Mal Pugh is Sky Blue.
The USWNT starlet who skipped college at UCLA to join the Washington Spirit in 2017 was traded to Sky Blue FC for four — yes, four — draft picks during a blockbuster draft-day move on Thursday.
The Portland Thorns selected Sophia Smith with the first pick of the 2020 NWSL Draft, making her the first teenager ever selected in any NWSL draft, but the focus quickly shifted to what Sky Blue was doing.
The NWSL Draft 2020, the eighth such draft for the league, featured a first. Sophia Smith, taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Portland Thorns, became the first teenager selected in the draft on Thursday morning.
Smith, a 19-year-old forward who just finished her sophomore season with Stanford, won a national title and scored 24 goals in 33 games with the Cardinal.
Women’s soccer is a massive sport these days, drawing more than 1.1 billion viewers to the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Leagues across the planet are growing steadily and women’s footballers are becoming household names throughout the U.S. and Europe.
The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women’s football tournament held in the United States. It began its campaign in 2016 after the 2015 Women’s World Cup to continue the hype for women’s soccer. Inspired by the USWNT players, the #SheBelieves campaign brings together the world’s most talented female football players to encourage both athletes and non-athletes to follow their dreams and accomplish all of their goals both on and off the field. This week, the SheBelieves Cup 2020 schedule was announced.
The International Olympic Committee announced guidelines limited free speech during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer. The parameters, released Thursday, codified previous rules barring athletes from making political statements during competition or medal ceremonies by specifying what actions are not allowed.
There’s no more compelling story than when a player like Jamie Vardy goes from being released by his club at the age of 16 to suddenly tearing up the Premier League at the age of 28, but the Leicester City striker’s path is a fit-for-Hollywood tale rather than the norm. The truth is that football is now a mega-industry and the reach of its tentacles knows no bounds — in the search for the world’s next great talent, no rock is left unturned and no YouTube highlight video is left unproduced.
The Houston Dash lost their captain, all-time leading scorer and most-recognizable player on Monday. The Dash sent Kealia Ohai to the Chicago Red Stars after the forward had requested a trade.
Ohai’s fiancé, a popular professional athlete also based in Houston, was incredibly supportive of the move but became upset Tuesday when it came time to read the headlines.
Australian tour de force Sam Kerr made her highly anticipated Women’s Super League debut for Chelsea on Sunday and provided an assist in the club’s 3-1 victory over Reading at Kingsmeadow in London.
A forward pairing of Kerr and Bethany England looked terrifying on paper ahead of the former Chicago Red Star striker’s first appearance, and that certainly proved the case on Chelsea’s opening goal in the 40th minute.
Wendie Renard, one of the best center backs in the game, has lost a major trophy, apparently stolen from her suitcase on a train.
If ever there were a weekend to focus on the FA Women’s Super League, it would be this one. The Premier League is off on break for the FA Cup while leagues in Italy, Germany and France are all off as well.
Sam Kerr’s Chelsea debut will be broadcast on BBC on Sunday against Reading, with four other matches slated for Jan. 5. One match, however, will not go on as scheduled.