This week, we present part 2 of our annual 2023 NWSL regular season wrap-up, in which we look at three teams of the six teams who missed the playoffs by finishing in seventh, eighth and ninth place last season: North Carolina, Angel City FC and Orlando (see part 1 in last week's column: The Week in Women's Football: Big preview of NWSL - ins/outs and predictions - Tribal Football).
Later this month, we will finish with the tenth through twelfth place finishers: Racing Louisville, Washington and NJ/NY Gotham FC, as well as discuss some expansion team news for 2024 and updates on the U.S. minor amateur summer leagues and more plans to launch Division 2 professional women's leagues in 2024 and beyond, including interesting comments from Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber, who brought up the idea to the media on his own volition.
North Carolina Courage (9-5-8, 32 points, Seventh)
The Courage, who just missed the postseason after finishing seventh in the regular season in a year when they won the Challenge Cup—then a preseason tournament—acquired USWNT midfielder Emily Fox from Racing Louisville in exchange for defenders New Zealand international Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett. Fox was the number one draft choice in the 2021 NWSL College Draft, was a NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist and led the league in interceptions (45). In 2022, she won almost 60% of her tackles and duels and had an 82% pass success percentage.
Erceg, the recently retired New Zealand WNT captain, won three regular-season NWSL Shields and three NWSL Championships with the Western New York Flash and Courage, while Pickett was named the NWSL Best XI in both 2021 and 2022; Pickett was capped for the first time by the U.S. last year. Estelle Johnson (34)—who plays internationally for Cameroon and was with Gotham FC/Sky Blue FC for the past four seasons--was a very good free agent pickup in central defense as she provides a calm and veteran presence.
The Courage signed Danish international forward Mille Gejl Jensen (23) to a two-year contract following the departures of forwards Debinha (to Kansas City) through free agency and Diana Ordonez (to Houston) via a trade during the off-season. Gejl has scored seven goals in 23 international matches for Denmark and was a backup forward for Denmark at Euro 2022.
At club level, she scored 11 goals and added eight assists in 32 Damallsvenskan matches in Sweden's top-league with BK Hacken in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In four seasons at home in Denmark with Brondby (3 seasons) and KoldingQ (1 season), she had 35 goals in 72 games. She could be a great acquisition for the Courage and a sleeper like English youth and full international Ebony Salmon was in Louisville and Houston over the past two seasons, who ended up being a revelation for the league.
Danish international forward Mille Gejl Jensen is moving from Sweden to the NWSL and the North Carolina Courage for the 2023 season.
Photo courtesy of Danish Football Association.
Another interesting international signing is Japanese international midfielder Narumi Miura (25), who the team acquired via a transfer fee from Tokyo Verdy Beleza of the Yogibo WE League; she first began playing in the Japanese top flight in 2016.
Miura, signed through the 2024 season, made her senior national team debut in 2018 and has totaled 23 full national team appearances, including at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games that were played in 2021 due to COVID
With the addition of Miura from Japan, the Courage now have players that have served on six senior National Team rosters: Brazil (Kerolin Nicoli), Cameroon (Estelle Johnson), Denmark (Rikke Madsen, Mille Gejl), Ireland (Denise O'Sullivan) and the United States (Emily Fox, Casey Murphy). All of these sides qualified for the Women's World Cup this summer except for Cameroon, who were defeated by Portugal (2-1) in February in the Intercontinental Playoffs in New Zealand.
Early in February, the Courage and Rayadas de Monterrey jointly announce a home-and-home series of friendly matches in 2023. The Courage visited Estadio BBVA in Monterrey on Thursday, March 9 for the first match between the clubs and lost 2-1 to the home side in front of 7,000 fans.
Rayadas took the lead from the penalty spot on a penalty by their captain, Mexican international defender Rebeca Bernal (25), after a handball in the box. Monterrey scored again after an hour when Mexican national team forward Diana Evangelista scored (28). Kerolin Nicoli forced a loose ball in the box and rookie Olivia Wingate won the ball ahead of the Rayadas keeper and scored to cut the deficit to 2-1 but the Courage did not score again.
