Emma Sears scores, Louisville beats Stars to pick up first win

After storms delayed Sunday afternoon's game between the Chicago Stars and Racing Louisville, second-year forward Emma Sears made the difference for Louisville in a 1-0 win in Bridgeview, Ill.

In the 27th minute, Racing Louisville (1-1-1, 4 points) forward Taylor Flint intercepted a pass in the defensive third of the field and found Sears, who took a shot from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box. Sears' shot deflected off defender Sam Staab, which sent the ball above the diving arms of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

Louisville's Katie Lund made three saves for the shutout. Naeher had two saves.

Originally scheduled at 3 p.m. local time, storms in the Chicagoland area pushed the start of the match to 5 p.m. Fortunately for both teams, the delay came before any warm-ups began.

Both teams entered the match winless in their first two contests, and the loss for the Stars (0-3-0, 0 points) keeps the side last in the NWSL early in the 2025 season with a goal differential of minus-8. So far in three matches, the Stars have only one goal and are still reeling from the absence of United States women's national team forward Mallory Swanson to start the 2025 season due to personal reasons.

Chicago struggled to connect and lacked chemistry on the field with Racing Louisville effectively pressing the Stars. Even so, Chicago had three shots on goal, with two headers narrowly missing the target in the 17th minute and fresh out of the halftime locker room. Both headed opportunities came off set piece opportunities.

--Field Level Media