Reign at Stars: Gamethread

Seattle Reign are on the road again facing the Chicago Stars in as close to a must-win match as possible. The Reign entered the weekend in 9th place, one spot out of the playoffs, and just two points behind 8th-place North Carolina. Thanks to a San Diego win against the Courage on Saturday, the Reign have a chance to hop into 8th place with a win.

Seattle faces a Chicago side that is historically bad this year, but also a team that the Reign have struggled to beat on the road. The Reign are even with the Stars in the series, going 12-12-10 all-time against Chicago, but they have a somewhat dismal a 3-9-3 record on the road. The Reign dominated Chicago in every statistical category in August — outshooting the Stars 24-5 — but only scored once in the second half in their 1-0 home win. The Reign are going to have to be a lot more ruthless in front of the goal today.

Both teams had a week off during the FIFA international break. The week before that, both teams lost at home. Seattle fell 1-0 to the North Carolina Courage, and Chicago lost 3-0 to the Denver Summit.

Keys to the game

Be ruthless from the start
Defend set pieces
Convert chances

Notes

Maddie Dahlien tore her ACL playing for the U-23 WNT on Tuesday and will be out for the rest of the season and a large part of next season.
The Reign have struggled historically in Chicago (going 3-9-3) but are playing at Northwestern University, a turf field, for the first time.
Chicago has conceded a league-high 63 goals this season and scored 15.
Chicago allows 1.48 goals in the second half of matches; if the Reign can score early, they need to continue the pressure well into the second half.
The Reign have a quick turnaround after Sunday's match, as they face the Utah Royals on the road on Friday, October 23.

Injuries, absences, suspensions

Reign: OUT: Lynn Biyendolo (Maternity Leave), Maddie Dahlien (Knee - SEI)

Stars: OUT: Ryan Connaughton (Knee), Jordyn Huitema (Knee - SEI), Natalia Kuikka (Knee - SEI), Rachael Kundananji (Excused Absence), Julia Grosso (Neck)

Recent form

Reign: WLLWL (12-11-4, +1 GD; 9th place)
Stars: LDLLL (5-20-2, -48 GD; 16th place)

Officials

REF: Jeremy Scheer; AR1: Christian Little; AR2: Matt Trotter; 4TH: Ryan Homik; VAR: Abdou Ndiaye

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Sunday, October 18, 4 PM PT

Venue: Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, Evanston, IL

Broadcast: Roku Channel (USA: Josh Eastern & McCall Zerboni), NWSL+ (international)

Is this game available to stream for free in the US? Yes! (via Roku Channel, which is available on Roku devices and TVs, TheRokuChannel.com, iOS and Android devices, and several smart TVs)

Lineups

Your Halloween night starters 👻 ✨ Mal’s wearing the captain’s armband ✨ Hal starts in goal for the first time this season Not available: Ryan Connaughton, Julia Grosso, Jordyn Huitema, Natalia Kuikka, Racheal Kundananji 📋: Wintrust

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— Chicago Stars FC (@chicagostars.com) 3:06 PM · Oct 18, 2026