Stars fire coach Sjögren, bring back Lorne Donaldson
The Chicago Stars fired head coach Martin Sjögren on Wednesday with the club at the bottom of the NWSL standings. Assistant coach Karina Báez will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season. Lorne Donaldson, the club's former head coach, is returning as interim director of coaching through the end of the 2026 campaign.
Chicago has a record of 4-1-13 through 18 games, sitting four points last in the standings. The team's minus-24 goal differential is the worst among the 16 clubs. The club also dismissed assistant coach Anders Jacobson alongside Sjögren.
Sjögren was hired in August following Donaldson's firing in April. Jacobson served as interim coach through the end of 2025 before Sjögren took over in 2026. Sjögren's tenure opened with a 4-0 loss to Angel City and ends with Chicago winless in five games and having scored just once in that span.
Chicago president Karen Leetzow said the club is "determined to make our club a serious contender in the NWSL and have a plan in place to do so beginning now and leading into the 2027 season." The club also fired general manager Richard Feuz in May.