CHICAGO – On Saturday, a crowd of 29,642 filled the Soldier Field seats to watch Chicago’s two professional soccer clubs play a doubleheader for the first time since 2022.

The Stars, who play most of their home games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., took on the Seattle Reign and the Fire hosted Nashville SC to mark the two clubs’ sixth shared event in their history.

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The Stars, who have struggled this year and entered the match second from the bottom of the NWSL table, got off to a storming start that set the crowd alight. Brazilian forward Ludmila scored an astonishing two goals in the match’s first fifteen minutes, and the energy was palpable for both the fans and the players themselves.

“It was really, really nice to have that many people cheering for us,” Spanish midfielder Maitane, who assisted one of the goals, said after the match of the crowd in the opening minutes. “As a soccer player, it’s what brings you up and gives you energy to go harder. We are really grateful for every single person that came … It definitely has an impact.”

Though Ludmila’s brace kept the Stars ahead late into the match, Seattle took charge and equalized in the final ten minutes of play — a sequence so tense that several Nashville players emerged from the tunnel to watch intently.

“This is good football,” one player said.

The fans who occupied Soldier Field’s lower bowl certainly agreed. Despite the 2-2 draw in the doubleheader’s opener, the postgame energy was just as high for the sea of children clad in Stars and Fire jerseys alike who begged for autographs from members of all four teams.

Several Stars players devoted time to fulfill every request that the young fans asked of them, signing jerseys, notebooks and soccer cleats that eager young fans held over the tunnel’s barrier. For Stars head coach Masaki Hemmi, it was a sight that truly resonated with him.

“There were U10 or U11 girls soccer players on the side of the stadium asking for autographs. They told me that it was their first time coming to a Stars game,” Hemmi said after the match. “I think that’s amazing. The players get to showcase themselves in front of future Stars … They’re giving them something that they can dream of being. We’re just really grateful to have this opportunity to play in front of this many fans and the players being able to influence young players and fans.”

The festivities continued into the Fire match, as Chicago Bears rookies Kyle Monangai and Shemar Turner took to the rowdy fan section behind the goal to hype the crowd up.

Though the crowd fizzled as the Men in Red fell to Nashville 2-0, the day itself was a culmination of the changing landscape for soccer in the city.

The Fire, who returned to Soldier Field as their home in 2020 after playing at SeatGeek from 2006 to 2019, announced a groundbreaking plan for a new, privately funded stadium near Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.

The Stars are eyeing a move as well and are set to gauge interest when they play a match at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on the Evanston, Ill., lakefront in September.

“It’s awesome to play in the city because it’s an opportunity for the people to just be here and support us easily,” Maitane said. “We just got really excited seeing the atmosphere.”

For Stars center back Sam Staab, what she saw from both clubs was a quintessential display of Chicago’s love for the sport.

“Chicago is probably the best sports city in the world,” Staab said. “It’s fun to have both soccer teams together, supporting each other. Women’s sports are on the rise — soccer is on the rise in general. It’s really great to do that together in such a great sports city.”