Martin Sjogren dismissed as head coach of the last-place Chicago Stars

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The Chicago Stars have dismissed coach Martin Sjögren after less than a season with the National Women's Soccer League club.

Assistant coach Anders Jacobson was also let go by the Stars, the team said Wednesday.

The Stars (4-13-1) are in last place in the NWSL with just four wins this season and a league-worst nine total goals scored, while allowing opponents 33 goals. The Stars have a five-match winless streak going into Friday's match at the Seattle Reign.

Sjögren, the former coach of Norway's women's national team, joined the Stars at the start of this season after a stint as coach for Hammarby in the Swedish Damallsvenskan.

Assistant coach Karina Báez will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. Former Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson will also rejoin the team as interim director of coaching for the season.

Donaldson, who led the Jamaican national team to the knockout round of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, was let go by the Stars in April 2025 during his second season with the club. The Stars went 10-14-2 in his first season and made the playoffs.

"This is a group of players I truly care about, and I’m very happy to return to the Chicago Stars for the next several months,” Donaldson said in a statement. “I’m excited to reunite with some familiar faces, for the opportunity to meet new players, and I look forward to working together with the staff to earn some wins in the final stretch of the season.”

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