2025 NWSL Regular Season Review—Part 2
This week, we present part 2 of our NWSL regular season wrap-up, looking at the six teams who missed the playoffs this season: North Carolina Courage, Houston Dash, Angel City FC, Utah Royals, Bay FC and Chicago Stars. See part 1 for our review of the teams who made the playoffs in 2025: Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit, Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride, Seattle Reign, San Diego Wave, Racing Louisville and NJ/NY Gotham FC (see: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL regular season review P1 - TribalFootball.com).
North Carolina Courage (9-8-9—35 points; Ninth)
The North Carolina Courage sacked head coach Sean Nahas mid-season; he had been in charge for nearly four years. They opened the season with five wins, five defeats and four ties in 14 games and were in ninth place at the time. The announcement was not handled well and instead of a weekly coaches and players briefing with the media on Thursday August 7, suddenly there was Courage Sporting Director and Chief Soccer Officer Ceri Bowley presenting but providing very little information on why Nahas was fired and what their plans were to replace him.
He was clearly being guided and directed by others from the front office in the wings with some of his answers. Bowley said about terminating Nahas: “It was a multitude of factors that go into such a decision, and clearly we’re looking forward to finishing the season strong. We’re on the cusp of the playoffs, so our primary focus is to finish the season strong and hopefully at the end of it, achieve our goals.” Interestingly, they finished the season in ninth place, the same position that they were on August 7. Bowley refused to offer clarity as to whether club performance or an internal investigation influenced the decision, insisting and repeating it was a: “multitude of factors.”
Assistant coach Nathan Thackeray (37) was initially tabbed as acting head coach for their match the next day against Houston (a 2-1 loss away), which turned into his running the team for the rest of the season. Apparently it gave Bowley time to, as he told the media,: “give some proper thought to what the next steps look like.” Thackeray is a native of Burnley, England. Nahas joined the Courage as an assistant in 2017 and was named interim coach in late 2021 after the club fired Paul Riley for multiple allegations of sexual environment and assaults.
Nahas became full-time head coach before the 2022 season, leading the Courage to two NWSL Challenge Cup titles in 2022 and 2023, two playoff appearances and the semifinals of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup in 2024. Sean Nahas had a 36-19-25 (W-D-L) overall record with the Courage. His brother, Damon, took over as head coach of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill women’s soccer team after long-time, legendary coach Anson Dorrance retired. During his first year leading the program, Damon Nahas led the Tar Heels to a national championship in 2024, for their first title in 12 years. Maybe the Courage hired the wrong Nahas brother?
After the loss to Houston, the club clarified in a statement why Sean Nahas was let go, citing: “confounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit that created an environment that club leadership felt was untenable to the point that change was necessary at the head coaching position.” I guess that cleared things up—not really; it would be nice to know how things have changed since 2023, when they finished third in the league table and won the Challenge Cup.
The Courage were described by one league follower as “a dumpster fire” in 2025. They never replaced their world class Brazilian striker Kerolin—now at Manchester City—and could only hang onto U.S. international Jaedyn Shaw for six months, who arguably was not played in her best position by Nahas, when he let her on the field (see our part 1 link above for more on Shaw’s move late in the year to Gotham FC).
Like some other teams that missed the playoffs this season, they have less than five months to hire a full time head coach—Thackeray is probably not the answer, particularly as he didn’t lead the team to the playoffs, while the club dropped its long-time men’s Championship second division side, Carolina FC to focus on the women’s team, though it has said it will plan to apply for a new men’s USL Division 1 league slot for its intended launch in 2028—and add to their team for the 2026 season.
Manaka Matsukubo (21), who came to the Courage in 2023 on loan from Mynavi Sendai in Japan and was signed to a permanent deal when the loan expired in June of 2024, was absolutely brilliant this season, finishing with 11 goals (third best in the league). She scored a hat-trick on October 17 against Bay FC to become the youngest NWSL player to ever accomplish that.