The Courage also had two scrimmages against Liga MX Femenil teams during their trip to Mexico, defeating UNAM Pumas and Cruz Azul—both of Mexico City. The Courage won both matches 3-0 and against Cruz Azul, new signings Mille Gejl and Narumi Mirua both scored. Rayadas will visit WakeMed Soccer Park later this year, on a date yet to be announced. (See more in The Week in Women's Football: From Atlas to Pumas - previewing Liga MX Femenil & it's amazing growth - Tribal Football).
Note: In their opening match of the regular season on March 25 at home, the Courage defeated the K.C. Current 1-0, with a goal by Mille Gejl, on an assist from Narumi Mirua.
Angel City FC (8-5-9, 29 points; Eighth)
During the off-season, Angel City signed midfielder/forward and Mexican international Katie Johnson on a two-year deal. She played in 15 games last season for the San Diego Wave in 2022. She was drafted 16th overall in the 2017 NWSL Draft by Seattle Reign FC and is entering her sixth season in the league. She has also played for Sky Blue FC (which is now NJ/NY Gotham FC) and the Chicago Red Stars. At the University of Southern California, she won the College Cup in 2016 and scored the game-winner in the semifinal and two goals in the final to secure the school's second National Championship. In 2015, Johnson made her debut for the Mexico Women's National Team (MWNT), eventually scoring eight goals in 23 matches to date.
Upon her signing, Johnson (28) said: "I'm so excited to play at BMO Stadium, feeling the environment and community that has already grown in one year. I want to bring championships and trophies to Angel City and to LA. I've had pretty good success at home in L.A. in high school, and in college at USC, so to hopefully bring one to Angel City would be a big accomplishment."
She expanded on her feelings on a call with the media on February 16, 2023: "The ultimate decision did come down to, feeling like this is the later part of my career and this is an opportunity that I've wanted my entire life, which is to play at home in front of my family and friends. To have that opportunity given to me, I wanted to take advantage of it and that was the main reason behind coming here. Obviously, I thought San Diego would be close, but if I can get even closer to LA, I can't complain and I'm happy to be here."
She also talked about Angel City FC's upcoming pre-season game against Club America: "I'm excited. It's a great experience to have international games. Everyone takes a little more pride in whatever league they're playing in because they want it to be the best, which is important, whether it's the NWSL or La Liga…. It brings out that competition of, if we win, are we the better league. So, it's a friendly competition, but not a rivalry in any way. It's more of how we can obviously show women's soccer across the world but also compete."
The club loaned Jamaican international defender Allyson Swaby to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for six months, which should be a big help to her quest to make the final roster for Jamaica in this summer's WWC, which would be her second after playing in the France Finals in 2019. General Manager and former U.S. national team defender midfielder Angela Hucles Mangano explained: "Allyson will always be part of Angel City history as a member of our inaugural squad. We are continuously looking for ways to develop our players and provide them with opportunities here and abroad, including this one with a storied club like PSG. We know she will make an impact there, and we look forward to her return in the summer."
Swaby spent her collegiate career at Boston College before moving abroad to join Icelandic club Knattspyrnufélag Fjarðabyggðar. In late 2018, she moved to Serie A team AS Roma, where she appeared in 55 matches, and in 2021 helped the team bring home their first major trophy at the Coppa Italia final. She played in only 21 minutes across 2 matches last season with Angel City. A priority for any player in a Women's World Cup Finals team pool is to play regular season games to be fit and considered for this summer's tournament and Swaby is one of a number of players who have signed with teams around the world , on at least a short-term basis, in order to get more playing time.
On March 1, ACFC signed midfielder Mackenzie Pluck to a one-year contract. Pluck, who played at Duke University in a school-record 107 matches with 78 starts for the Blue Devils; she scored 21 goals while also compiling 29 assists for 71 total points. Pluck also helped lead the Blue Devils to three straight NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal appearances. She was invited to U.S. U-14 and U-16 national team training camps.
