Gretchen Schneider/Chicago Stars FC
For nearly 45 minutes Saturday night, the Chicago Stars looked like the team that would win the game.
They controlled possession, generated scoring chances, and had the home crowd believing a breakthrough was coming.
Instead, another frustrating second half told a familiar story.
Angel City FC scored twice after halftime to hand the Stars a 2-0 defeat at Ryan Field in Evanston. It started off as an energetic performance in front of a large crowd of 6,684 on Kids Night. The loss marked Chicago's second consecutive 2-0 defeat after losing to Boston last weekend.
From the opening whistle, the Stars looked noticeably sharper than they had in their previous game. Mallory Swanson earned a corner kick less than a minute into the match, setting an aggressive tone that continued throughout the first half. Chicago consistently moved the ball forward with pace, forcing Angel City to defend by focusing their attention to Swanson whenever she touched the ball.
The atmosphere reflected the strong start.
Children packed the stands waving inflatable noisemakers as chants of "Let's Go Stars!" echoed throughout Ryan Field. Every Swanson touch drew a loud reaction, and another wave of cheers erupted in the 12th minute when she stepped up to take another corner kick.
Chicago's pressure continued through the opening 20 minutes.
Jameese Joseph turned in several strong defensive plays, while defender Aaliyah Farmer repeatedly helped relieve pressure with clearances deep into Angel City's half. Farmer and Sam Staab also showed patience playing out from the back, exchanging passes with goalkeeper Katie Atkinson to maintain possession instead of forcing long clearances. Their composure helped Chicago control the tempo for much of the first half.
The Stars suffered an early setback in the 20th minute when forward Jordyn Huitema went down with what appeared to be a left leg injury. After receiving treatment on the field, Huitema was unable to continue and Ivonne Chacón entered the match in her place. The injury forced Chicago to adjust its attacking approach for the remainder of the evening.
Despite losing one of its attacking threats, Chicago continued trying to create opportunities.
Angel City's best chance of the opening half came in the 23rd minute after a quick passing sequence led to a shot that sailed wide of the Stars' goal. Atkinson was called into action again in the 37th minute, calmly securing a second effort inside the penalty area to keep the match scoreless.
The Stars appeared to find the breakthrough in the 42nd minute.
Midfielder Brianna Pinto found the back of the net, sending the crowd into celebration, but the goal was immediately ruled offside. Instead of taking a deserved lead into halftime, Chicago entered the break locked in a scoreless draw despite controlling long stretches of play.
"I think the first half was a pretty good one," head coach Martin Sjögren said afterward. "I think we controlled the game. They didn't really put that much pressure on us, and we created some chances. Obviously we scored a goal, but it was offside. The game might have looked very different if we had gone into halftime leading."
The match changed shortly after halftime.
Following a physical sequence inside Chicago's penalty area, Angel City was awarded a penalty kick. Atkinson guessed correctly and nearly came up with the save, but the shot found the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.
Sjögren believed the penalty was avoidable.
"We should have cleared the ball away at least three times before that," he said. "If we do that, the ball probably never stays in our penalty area, and the penalty most likely doesn't happen."
Chicago tried to respond immediately.
Just minutes after, the Stars pushed into Angel City's attacking third but lost possession before generating a quality shot. Shortly afterward, Atkinson briefly went down with an injury of her own before remaining in the match.
As the second half went on, the flow of the match shifted dramatically.
Much of the play remained in Chicago's defensive half, forcing the Stars to spend long stretches defending. Atkinson continued making saves to keep the defeat at one, while Farmer and the rest of the back line repeatedly threw their bodies in front of dangerous opportunities. Despite trailing, the home supporters never stopped encouraging the team, waving Chicago flags and chanting throughout the second half.
Atkinson later praised the defenders in front of her.
"I trust them to make the decisions, and they know I have their back too," she said after answering a question from us. "We tried to be more of an option tonight to play out of the back, and I think it worked pretty well."
The Stars made attacking substitutions in an effort to find an equalizer, but quality opportunities became increasingly difficult to create. Chicago relied heavily on Swanson to spark the offense, while the midfield struggled to consistently connect passes and support the attack.
Angel City appeared to put the match away in the 85th minute, only for the goal to be ruled offside.
The reversal breathed life back into the stadium.
Fans erupted in celebration, believing Chicago had been handed one final opportunity to steal a result.
That hope lasted only until stoppage time.
In the 98th minute, Angel City's attack broke through once more as the visitors combined for a late goal to seal the 2-0 victory. As the ball crossed the goal line, children throughout the stadium loudly chanted "VAR!" hoping for another review, but this time the goal stood.
Sjögren admitted his team lost its identity after halftime.
"In the second half we became a little bit too direct," he said. "We lost the shape we had in the first half, which made it harder to defend. I'm happy with the first half, but not really happy with the second."
When we asked about Chacón's performance after replacing the injured Huitema, Sjögren praised the striker's effort.
"Ivonne does what she always does when she comes on," he said. "She's hardworking and she's always running. She's a different type of forward than Jordan, but I think she did well."
Atkinson said she saw encouraging signs in Chicago's buildup despite the result.
"There were times when we had really great bouts of possession," she said. "Mal is so dynamic. If we can find her a little bit more and isolate her, let her do her magic, I think that would help us a lot. I was proud that we tried to play out instead of just launching the ball away."
Defender Michelle Alozie shared a similar assessment, believing the Stars executed much of their game plan but failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
"We prepped really well for Angel City," Alozie said. "We created chances in the first half, but we needed to put them away. We also needed to make sure we didn't let off the gas in the second half."
When we asked about the atmosphere on Kids Night, Alozie said the supporters helped fuel Chicago's late push.
"The fans are everything," she said. "Everyone stayed loud until the last minute. It gave us momentum to keep pushing because we had our fans with us. We really appreciate Chicago coming out for us."
Despite another disappointing result, the Stars can point to an encouraging first-half performance that showcased the possession-based style Sjögren wants his team to play. However, turning those stretches of control into goals remains Chicago's biggest challenge as it prepares for next week's matchup against Orlando.
