Mallory Swanson is back on the Chicago Stars active roster ahead of Saturday’s match against the North Carolina Courage, putting the U.S. forward in line for her first appearance in 18 months away from the team.
Her return gives Chicago a needed boost as the club tries to stop a slide that has seen it lose its last three games by multiple goals. Swanson missed the entire 2025 season because of pregnancy, but her addition to the roster marks a major step toward a comeback that has been months in the making.
Swanson and Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson announced in May 2025 that they were expecting their first child, and the couple welcomed Josie in November 2025. Since then, Swanson has been one of 28 mothers signed to active rosters in the NWSL, a number that speaks to how the league’s landscape has shifted even as players balance family life and top-level competition.
When Swanson spoke at NWSL Media Day in January 2026, she said she was slowly reintegrating soccer into her life after the long break. She said being away for that long was probably the hardest thing to process, and described the first steps back as a shock to the system before comparing the return of the game’s rhythm to riding a bike once the movements and reading come back.
That patience matters because the player Chicago is getting back is not just any attacker. Swanson was part of the U.S. front three nicknamed Triple Espresso that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and she finished 2024 with 11 goal contributions for Chicago. Earlier that year, she also signed a long-term contract that runs through 2028, a deal the club described as the most lucrative in National Women's Soccer League history and one that CBS Sports reported was close to $2 million over five years.
Swanson stayed close to the club while she was away. She regularly attended Chicago Stars home matches and offered support to teammates such as Jameese Joseph during her maternity leave, a sign that the separation from the pitch was never a full break from the team.
Her return also arrives against a broader league backdrop. Sophia Wilson has already made it back to the Portland Thorns after giving birth to her daughter Gigi in September 2025, and Wilson has three goals in 562 minutes so far in the 2026 season. For Chicago, though, the immediate question is simpler: whether Swanson’s presence alone can steady a team that has been leaking goals and looking for any spark before it faces North Carolina.