General Manager Angela Hucles Mangano talked to the media after preseason camp started about the club's first season in the league: "We learned a lot last season, both on and off the field. This season, the main objective is realizing we now have our foundation set and in place. We got through season one, we just nearly missed our goals on the field [finishing in eighth place], in terms of making the playoffs [missing by four points]. That is our number one objective, but also, we want to set the bar even higher. We didn't necessarily get where we were looking to in the first season but were able to establish a foundation and a training facility. Now we're looking with great energy as we start the preseason off, to set the bar even higher."
Head Coach Freya Coombe was asked what she learned in her first season as head coach at Angel City FC: "The biggest thing I've learned was really getting to know the players and their character. I learned that we have a truly relentless and hardworking group that is really hungry to go out and win this season. The effect of us not reaching the playoffs last year was heartbreaking, so we've come back with a new hunger and a desire to perform."
Coombe also talked about the club having an U-18 trialist on the side—midfielder Mia Minestrella of Redondo Beach, California—who is committed to playing at Duke University this fall as well as Giselle Thompson (17), the sister of their number 1 draft choice Alyssa Thompson: "California is such a hotbed of talent and it's really great that we can recognize that and start to work with our community. The clubs in this region are doing a fantastic job developing talent and a big part of our role is to develop relationships with those clubs, which our community team is doing. That's an important part of their journey for their development and for them to get better. So, for us to have those players in the environment is absolutely great. It's a way of us getting a look at them and their strengths as we start to build towards future acquisitions, future drafts, and the future of developing players, especially from our home market."
Freya Coombes has to win this year after finishing eighth at a club that is setting world class standards in marketing and organization off the field and wants to reach the billion-dollar valuation level over the next few seasons. They have not made a lot of signings, other than free agent Mexican international forward and L.A. native Katie Johnson. The first overall draft pick in the 2023 NWSL College Draft was 18-year-old high school senior Alyssa Thompson, who debuted for the U.S. full national team as a substitute last year in England in their 2-1 loss to the reigning EURO champions in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley, and is being touted as a once-in-a-generation talent.
Thompson also qualified through her ancestry to play for the Philippines and Peru at international level. She told CNN Sport: "I think that being able to be a woman of color, just as a role model for little girls, is such an amazing thing. Being able to look up to someone that looks like them is such a cool thing to have."
Thompson hopes to be able to make the U.S.'s 2023 WWC Finals side: "I'm going to do everything that I can to be able to make the roster and I'm just going to work hard towards that goal. If I continue to grow as a player and continue to thrive in the NWSL environment, then I feel like I have a chance."
Angel City defeated Club America of Mexico City 3-0 in a preseason friendly on March 8 at in front of 15,021 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, but the attention focused on Alyssa Thompson (18), who scored her first official goal for the team five minutes into her first game. Thompson made a solo run out of pressure in the midfield, beat the final defender to get in on goal, and dribbled past goalkeeper Itzel González (28—who grew up in Tijuana and played across the border at the University of San Diego) as she dove for the ball. Thompson calmly put away a left-footed finish into the empty net from the left side.
ACFC doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Scottish international forward Claire Emslie, who was celebrating her 29th birthday, sent a lofted ball into the six-yard box; González blocked the initial ball and Angel City defender Megan Reid (26—who played at the University of Virginia but did not register for the NWSL draft and pursued a career as a first responder while playing amateur ball in the WPSL, before playing in Denmark and joining the team through a tryout) headed it down and back towards goal. American defender Paige Nielsen (29, who has played in Korea Republic, Cyprus, Australia and started in the NWSL in 2016 with the Seattle Reign) then sent a right-footed finish into the net. In the 76th minute, forward Simone Charley replaced Thompson and scored Angel City's third goal.
After the match, Alyssa Thompson talked about how she felt before the game and if she was nervous: "This morning, I woke up early because I was a little nervous and a little anxious. I went to school with my sister. I had English. Then I went back home. I was getting more nervous as time progressed. I was just trying not to think about it that much. My dad took me here and I slept in the car just thinking about the game. And then when I got here, I was just trying to focus and just try to feel comfortable because I was really nervous. Once I stepped on the field, I felt better. I felt comfortable with my teammates, and I felt prepared for the game and what was going to happen."
She then discussed scoring her first professional goal in her hometown debut: "It felt amazing and honestly surreal. I obviously wanted to go on the field and try my best and score. I was really happy. Being able to be surrounded by my teammates… everything that I worked for in this preseason kind of came to a good ending with that goal…. It definitely helped relax me."
