Alex Morgan

A lot of you probably don’t know about the United States women’s national ice hockey team. That’s alright, that’s your issue. A lot of you will use this ignorance to claim that, vis-a-vis, they shouldn’t be properly compensated for their work. That’s not alright. These women are entitled, by law, to equitable support from USA Hockey in compensation, equipment, meals, staffing, transportation, hotels, travel and marketing.

After a disappointing SheBelieves Cup that saw Alex Morgan fail to score while totaling just over 90 minutes across three matches, the USWNT striker returned to Lyon, where she is on loan from Orlando Pride until the conclusion of the European season, and completed her first 90-minute match in six months and scored a hat trick.

Lyon were playing Rodez in the quarterfinals of the French Cup, and Morgan contributed three goals in their 6-0 victory. The second goal is definitely the pick of the bunch, a phenomenal finish from the international legend.

While the entire 2017 calendar for the USWNT is still unknown, it’s fair to say that the SheBelieves Cup will serve as their biggest and toughest competition of the year. With all four participating nations ranked in the top five of the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, the tournament will prove to be a marquee event. 

UWSNT coach Jill Ellis released the 23-player roster for the Cup that will kick off on Wednesday, March 1 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Carli Lloyd just signed for a short-term stint with Manchester City. Rising star Crystal Dunn is leaving for Chelsea. And soccer rock star Alex Morgan is (temporarily) at French Club Lyon. While these might seem like isolated incidents, it's actually a pattern. More and more U.S. women's soccer stars are leaving the states, at least in the short term for Europe.

Alex Morgan may have left the NWSL on a six-month loan to France’s Lyon, but she’s still the face of the women’s game in America. Recently speaking with British newspaper The Guardian, Morgan stated that a labor strike for the USWNT players is still a possibility in the weeks or months ahead. 

In recent weeks the NWSL’s headlines have been all over the place, offering both fans and critics something to point at. For the supporters the 2017 draft took place and two new ownership groups have bought into the league. While critics will focus on the league players moving to Europe and how the 2016 champions could be sold and moved that easily. 

Alex Morgan is off to a good start in France. The American striker wasn't able to score in her Lyon debut (although she did come close a few times), she managed to notch an assist.

U.S. Soccer has announced that they will host the second annual SheBelieves Cup. From March 1-7, 2017, four out of the five top ranked teams in the world will travel to the northeast region of the U.S. to compete. Germany, France and England will join the USA in the most elite international tournament of the year. USA is currently ranked number one in the world, with Germany coming in second, France in third and England in fifth.