Of all the years in the 2020s, 2021 was probably the least bad one. Maybe. But worry not; 2022 can’t possibly be as bad as the first two years of the decade, right? According to our 2022 soccer predictions, it’s going to be the best year ever, or at least the best of the last three.
In October of 2020, after a devastating summer for a country unwilling to reverse centuries of systemic white supremacy, Imani Dorsey and dozens of other Black women playing in the NWSL creating the Black Women’s Player Collective, aimed at advancing opportunities for Black girls in sports and beyond. On Wednesday, the U.S. Soccer Federation honored Dorsey, one of the BWPC’s founding board members, with the inaugural Social Impact Award.
El Paso Locomotive FC beat out eight teams across three leagues to be crowned the best professional soccer club in Texas, winning the inaugural Copa Tejas Shield. Admittedly, that wasn’t too hard given how bad the MLS and NWSL clubs in Texas were in 2021, but we’re not here to discuss merits; we’re here to discuss ... chips and dip? No, that can’t be right.
On Sunday afternoon, the N.C. Courage announced they had signed a one-year deal with retired fullback Jaelene Daniels, formerly known as Jaelene Hinkle. Now NWSL fans across the country — especially in North Carolina — are furious over the signing. On the other side of the continent, the Portland Thorns angered their fans for drafting a player with a history of horribly racist, homophobic and transphobic behavior on Twitter.
This is not how the NWSL wanted to end what has already been a shit year for the league.
The 10th annual NWSL Draft was held on Saturday evening, and with the No. 1 overall pick, expansion side San Diego Wave FC selected Stanford defender Naomi Girma, who was U.S. Soccer's 2020 Young Female Player of the Year.
Girma joins a San Diego backline anchored by USWNT veteran Abby Dahlkemper and former Stanford teammate Tegan McGrady. The 21-year-old can also play in midfield, where she may be needed after the club selected a forward, German international Marleen Schimmer out of Grand Canyon University, with its ninth pick in the first round.
Carli Lloyd passed the torch to Lindsey Horan this year. Lloyd, who won two Women’s World Cups wearing the vaunted No. 10 jersey, bequeathed the number to Horan after retiring. On Thursday night, it was Horan who honored the jersey by being named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.
San Diego Wave FC can do no wrong. One month after the new NWSL club revealed its name, San Diego unveiled the club’s crest on Wednesday and hot damn is it a crest. I gave the name an 8/10 rating. This crest is a straight 10/10.
San Diego, our crest has risen. pic.twitter.com/iSbmhMVOsx
As if the recent NWSL trading spree hasn’t been enough to keep track of — Krashlyn off to New York, Julie Ertz to LA and now Alex Morgan going to San Diego — two major financial news stories dropped for the U.S. women’s national team on Monday.
Twice World Cup-winning forward Alex Morgan has joined San Diego Wave FC, the National Women's Soccer League's expansion team said on Monday ahead of ther inaugural season.
The move reunites the Southern California native with United States team mate, defender Abby Dahlkemper, and her former national team head coach Jill Ellis, who is club president.
It’s a busy time in the NWSL. Players are coming and going across the league, from big-name stars to lesser-known role players ahead of next week’s NWSL Expansion Draft and NWSL Draft. But that doesn’t excuse what Racing Louisville did this week.