Published August 19, 2026
Chicago Stars FC visits the Houston Dash on Wednesday night in interim coach Karina Báez’s second match in charge — the first real test of whether the club’s latest coaching change can change its results. Chicago sits last in the 16-team NWSL table at 4-13-1, and Báez’s debut ended in a 1-0 loss at Seattle Reign FC last Friday. The match also marks the return of Nigeria international Michelle Alozie, back with the club after her country’s historic World Cup qualifying elimination at WAFCON last week.
Key Takeaways
- Chicago Stars FC visits the Houston Dash on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in interim head coach Karina Báez’s second match — her first ended in a 1-0 loss at Seattle Reign FC on Aug. 14.
- Chicago sits last in the 16-team NWSL table at 4-13-1 (12 points), with a league-worst minus-24 goal differential, after firing head coach Martin Sjögren and assistant Anders Jacobson on Aug. 12.
- Former Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson has returned as interim director of coaching, and new assistant Nicole Lukic has joined the staff, as part of a broader technical-department rebuild.
- It’s Chicago’s sixth coaching change since the start of the 2025 season — a level of instability captain Alyssa Naeher addressed directly last week, saying the team shares responsibility for results alongside the coaching staff.
- Nigeria international Michelle Alozie returns to the squad after her country’s elimination from 2027 World Cup qualifying at WAFCON, where she had the game’s last real chance saved in Nigeria’s playoff loss to South Africa.
Chicago Stars’ Rebuild Faces Its First Real Test
Karina Báez took over as Chicago’s interim head coach on Aug. 12 — the club’s fifth coaching change since the start of 2025, sixth counting last year’s mid-season swap separately. Her first match in charge, a 1-0 road loss at Seattle Reign FC on Aug. 14, extended Chicago’s winless run to five matches, in which the club has scored just once. Wednesday’s match at Houston is her second chance to show the change can produce different results, not just a different voice in the locker room.
The scale of the rebuild is real. Chicago enters the match last in the 16-team NWSL table at 4-13-1 (12 points), with a league-worst minus-24 goal differential — nine goals scored, 33 allowed. Alongside Báez, former Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson has returned as interim director of coaching, overseeing technical and analytical operations, and Nicole Lukic has joined as a full-time assistant focused on individual player development. It’s the kind of multi-layered staff reset a club makes when it has run out of single-hire fixes.
Why It Matters
Chicago’s instability is unusual even by NWSL standards. The club has now had six different head coaches or interim head coaches since the start of the 2025 season, following Lorne Donaldson’s April 2025 firing and a string of interim stints before Martin Sjögren’s brief, difficult tenure. Captain Alyssa Naeher pushed back on the idea that coaching alone explains the results, telling reporters last week that the players share responsibility too. That kind of accountability from a veteran locker room leader matters for a club trying to convince players, fans and potential free agents that a real turnaround — not just another name change — is underway.
What Does Michelle Alozie’s Return Add Tonight?
Alozie’s presence tonight ties directly into last week’s WAFCON headlines. The Nigeria international was on the field for the Super Falcons’ 2-1 playoff loss to South Africa on Aug. 13 — the result that ended Nigeria’s streak of qualifying for every Women’s World Cup since 1991 — and had the match’s last real scoring chance saved in stoppage time, as covered on uswomensoccer.com when the tournament concluded. She now returns to a Chicago team that badly needs defensive stability, having conceded 33 goals through 18 matches. Team captain Mallory Swanson, who has led the Stars in shots in recent matches, gives Chicago a proven attacking outlet even amid the losing stretch; pairing her with a reintegrated, battle-tested Alozie is exactly the kind of depth boost a last-place team needs during a coaching transition.
What Comes Next
Chicago closes out its road trip against Houston before returning to Martin Stadium on Aug. 23 to host Racing Louisville FC — a winnable home match that offers a clearer measuring stick for Báez’s early impact than a difficult road trip does. With roughly a dozen matches remaining in the regular season and the playoffs almost certainly out of reach, the practical goal for the rest of 2026 is establishing a foundation — in results and in culture — that the club can build on under a permanent hire in 2027.
Conclusion
Wednesday’s match won’t fix Chicago Stars FC’s season on its own, and nobody around the club is pretending otherwise. But it’s a real data point in a genuine organizational rebuild: a new interim coach, a returning director of coaching, and an international regular back from a dramatic tournament of her own. For a club on its sixth coaching change in under two years, small signs of stability — a clean sheet, a road point, a settled lineup — would count as real progress right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Chicago Stars fire their head coach?
Chicago Stars FC fired head coach Martin Sjögren and assistant coach Anders Jacobson on Aug. 12, 2026, with the club sitting last in the NWSL standings at 4-13-1. Interim coach Karina Báez has since taken over, with former head coach Lorne Donaldson returning as interim director of coaching.
How many coaches has Chicago Stars had recently?
Karina Báez is Chicago’s sixth head coach or interim head coach since the start of the 2025 season, following Lorne Donaldson’s April 2025 firing and a series of interim appointments before Martin Sjögren’s brief 2026 tenure.
Is Michelle Alozie playing for Chicago Stars again?
Yes. The Nigeria international returns to the Chicago Stars after her country’s elimination from 2027 World Cup qualifying at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where South Africa beat Nigeria 2-1 in a playoff on Aug. 13.
Where do Chicago Stars stand in the NWSL standings?
Chicago sits last in the 16-team NWSL table at 4-13-1 (12 points), with a league-worst minus-24 goal differential, entering its Aug. 19 match against the Houston Dash.