The Chicago Stars took on the reigning National Women’s Soccer League champions, the Orlando Pride, in Orlando, Florida, on March 14 in the teams’ season opener—with the Stars losing 6-0.
Orlando set the tone early on with an attack just three minutes into the competition. The Pride continued to pour on the pressure, hardly allowing the Stars out of their own half while also winning multiple corner kicks.
A silver lining for Chicago came in the 79th minute, when defender, Sam Staab, made her return to the pitch. Staab suffered a season-ending-injury last summer during the NWSL X Liga MX Summer Cup. This was Staab’s first-ever substitution into a match in her professional career. The defender played and started in 106 consecutive matches, a league record, prior to the injury.
Also, Micayla Johnson, 17, debuted as the youngest Chicago Star and first teenager to earn minutes in club history. In fact, all four Chicago Stars rookies—Catherine Barry, Justina Gaynor, Manaka Hayashi and Johnson—made their debuts.
Chicago will next host Houston at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday, March 23, for the club’s home opener, presented by United Airlines.