Women's Soccer

The ninth regular season of the W-League is coming to a close as the top teams will play in the W-League semifinals this weekend.

The 2016/17 playoffs will feature three former champions: Sydney FC, Canberra United and Melbourne City, as well as Perth Glory. The nine team league had a clinch breakaway top four as the season began to wind down, which ended with a five-point gap between fourth and fifth. At one point during the season all four of the top clubs held the first position in the table. 

The NWSL minimum salary will more than double for next season, from $7,200 to 15,000.

Woo.

Even if it is  (more than) doubling, that's not much in the way of an increase It still all but guarantees players will have to work second and even third jobs to be able to afford their bills, especially in expensive markets like Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Boston.

If all of the Seattle Reign’s departures and questions this offseason left anyone thinking that perhaps they would settle for a rebuilding season, those assumptions have been proven incorrect. Manager Laura Harvey has kept Seattle in the hunt for titles ever since her arrival, and 2017 will be no different. On Monday, the club’s latest move confirmed their desire to win now. 

A week out from the 2017 draft and still waiting for the upcoming season’s schedule to be released, clubs were back to work building their squads. Here is a look at some of the player movements and signings over the past few days, as well as the announcement of a big pre-season tournament. 

Seattle Reign

Re-signed defender Merritt Mathias 

Re-signed forward Kiersten Dallstream

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. 

Heather O'Reilly has made the move. The star midfielder, who scored 47 goals in 231 appearances for the USWNT, signed with Arsenal Ladies. Te move was officially announced by Arsenal on Wednesday.

"Having come over to Arsenal last year to train, I was very impressed with the club. The facilities are world class and they have a tradition of excellence at the club that I wanted to be a part of, I’m very happy to be here,” O’Reilly said.

If 2016 was an up-and-down year, full of injuries, player returns and off-field disturbances, then 2017 may very well be about building a new direction for the NWSL’s Seattle Reign. 

Former 2014 league MVP Kim Little was transferred to Arsenal, captain Keelin Winters has retired and there are still questions about Hope Solo’s future. Now the club has announced that Kendall Fletcher, a defensive starter, will not return to the team for the upcoming season. 

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.