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Chicago Stars FC Sign Defender Kathrin Hendrich

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net | By Joe Chatz | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 5:13 PM ET

Chicago Stars FC have added a new face to their roster as they look to turn things around in the 2025 NWSL season.

Chicago signed defender Kathrin Hendrich through the 2026 NWSL season with a mutual option for 2027, the club announced on Wednesday.

Hendrich, 33, joins Chicago after spending the last five seasons with Wolfsburg in the Frauen Bundesliga. The defender, who has only played senior club soccer in Germany, also featured at the for Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. Hendrich was briefly teammates with Stars assistant general manager Babett Peter at Frankfurt in 2014.

The defender has featured 83 times for Germany on the international stage and was a finalist in the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship and won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

She will join the Stars after the 2025 Women's European Championship in July.

News: Chicago Stars FC have signed defender Kathrin Hendrich to a deal through 2026 with a mutual option for 2027. Hendrich, 33, joins after spending the last 5 seasons with VFL Wolfsburg and this will be her first foray out of senior German club soccer #WithTheStars #NWSL
— Joe Chatz (@JoeChatz) June 11, 2025

Joe’s thoughts:

Chicago has needed to add depth to their defender room since Sam Staab’s injury last summer simply for the sake of competition as the club has struggled to keep up with the rest of the NWSL.

Hendrich is a solid, veteran option to have on the roster but having her on the pitch isn’t going to turn this Chicago team into a contender for a postseason spot.

Having said all of that, Hendrich is someone with top-level experience who should raise this team’s floor. She just can’t be Chicago’s only reinforcement this summer.

What’s On Tap Next?

Chicago will host Seattle Reign at Soldier Field on June 14 in the first match of the Stars-Fire doubleheader. The match is scheduled to kick off at 4:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ION.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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