas City on July 10, the final 30 minutes against Boston Legacy FC on July 15, and started Saturday night in Utah, playing 32 minutes.

While the team has struggled to score goals, the Pride have been strong defensively. Following the 2-0 loss to Angel City FC, they earned a clean sheet against Kansas City and only gave up one goal each against Boston and Utah. A slight improvement offensively could see them climb up the table, even if they’re not scoring multiple goals each game.

The Pride have now entered the back half of the season and find themselves in the unfamiliar situation of being below the playoff line. The loss Saturday night saw them drop to ninth, one point behind the North Carolina Courage and two points behind Angel City FC. Making things more challenging is that they’ve played more games than the teams around them. That makes getting points even more crucial, especially at home. Additionally, Banda, who leads the NWSL with 12 goals, has departed the team to compete with Zambia in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The Pride will look to get back on the right path tonight and they’re playing a team that should support that goal. Chicago sits in 15th of the 16-team league after 15 games. The Stars have only won four times this year and only once away from home. Given that the Pride already crushed this team back in March, nothing less than three points should be acceptable.

Chicago has struggled on both ends of the field this year. It is the only team in the league yet to score double-digit goals, having only netted eight, and is the first team to reach 30 goals conceded this season. The Stars’ -22 goal difference is the worst in the league by 11 goals.

Chicago claimed an impressive 3-2 win over the Utah Royals coming out of the World Cup break, but dropped back-to-back 2-0 results to Boston and Angel City heading into tonight’s game.

In the absence of Swanson, who has missed much of the year on maternity leave, most of the team’s offense has come from Jordyn Huitema. The Canadian international leads the team with four goals, providing half of the team’s attack this season. However, Huitema tore her ACL against Angel City, ending her season.

The team has also improved defensively, though there’s still work to do. The Stars conceded four goals and three goals twice through May 16, but haven’t conceded three times since. Still, they’ve only earned two clean sheets, with the last one coming on May 24, and have conceded multiple goals in all four games since.

“I think it’s two teams that are looking to get back on form,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said ahead of the match. “We’ve had two disappointing results by one-goal deficits, so, we’re looking to bounce back. Looking to get back to our own environment, playing in front of our own fans, and put on a performance that everyone’s proud of.”

The Pride will play tonight without Banda (international duty), Anderson (lower leg), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), and Viviana Villacorta (knee). The Stars will be without Ryan Connaughton (knee), Emma Egizii (lower leg), Bea Franklin (torso), Huitema (knee), Natalia Kuikka (knee), Swanson (lower leg), Taylor Wood (lower leg), and Michelle Alozie (international duty).

Projected Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Zara Chavoshi, Cori Dyke.

Defensive Midfielders: Angelina, Ally Lemos.

Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Solai Washington.

Forward: Julie Doyle.

Chicago Stars FC (4-5-1)

Goalkeeper: Katie Atkinson.

Defenders: Nadia Gomes, Sam Staab, Aaliyah Farmer, Jenna Bike.

Midfielders: Jameese Joseph, Manaka Hayashi, Maitane Lopez, Julia Grosso, Ryan Gareis.

Forward: Brianna Pinto.

Referees

REF: JC Griggs.
AR1: Matthew Rodman.
AR2: Sharon Gingrich.
4TH: Richonne Clark.
VAR: Jamie Padilla.
AVAR: Maggie Short.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: None.

Streaming: Victory+.

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.

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!