Racing Louisville FC’s record win streak came to a halt Sunday afternoon, as it fell 3-2 to Chicago Stars FC at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill.
It marked Louisville’s first defeat since July 29 — a stretch in which the club had won four straight matches by an 11-4 aggregate scoreline.
The Stars struck first, with Jameese Joseph finding the net before halftime. Taylor Flint answered for Louisville early in the second half, only for Mallory Swanson to restore Chicago’s lead shortly after. Makenna Morris leveled things once more, but the Stars ultimately had the last word, as Julia Grosso’s late goal sealed the three points for the hosts.
Louisville (7-12-2, 23 points), now in 13th position, still sits just five points off Seattle Reign FC, which currently occupies the final playoff place in eighth. The Racing attack importantly continued its impressive form Sunday, scoring multiple goals for the fifth successive fixture.
The result snapped a five-game unbeaten streak for Racing against Chicago, with the Stars’ last win prior to Sunday in the series coming in September 2023.
“Of course we’re disappointed,” said head coach Bev Yanez. “When you talk about the run of form that we’ve had coming into this, I still think that that’s an incredible accomplishment from the group as a whole.”
Despite the result, Yanez felt there were plenty of opportunities to shift the result in the visitors’ favor.
“I definitely felt like we had chances,” Yanez continued. “… It is, of course, frustrating for us and disappointing for us, but I do want to acknowledge the run we had coming into this. I would prefer to be in a different position to be able to say five wins in a row, but again, quick game here coming up — got to prepare for it.”
Racing controlled the opening half in both shots and final third entries, yet still went into the break down on the scoresheet.
Chicago, which hasn’t scored in its last three matches, found the opener in the 34th minute in transition through Joseph on the hosts’ second shot of the match.
Down at the half for the first time this month, Racing came out with a sense of purpose.
It took only four minutes into the final period for an equalizer to come, as Flint leveled things in the 49th minute with a near-post header. It was Lauren Milliet who delivered the assist yet again from the left wing. Her cross marked her sixth assist of the season, breaking the club’s single-season record.
The hosts responded less than 20 minutes later in the 62nd minute with the goal from Swanson — her second tally of the season and first since May.
The back-and-forth continued, with Louisville canceling out Swanson’s left-footed goal just six minutes later. Just 28 seconds after stepping onto the pitch as a substitute, Morris found herself in the right place at the right time. She fired home Racing’s second tally after Chicago goalkeeper Katie Atkinson punched it into her path. The strike marked Morris’s first goal for Louisville and her first since March 14, 2025, when she played for the Washington Spirit.
Reflecting on her first goal for Racing, Morris said, “My first goal for the club is awesome. I honestly had no thoughts; I [felt] like I just hit the field and just touched it. … [It has] a lot to do with the team and the energy that we come out with. I might have put it in the back of the goal, but it took people fighting in the box for it to bounce to me.”
After coming on in the 65th minute for Swanson, Grosso went on to net the afternoon’s decisive fifth goal in the 84th-minute, with the Canadian international firing a strike inside the far post to cap off the result.
“Every game is going to have great things that we did, and not so great things that we did,” said defender Ellie Jean. “There’s always going to be learnings that we’re going to take away from this, and we just keep pushing. Now, we already have another game, and we already need another three points. We’re going to try to learn from this, but we have a quick turnaround again, so not much time to dwell, and we just have to keep pushing.”
Racing’s road swing continues into next week, as it visits San Diego Wave FC — a current top-five NWSL side — for a 10 p.m. ET Friday encounter at Snapdragon Stadium. It will be the first meeting between Louisville and San Diego this season. Racing took the most recent clash on the West Coast by a 1-0 score on Aug. 24, 2025, thanks to a second-half goal from Emma Sears.
Game Summary: Chicago Stars FC vs. Racing Louisville FC
Date: August 23, 2026
Venue: Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium — Evanston, Ill.
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
Weather: 73 degrees, sunny
Scoring
Chicago Stars FC (1, 2, 3)
Racing Louisville FC (0, 2, 2)
Goals:
Chicago Stars FC:
34′ Jameese Joseph (Mallory Swanson)
62′ Mallory Swanson (Michelle Alozie)
83′ Julia Grosso (Nádia Gomes)
Racing Louisville FC:
49′ Taylor Flint (Lauren Milliet)
68′ Makenna Morris
Lineups
Chicago Stars FC: 27 – Katie Atkinson; 29 – Leila Ouahabi, 3 – Sam Staab, 77 – Maitane López, 5 – Michelle Alozie (90’+4 14 – Taylor Wood), 34 – Tessa Dellarose, 31 – Anna Gasper (46′ 25 – Aaliyah Farmer), 9 – Mallory Swanson (c) (65′ 7 – Julia Grosso), 4 – Jenna Bike (79′ 28 – Emma Egizii), 8 – Jameese Joseph, 23 – Micayla Johnson (66′ 11 – Nádia Gomes)
Subs not used: 1 – Alyssa Naeher; 15 – Elise Evans, 16 – Manaka Hayashi, 20 – Bea Franklin
Interim head coach: Karina Báez
Racing Louisville FC: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer; 12 – Quincy McMahon (83′ 21 – Rachel Hill), 5 – Ellie Jean, 3 – Arin Wright (c), 15 – Mirann Gacioch, 6 – Ella Hase (68′ 4 – Makenna Morris), 88 – Audrey McKeen (68′ 20 – Katie O’Kane), 26 – Taylor Flint, 2 – Lauren Milliet, 13 – Emma Sears (83′ 42 – Sarah Weber), 9 – Kayla Fischer (65′ 16 – Maja Lardner)
Subs not used: 1 – Maddie Prohaska; 8 – Courtney Petersen, 10 – Macey Hodge, 23 – Macy Philippus
Head coach: Bev Yanez
Stats Summary: Chicago Stars FC / Racing Louisville FC
Shots: 12 / 22
Shots on Goal: 6 / 6
Expected goals: 1.14 / 1.43
Possession: 56.5% / 43.5%
Fouls: 9 / 10
Offside: 0 / 4
Corners: 4 / 7
Match referee: Corbyn May
