The Chicago Stars, after announcing its home-territory move from SeatGeek Stadium to Martin Stadium at Northwestern University, tested the venue for the first time in Sunday’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) game against the Orlando Pride. The Stars beat the reigning NWSL champions 5-2 for their Martin Stadium debut.
The game’s announced attendance was 10,127, the highest turnout for a Stars game in 2025. Notably, it drew a higher total than Northwestern football’s match against Western Illinois,
attended by 9,647 people two days prior.
After a dormant first half, the game turned into a shootout in the second. The Stars struck first on Sam Staab’s free kick, then traded quick goals with Orlando before Jameese Joseph put Chicago back ahead. Bea Franklin and Julia Grosso extended the margin with back-to-back finishes, while Haley McCutcheon pulled one back for the Pride. Ludmila da Silva sealed it late, capping a dominant win for the Stars.
It was a season rematch after the Stars suffered a 0-6 loss to the Pride in the season opener in March. But at Martin Stadium, the home team avenged the team from down South.
“I’m really proud of the group for fighting, and obviously the five goals that we scored really showed,” Joseph said in the postgame conference. “(We) definitely wanted to change the script around (from the 0-6 defeat).”
Speaking about the first test on the new pitch, Grosso, who was awarded the Player of the Match after the win, said the atmosphere and additional attendance “gave us that win.”
“The atmosphere and all the fans just made (the game) so much better, and we really appreciate that everyone showed up,” she said.
Despite playing at Martin Stadium with a smaller capacity (12,000) compared to the Stars’ current home field at SeatGeek Stadium (28,000), the game drew the highest attendance of the season for the Stars: 10,127, surpassing its 2024 season average of about 7,160, as reported by the Sports Business Journal.
Knowing that SeatGeek Stadium applies a natural grass field for soccer games, Joseph said the team focused on extra plyometric exercises during the week to prepare for Martin Stadium’s turf, making sure their knees and ankles were strong enough to handle the different surface.
About the energy from the fans in the stadium, the Stars’ interim head coach, Anders Jacobson, said the energy was “positive” for his first home game with the team.
“It was really fun to see all the crowd in this place, which made this evening very fun to experience,” Jacobson said.
Branded as the “Lakefront Faceoff,” the game took the Stars to Evanston for a showcase against the reigning NWSL champion Orlando Pride. It served both as a celebration of women’s soccer on Chicago’s North Shore and as a test run inside Martin Stadium, which the Stars will call home starting with the 2026 NWSL season.
