The North Carolina Courage are in full-on rebuild mode in the post-Paul Riley era. Lynn Williams is the latest star leaving the storied NWSL club after seven seasons with the Courage/Western New York Flash; the team announced a blockbuster trade to send the USWNT forward to Kansas City on Monday morning.
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.
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.
Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC will start to really fill out their rosters during the NWSL expansion draft on Dec. 16, during which time each team is allowed to draft up to nine players from other preexisting NWSL squads. But neither club is waiting around for the expansion draft or the 2022 NWSL Draft two days later to make moves, with one USWNT player heading west and a potential blockbuster trade in the works ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
Carli Lloyd might only have one match left in her career, but she’s still showing she can dice up an NWSL defense. If her own team’s defense can shore up, she’ll earn another match before she retires.
Cisgender men’s footballers have it pretty easy if they want to start a family: Either they get someone pregnant or they adopt. Regardless, outside of some paternity leave near the birth, they generally don’t miss much playing time, rarely have major physical side effects and don’t have to choose between a playing career or starting a family.
Footballers who want to become pregnant, on the other hand, face much more difficult decisions when it comes to having children. Either they pause their career to bear children or put it off until after retirement.
Christen Press is coming home. The Los Angeles native will play her future club soccer with Angel City FC after Racing Louisville announced a trade with the NWSL expansion club on Monday.
It's official: We've agreed to a trade with @weareangelcity.
The NWSL Challenge Cup is in full swing and these lady ballers are here to show what makes them the best of the best. They are showing class both on and off the field; from their pre-game outfits to their goals and celebrations, you do not want to miss a single second.
As NJ/NY Gotham FC leads the East Division and the Portland Thorns hold the No. 1 spot in the West Division, there has been great play and amazing moments during tournament play.
When the world shut down in March 2020 for Covid-19, there was a lot of fear about the future of soccer. How could we play in the midst of a pandemic, one that would kill more than half a million people in the U.S. alone? The NWSL Challenge Cup was the answer, proving you could play sports and keep everyone safe.