Head Coach Freya Coombe added: "It was a fantastic debut for her [Thompson] in front of the home supporters that we had. I thought she took the goal so coolly, like she had played in 100 games in this stadium. The occasion didn't put her off. I think she made the correct decision in the way in which she finished and swatted it home. I think that she looked threatening all night."
Regarding the victory over Club America, Coombes said: "Obviously a preseason friendly is not the NWSL, it's not the long season that we have to go into. We're not going to get carried away or too excited. Club América came off of a game two days ago, so the big test now is going into the NWSL season where all the teams are hungry and have parity. They're all going out to win a championship and now we have to compete and dig deep." Coombes did feel that these types of international games were important: "The more that we can have these interactions and crossover games, it's going to enhance the viewership of the global game, as well as increasing the Angel City brand."
U.S. international midfielder Savannah McCaskill—who won a league title with Sydney FC in Australia in 2018/19, found the atmosphere for the Club America as quite special: "For a preseason scrimmage on a Wednesday night, the crowd was incredible. It's been a long time since we've been in front of our supporters. It really kick-started the momentum that we want to carry into this season. Being able to perform in front of everyone that showed up was incredible."
On March 26, in their season opener in Los Angeles, Angel City fell to Gotham City FC 2-1 in front of another sellout cord of 22,000. Also notable was that Alyssa Thompson scored the first goal of the game in the 11th minutes. Gotham fought back in the second half with goals by U.S. internationals Midge Purce (55th minute from the penalty spot) and new acquisition Lynn Williams (64th minute). A few more goals and/or assists by Thompson and she could very well find herself on the plane to New Zealand for this summer's Women's World Cup.
Racing Louisville FC (5-8-9 23 points, Ninth)
As with Sweden's Hanna Glas joining the Kansas City Current (see last week's column: The Week in Women's Football: Big preview of NWSL - ins/outs and predictions - Tribal Football), another huge signing for the NWSL was Racing Louisville's acquisition of Nigerian international forward Uchenna Kanu for a $150,000 transfer fee with UANL Tigres of Mexico, plus other considerations if Kanu meets performance benchmarks.
Kanu signed a two-year deal with an option for a third season. Before moving to Mexico, Kanu scored 22 goals in 42 matches over two years with Linköpings in Sweden's Damallsvenskan. Kanu's 14 goals in the 2021 season ranked second in the league, as Racing head coach Kim Bjorkegren pointed out to me on a media call, to Swedish international Stina Blackstenius (17 goals), who is now at Arsenal and has five goals in 14 matches this season, her second in the WSL. Kanu also spent part of the pandemic-impacted 2019-20 season in Spain with Sevilla FC, making six appearances for the Spanish club.
Upon signing Kanu, second year Racing Louisville head coach Kim Bjorkegren said: "Uchenna is a great player with experience in three different top leagues. She was outstanding in her last year in Sweden… We see her as a winger, but she can also play as a center forward. We're really happy to have her." Kanu (25) scored 20 goals in 30 appearances for Tigres of Monterrey, helping her team claim Liga MX Femenil's Torneo Apertura trophy this past November. On March 17, coach Kim told me in a media call that: "She played for Linkoping, where I was [head coach in Sweden in 2017, before Kanu joined the club in 2020] and did really well…. Players in the Swedish League do well in better leagues in the WSL and NWSL. She's 25 and is young enough to sill learn—she will help us this year."
Kanu played collegiately in the States at Southeastern University, a NAIA (small school division) in Florida, where she scored 157 goals and 53 assists. She was the NAIA Player of the Year in 2017, setting the division record for goals in a single season with 57. She told this reporter on March 17 that, to have played in the U.S. previously, gave her an understanding of the game, the people and culture and helps with blending into her new league and city. She further explained that she always wanted to play in the NWSL: "Louisville is a great opportunity. [It was a] dream goal in my career. It's a more advanced and better league than where I was playing [in Monterrey]."
