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Chicago enjoyed a perfect first half to the season and now puts their unbeaten record on the line against Anthem at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday. While the visitors have undoubtedly shown considerable improvement this year, they have now dropped back-to-back games and were decidedly second best at home against the Hounds in early April.
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
 |
IN | OUT |
| 3 | Wilton Rebolo | Charlie Abel |
| 4 | Tomás Casares | Mason Flesch |
| 7 | Maclean Jones | Lucas Rumball |
| 10 | Reece Botha | Chris Hilsenbeck |
| 12 | Santiago Videla | Ollie Devoto |
 |
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Will Sherman | Moni Tonga’uiha |
| 9 | Ishy Safodien | Zion Going |
| NOTES |
- Injured / unavailable – (Hounds) Malcolm May, Mason Flesch, Lucas Rumball; (Anthem) James Scott, Will Leonard
- Chris Latham has opted to rotate his lineup, with star back row duo Flesch and Rumball given the week off… Maclean Jones returns to the lineup and serves as captain in Rumball’s absence
- it’s a first start in Chicago colors for ex-Lindenwood University and NOLA Gold flyhalf Reece Botha
- former Hounds lock James Scott remains sidelined for Anthem… Luke Carty played for Chicago during the 2023 and 2024 seasons
- Ishy Safodien makes his first start of the season for ARC
| PREDICTION |
Ideal conditions are on the forecast, which should allow for a free-flowing contest. It’s not quite the strongest Hounds lineup but they have looked unstoppable in their five matches to date. Anthem have picked an extra forward on the bench so will be confident of staying in the match until the end. A result similar to their previous encounter this year seems most likely. Chicago are favorites at home in Bridgeview.
| TEAMS |
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Theo Fourie, 3 Wilton Rebolo, 4 Tomás Casares, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Brandon Harvey, 7 Maclean Jones (capt.), 8 Matthew Oworu, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Reece Botha, 11 Peyton Wall, 12 Santiago Videla, 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Mark O’Keeffe, 15 Brock Webster
Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Luke White, 18 Charlie Abel, 19 Jake Kinneeveauk, 20 Emmanuel Albert, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Chris Hilsenbeck, 23 Tiaan Loots
ANTHEM RC
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Ramiro Gurovich, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Johan Momsen (co-capt.), 5 Will Sherman, 6 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Baden Godfrey, 9 Ishy Safodien, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Erich Storti, 12 Tom Pittman, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Malacchi Esdale, 15 Julian Roberts
Replacements: 16 Campbell Robb, 17 Alessandro Heaney, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 20 Marques Fuala’au, 21 Zion Going, 22 Moni Tonga’uiha, 23 Conner Mooneyham
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 10
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 17:30 local (15:30 Pacific, 18:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 61°F (16°C), wind NW 9-13 mph (14-21 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), Fox Chicago Plus (Local), WCCB Charlotte (Local), Game TV (YouTube)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Cam Russell (Canada)
TMO: n/a
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5) – Hounds 5, Anthem 0
2026-04-04 – Anthem RC 19, Chicago Hounds 33 (American Legion Stadium)
2025-05-24 – Anthem RC 19, Chicago Hounds 33 (American Legion Stadium)
2025-04-13 – Chicago Hounds 28, Anthem RC 20 (SeatGeek Stadium)
2024-06-22 – Anthem RC 29, Chicago Hounds 38 (American Legion Stadium)
2024-04-14 – Chicago Hounds 59, Anthem RC 26 (SeatGeek Stadium)