On July 25, the North Carolina Courage recorded a 4-0 win against Chivas de Guadalajara Femenil in an international exhibition match at WakeMed Soccer Park. Tyler Lussi scored the ultimate winner in the fourth minute from a header. Ashley Sanchez scored the side’s second in the 13th minute from an assist by Australian international Cortnee Vine. Two minutes later, Brooklyn Courtnall (22)—who played at the University of Southern California—scored her first professional goal from a set piece from Brianna Pinto. Aline Gomes made it 4-0 in the 76th minute, scoring on the breakaway after a lofted pass from Japanese midfielder Manaka Matsukubo. Sydney Collins returned to the field for the first time in over a year, subbing into the match just after the hour mark. The Courage had activated Collins off the season-ending injury list earlier in the week.
Houston Dash (8-6-12; 30 points; Tenth)
Houston Dash President of Women’s Soccer Angela Hucles Mangano earlier in the season talked about building a culture and unique identity in Houston—seemingly a never ending project since year one in 2014. She said: “That started from day one. In terms of when I arrived, and a little bit before, that under some changes that were made previously when Erik Ustruck became the interim general manager last season. We started with our staff in terms of how we, together as staff, build a great team behind the players and focused on culture building. In January, it was one of the first things we did when we all came together.
Since then, it's been continuous weekly progress and what does that look like from Fabrice’s (first year head coach Gautrat) leadership with the players to establishing our values as a sporting club, an organization and identifying those types of behaviors that we want to see, that build positive team culture on a daily basis from our players as well as our staff. We use visuals around our team environment as well. It’s something that is constantly talked about top of mind from our existing full-time staff and bringing in a mental performance coach, who is really identifying one of our primary values in terms of trust, building trust, how we establish that, and what does that look like on the day-to-day. How does it manifest on the field as well?”
The plan sounded good but it did not lead to a playoff spot—which they have achieved once in 12 seasons, though they were in the race late this fall, but finished in tenth place. The Dash issued a press release saying: “Houston Dash See Growth in First Season with New Leadership.”
The release cited the new leadership of the team in Gautrat, Hucles and Jason Lowe as the team’s assistant general manager (coming in June), along with hiring new staff: “to support the operation of the team and promoted four individuals to new roles within the club.” It also cited such positives as earning 19 points in the second half of the season (with a 5-4-4 W-D-L record), nearly doubling their tally earned in the first half of the year. Talk about “fetching good out of evil,” the Dash again needs to figure out what the team needs to improve next season.
Many Dash followers see 2025 as another unsatisfactory year, despite the positivity coming out of their media department. They didn’t get my vote for the 2025 NWSL Communications Team of the Year—yes, that is a thing that the NWSL Media Association members were asked to vote on this year, in addition to year-end player and coach awards. Actually, I think it is a good addition as team’s Communications departments deserve the recognition as they facilitate statistics, player access for interviews and in many other ways. There is hope for the Dash as the Orlando Pride floundered for years, made some key additions in 2024 and ended up winning the regular season and playoff title.
Italian international defender Lisa Boattin (28) was on Italy’s 2025 Women’s EURO semifinals side and signed with Houston in August through the 2025 season for a transfer fee, the 12th new addition to the team in 2025. She played eight years in Italy with Juventus of Turin, winning 14 league and cup trophies, and played in 236 games since 2017. The defender was named the 2021/2022 Serie A Player of the Year and has been named to the Best XI five times. She began her career as a 14-year-old with AFC Venezia in 2011.
She spent two seasons with Graphistudio Pordenone prior to joining Brescia in 2014. Boattin spent one season with AGSM Verona prior to signing with Juventus in 2017 as part of their inaugural campaign in Serie A. She has tallied 392 appearances across her club career in Italy and won five trophies prior to joining Juventus. She made her national team debut in 2019 and has earned 70 caps with the senior team. She played in two FIFA Women’s World Cups (2019 and 2023), reaching the quarterfinals in 2019.
She was on Italy’s Women’s EURO semifinals side this past summer in Switzerland. Boattin served as the captain of the U-17 Italian Youth National Team that finished third both at the European Championship and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2014 in Canada. She is the second recent Italian WNT player to join the league after the D.C. Spirit signed Sofia Cantore (see our part 1 link above for more).
Angela Hucles Mangano said about Lisa Boattin: “She got back last night from her visa appointment, so, with visa in hand, which was the last part of her process so that she could be ready and cleared to play in the league. I’m really excited about Lisa. Kudos to our recruitment team for that identification. When you bring in someone who has 14 titles with Juventus with that type of championship mentality, we want to bring in players who are experienced and know what it takes to be successful.