She further explained that the NWSL [starting its 11th season] is older than Liga MX Femenil [currently in its sixth full season of both an Opening and Closing Championship]: "with better exposure for women's soccer and a better environment to grow in." She acknowledged the passion of fans in the Mexican League: "and their love for football."
At the international level, Kanu has 10 goals in 12 appearances for Nigeria, including a sensational goal against the U.S. Women's National Team in a friendly last September, and two more at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations last summer. Kanu represented Nigeria at the 2019 World Cup in France and previously played in the U-17 and U-20 World Cups in 2014, in Costa Rica and Canada, respectively.
In another transaction between the two clubs, Racing sent their 2023 fourth round draft pick Riley Parker (22), a forward from the University of Alabama, to Tigres on loan for the balance of the 2022-23 Liga MX Femenil Clausura tournament (see our column last month: The Week in Women's Football: From Atlas to Pumas - previewing Liga MX Femenil & it's amazing growth - Tribal Football). This may harken a path of young NWSL players gaining playing time and experience in Mexico, while helping the NWSL side as the loanee will not count against the club's salary cap, before coming home to the NWSL. At Alabama, she set a Crimson Tide record with 17 goals in her senior season as the team reached the College Cup final four for the first time ever. Racing head coach Kim Björkegren explained: "I think these deals are great for all of us. Riley is a young, talented player who has already shown her quality and how much football means to her. But we also know the step from college to the NWSL is a difficult one, so this move will be good for her development, and we think a good player will come back even better after this experience."
The team signed another player with Swedish Damallsvenskan experience in Finnish international central defender Elli Pikkujämsä (23), who started playing professional soccer at the age of 15. She played the last three seasons at KIF Örebro and signed a two-year contract with a mutual option for a third year.
Racing also brought in NWSL stars Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett from the North Carolina Courage and veteran winger Paige Monaghan, who spent four years with the Gotham/Sky Blue FC franchise, as well as Brazilian international Ary Borges (see: The Week in Women's Football: Debinha explains choosing Kansas over Arsenal; NWSL transfer wrap; expansion chat - Tribal Football). Racing re-signed midfielder Jaelin Howell, goalkeeper Katie Lund plus Australian international attacking midfielder Alex Chidiac, who had a stellar off-season with Melbourne Victory, scoring six goals and tied for the league lead in assists (5) when she left after 13 matches.
Chidiac, along with Kanu, Thembi Kgatlana of South Africa—who came from Atletico Madrid last July but has not year played a game—and Chinese midfielder Wang Shuang are expected to miss significant time this year at the WWC Finals in Australia/New Zealand. Danish forward Nadia Nadim led the team with six goals in 11 games last season but a leg injury could see her miss the WWC Finals this summer and much of the Racing season.
American goalkeeper Katie Lund last season set a NWSL record of 112 saves. Racing did not renew an option for English international Gemma Bonner and she signed at home with her former side Liverpool, coached by former Boston Breakers head coach Matt Beard. U.S. youth international forward Emina Ekic, who played collegiately at the University of Louisville and has been with Racing for their two seasons in the league, missed the preseason after fracturing her ankle on loan in Australia to Melbourne City this winter, where she scored four goals in only six games.
Racing played a scoreless scrimmage against the Washington Spirit in Florida to open their preseason slate, and then beat the Chicago Red Stars 3-2 in a preseason game in Indianapolis. It traveled west to the Portland preseason tournament in mid-March and lost 1-0 to the Thorns before defeating OL Reign (2-0) and the U.S. U-23 national team (3-1), with Pikkujamsa, Kanu and Borges all scoring for the first time for the side in the latter match, a good sign for Racing's new signings, as Racing finished a nine-week preseason.
We predict that Kanu—despite being away with Nigeria at the WWC—will be a sensation this season for the NWSL and Racing, with Alex Chidiac being a key supplier for her with her strong passing. The club has also added vast experience in defense with Monaghan, Pickett and Erceg to front the very good goalkeeper Katie Lund; thus, Racing should make the playoffs this season. Coach Kim Bjorkegren's creative squad building will help Racing put their troubles from two sub-par seasons of poor records and coaching and staff abuse of players behind them, along with a strong commitment to player safety from management.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham is on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
