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Lauletta’s Not Quite XI: New day in Chicago

May 15, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji (9) between plays against Boston Legacy FC during the first half at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

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Lauletta’s Not Quite XI: New day in Chicago

Originally posted on The Equalizer | Last updated Oct 13, 2026 2:07 PM ET

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No games this week but there were some roster moves and some expansion talk. So here are three things that caught my attention in the National Women’s Soccer League.

I – It’s a new day in Chicago

If the Stars wind up climbing to the top of the table under the tutelage of Vlatko Andonovski, last week’s trade for Racheal Kundananji will be remembered as a turning point for the organization. And that will be the case whether the Zambian scored 100 goals for the club or 0.

The acquisition of Kundananji is the first sign the Stars are ready to play ball with the NWSL’s big fish. The club has always called Chicago home but neither ownership group has bothered to treat it like the big market that it is. Founding owner Arim Wisler meant well but was quickly swallowed up by financial limitations in a league that grew quicker than anyone could have imagined. New owner Laura Ricketts and the Ricketts Family come with the B-word, but short of an initial investment as part of the sale, have thrown little of their billions into making the club competitive. This year’s version has bottomed out with 20 losses, 18 of which have been via shutout.

Kundananji came with a steep price tag — $700,000. This from a club whose most recent general manager Richard Feyz crowed about how little the team had spent on transfer fees. The modern NWSL may not be a direct race to the cash register, but teams cannot expect to complete without some level of spending.

That’s why adding Kundananji matters even if she doesn’t become a great Chicago Star. And why it made so much sense to do it now instead of waiting for the offseason. The message has been sent. The Stars are serious about being a good team on the field. And this move no doubt resonated with players all over the world, many of whom likely moved Chicago up their whiteboards on the list of potential destinations.

II – Roster deadline is way too late

Multiple sources have confirmed that before the trade to Chicago, Bay were deep in discussions about sending Kundananji to Gotham. That move would have shaken up the league in an entirely different way. Trades and transfers are part of sports but it feels unnatural to allow the top side in the league to add a major piece with three games — or 10% of the season — remaining.

The idea behind a roster freeze date to begin with is to prevent teams out of contention from filtering players up the table. Understandably, soccer answers to different rules than other sports because the player market is worldwide. So there needs to be some deference to bringing players in from other countries. Furthermore, every country has its own set of transfer rules. A possibility of international arrivals after a certain date being ineligible for the playoffs makes sense but could be a dealbreaker for players with other options.

Regardless, the deadline for intraleague transfers needs to be way earlier. Add in that free agency begins prior to the roster freeze, and you’re just asking for hijinx that could turn a season its head.

III – We’re just going to keep expanding

Jessica Berman inched things a bit closer to official that NWSL will soon expand to 20 teams. Of course, we’re still about 16 months from seeing the 17th and 18th teams hit the field. That is quite a sea change from the days of constant proclamations from Berman’s predecessors about interested groups and markets only to find out the process was on hold.

Berman seems intent on making NWSL a 30-team league just like the Big 5 men’s leagues around the United States and Canada. And there is no reason that can’t and won’t happen. Word is out that investing in sports makes sense and that women’s sports are no exception. And as long as ownership groups affiliated with strong markets continue to fork over money, the existing owners will gladly take it, at least for the foreseeable future.

I don’t want to be the party pooper (okay maybe I do), but I have been saying, and will continue to say, NWSL is expanding too quickly and will soon be too big. Disagree if you will, but when a weekend schedule includes 15 matches and the playoff format is more complicated than your car’s warranty, you’ll remember I called it all along.

This article first appeared on The Equalizer and was syndicated with permission.

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