"This is a highly competitive league, Lisa’s experience, work rate, work ethic, ability to play, and play in our system that Fabrice (Gautrat) has started to establish with this group; she checks so many boxes for us and also checks our big box, wanting to be a global destination for women’s football with the Houston Dash. Our ability to bring in diverse talent into this club is something that we were able to see with Lisa.”
In mid-August, the Dash loaned defender Zoe Matthews (18) and Brazilian defender Rebeca (19) to Dux Logroño in Spain through June 30, 2026. Matthews is a U.S. youth international but has participated in a senior camp for Jamaica. Matthews grew up in Southlake, Texas native and joined the Dash in October of 2024; as a youth player she reached the 2024 ECNL national championship game with Legends FC. She won the national championship at the U-14 level in 2021 with Legends FC and was named a United Soccer Coaches High School All-American for the 2022-2023 season following her sophomore campaign at Carroll Senior High School.
Rebeca played in two exhibition games this season, against the Super League’s Carolina Ascent and Monterrey of Mexico, after moving from Cruzeiro in Brazil for the 2025 season. Hucles said: “Rebecca and Zoe (Matthews) recently (went) on loan to DUX Logrono. What a fantastic opportunity for them, in terms of their ability to further their development. Ultimately, they need more minutes. They need more game time to really establish that and to continue their growth. It’s not necessarily common to be able to send two players to one club at the same time.
"For both of them, especially being younger players and having familiarity with somebody else, one of their teammates, in a different and new environment was really special and (a) unique opportunity that we had with the club that’s actually really known for their talent development. Players who have come out of DUX, have started with them and grown and developed. A player from an African country, you might have heard of her name, Barbra Banda (Zambian international with the Orlando Pride), was also at DUX and went on to do, what we see her doing today. So, (I’m) really excited for them and the opportunity that they have in front of them.”
In mid-July, Canadian international forward Clarissa Larisey (26) joined the Houston Dash from Crystal Palace FC in England though the 2027 season. She scored 27 goals across 68 appearances during her four seasons as a professional in Europe. Larisey made her debut for the Canadian Women’s National Team in 2022 and scored her first goal that fall in a friendly against Morocco; to date she has 12 caps.
Larisey began her professional career in League1 Ontario with West Ottawa SC and Ottawa South United, where she scored nine goals in a single match during a 13-0 victory over North Mississauga SC on May 11, 2019. In 2021, she joined Valur in Iceland and helped the club capture the Besta Deild Kvenna league title. The forward signed with Celtic FC Women in the Scottish Women’s Premier League for the 2021-2022 season, where she won both the Scottish Cup and League Cup.
She led the league with 12 goals in 12 league matches, including a hat trick in the season opener against Hibernian. Larisey then joined Swedish side BK Häcken in 2023, where she netted 13 goals across 40 appearances. She spent last season with Crystal Palace in England. The forward played college soccer at the University of Memphis. The forward was named to the Second Team All-American in her final two seasons with the Tigers.
Dash head coach Fabrice Gautrat told the media about the club signing Larisey: “We have a scouting department that did a lot of work. As we looked more into her, her ability to get in behind, her ability to show that she can score goals and she has obviously played on some high-level teams and environments. So, those were a couple things that we thought would really help us. Off the ball as well. Her ability to press and allow us to be more in the opposition’s half.” She ended the season with nine appearances and one goal with the Dash.
Off the field, in October the Dash was in advanced talks to sell the club to RHC Group in China for a reported price of US$120 million. As of press time, the deal has not been completed. RHC is led by Ricard Hsiao (24), an American-born son of Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua, who has had discussions with a number of women’s soccer groups within the last few years, including other NWSL sides according to reports.
Current Dash owner Ted Segal would still retain the Houston Dynamo of the MLS and carve out the Dash—much as we have seen recently with Bristol’s women’s side in England—see our column in October: The Week in Women's Football: Matt Beard's passing; Mata and Chiellini Bristol City investment - TribalFootball.com. The plan would be for the new ownership to keep the team in Houston. Segal bought both clubs in 2021 with $400 million, with the Dash a sliver of the full purchase price. The $120 million would be a huge revenue driver for Segal and the Dynamo—the Dash is valued at $74 million as of September of 2024—10th in the NWSL—with the average league team valued at $104 million according to Sportico but the Dash has always been seen as an underperforming team with underwhelming support in a nice stadium, though the fans have had precious little to cheer about. In 2024, they averaged 6,194 fans and 6,094 in 2025, twelfth out of 14 teams compared to a league average of 10,583. According to Sportico, the Dash had revenue of $7.6 million in 2024, up from $5 million in 2023.
