Chicago Stars fire head coach Lorne Donaldson after 1-5 start to NWSL season
Chicago Stars FC’s Ella Masar gets candid on life, motherhood in the NWSL
In this episode of Chicago Sports Overtime, sports anchor Tina Nguyen sits down with Chicago Stars FC assistant coach Ella Masar for an honest and raw discussion on how she balances out motherhood and coaching in the NWSL.
The Chicago Stars have fired their head coach just six games into the 2025 NWSL season.
"We are grateful to Lorne Donaldson for the culture, respect and sense of self-belief he helped build within our squad. We appreciate his work and wish him the best for the future," Chicago Stars general manager Richard Feuz said in a written statement.
What we know
The Stars fired head coach Lorne Donaldson after a 1-5 start to the season, where Chicago currently ranks 14th in the league.
The Stars' lone win this season came in a 2-1 win over Bay FC on April 13.
Donaldson was hired in 2024 and led the Stars to a 10-14-2 regular-season finish. The Stars qualified for the 2024 NWSL playoffs in Donaldson's first year after finishing at the bottom of the league in 2023.
Through six matches, the Stars have an -11 goal difference.
What's next for the Chicago Stars
In a press release announcing the move, the Stars tabbed assistant coach Masaki Hemmi as interim head coach while the team searches for a replacement.
Hemmi was hired as a Stars assistant from New Mexico United, part of the United Soccer League. There, he served as director of player personnel and first assistant coach.
Hemmi will be the sixth different head coach for the Stars since 2020. The team's longest-tenured coach was Rory Dames, who was at the helm of the Stars from 2011 to 2021.
The Stars were the NWSL Championship Runners-up in 2019 and 2021, and have made the playoffs in 2022 and 2024. In 2024, the NWSL expanded the playoffs from four teams to eight qualifying teams.