The United States women’s national team is quickly turning into team Mom as another player has announced her pregnancy. It was revealed on Friday that two-time NWSL and 2019 World Cup champion Allie Long is having twins.
In September, the USWNT crushed Paraguay in back-to-back friendlies by a 17-0 aggregate score. This past week, the USWNT crushed Uzbekistan in back-to-back friendlies by an 18-1 aggregate score. While the September matches felt mostly a waste of time, the April matches felt instructive and useful, for both Vlatko Andonovski’s plans moving forward and U.S. fans trying to figure out those plans.
Welcome to the club, Trinity Rodman.
The USWNT is the most dominant force in women’s soccer history. The U.S. has never been ranked lower than second in the world and has won more World Cups and Olympics than it’s lost. But if there’s one thing the players love more than winning, it’s dogs.
It’s National Pet Day, apparently, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better group of people to celebrate with than the USWNT.
The USWNT most likely wasn’t thrilled on having to settle with 48th ranked Uzbekistan as the opponent for two April friendlies. The first of those two games was played on Saturday and the U.S. expectedly thrashed the minnows 9-1.
With many of the USWNT veterans like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Christen Press not selected for the roster it would seem these friendlies are a last chance shot for some of the youngsters to prove themselves and make the cut for July’s Concacaf W Championship. That competition will also serve as World Cup and Olympic qualifying.
In February, we learned USWNT stalwart Julie Ertz wouldn’t play in the NWSL in 2022. On April 4, we learned why. Julie Ertz is pregnant.
Ertz announced she is pregnant on social media on Monday, saying she and husband Zach Ertz, a professional American football player, are “adding to our starting lineup.”
Earlier this year, I watched part of the NCAA football title game on an alternate ESPN2 broadcast featuring coaches from Texas A&M talking about the game. It was garbage television, and I’m an Aggie. When I saw the NCAA women’s basketball title game Sunday night had an alternate broadcast on ESPN2, I was initially skeptical, but I’m so glad I watched.
Since joining Liverpool in January to play under former manager Matt Beard, American striker Katie Stengel has been an unstoppable force in the FA Women's Championship, scoring six goals in 10 games and adding another in the FA Women's Cup.
Over those 10 league matches, Liverpool has won eight and drawn two, including a 4-2 victory over second-place Bristol City on Sunday that clinched the second division title and a return to the Women's Super League following relegation in 2019-20.
If you just look at the opponent, the USWNT’s April friendlies against Uzbekistan are likely to be fairly drab. Matches against the 48th-ranked team in the world in Ohio and Philadelphia, on the face of it, don’t really kindle much enthusiasm. But the April USWNT roster makes it clear: This is the final chance for some young players to earn a spot on the team at World Cup and Olympic qualifying this summer in Mexico.
Social media is often a horrible place, I think we can all agree. But sometimes it gives us wonderful moments of schadenfreude, moments when we can step back from an argument and be oh so happy we’re not involved. There was one such popcorn-grabbing moment this weekend when Ashlyn Harris and Trinity Rodman got into a Twitter feud after their respective clubs played on Friday.