RHC is an investor in TMRW Sports, the parent company of the tech-driven team golf league TGL, and is a backer of the league’s Motor City Golf Club. In June, it invested in Ballers, a social club concept to build on the popularity of sports such as pickleball and padel. Over the summer, RHC acquired Greek basketball club Aris B.C.
Hsaio seems to be focused on a lot of sports and not just football, so this could be a tad risky, but the Dash needs some new energy and direction, which arguably it has had little of in their 12 years in the league. For a team that made the playoffs once in 2022, it must be particularly galling to watch the coach that led that effort—Juan Carlos Amoros—leave for Gotham FC, who were willing to give him a long term contract, and since has won two NWSL titles in the last three seasons, along with a CONCACAF W Champions Cup this season. Other current investors in the Dynamo and Dash include Lyle Ayes, founder of investment firm Verance Capital and Dynamo vice chairman; NBA star James Harden; and former U.S. men’s national team goalie Tim Howard. It is not clear if these investors would divest in the Dash or not.
Angel City FC (7-6-13, 27 points—Eleventh)
U.S. U-23 international and rookie Reilly Tiernan (23) led the team in scoring with eight goals while U.S. full international Alyssa Thompson (now with Chelsea in England) was second with six goals. Tiernan scored 19 goals in 83 games in four seasons at Rutgers University. Alyssa Thompson’s sister and fellow USWNT member Gisele Thompson led the team with five assists. The team scored 31 goals for eleventh in the league and tied for eleventh with Bay FC for goals allowed (41).
The NWSL league office took a while, but finally admitted that Angel City-Utah game in Los Angeles on May 9 (in front of a strong crowd of 16,533) should not have continued after Savy King (20) collapsed on the field, making their decision as a result of: “feedback from stakeholders,” hopefully including fan groups and the media. King received on-field medical attention after collapsing around the 74th minute of the game at BMO Stadium. The match was stopped for around 16 minutes before resuming, after King was transported off the field by medical staff and taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where she had successful surgery for a heart abnormality. She played the first eight games of the season but did not play again in 2025. King appeared in 18 games her rookie season in 2024 with Bay City after one year at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Angel City was ahead 1-0 when King couldn’t continue and won the match 2-0, with second half goals from Christen Press and Alyssa Thompson, the latter in the 97th minute. After full-time, the two teams gathered in a circle and Utah defender Alex Loera, a teammate of King’s at Bay FC in 2024, appeared to lead them in a prayer.
Utah head coach Jimmy Coenraets told reporters after the game that he was not sure the game should have continued after King’s collapse. The NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) later said in a statement to the media that the match definitely should have been abandoned: “These moments demand humanity, sound judgment and restraint. Any medical emergency that requires the administration of life-saving care should bring play to an end. The match should not have continued.”
Precedent was set for sports in general when Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills of the NFL collapsed on the field with a cardiac arrest on national television on January 2, 2023; the league immediately postponed the game in Dallas. He spent nine days in the hospital and has returned to football. The NWSL should have immediately ended the game and continued it at a later date. For a league in its 13th season, they should have policies developed for these types of cases, including the excessive heat game that was delayed for over three hours in Kansas City (see part 1 link above for more) and not treat each case on a “as it comes” basis.
ACFC’s final game of the season was a 2-1 loss to Chicago away and was the final professional game for Angel City forward and U.S. Women’s World Cup winner Christen Press and American-born New Zealand international defender Ali Riley. Riley explained her feelings on her retirement: “It was difficult because I love this game, and I have loved it for so much of my career. I want to play more games for Angel City and for New Zealand. These teams mean so much to me. It is difficult and sad knowing that I won’t be able to do that anymore, that I’m stepping away from the game, but in terms of the actual decision and the timing, that was very easy.” Riley is a dynamo on the personal branding and marketing side even though she played internationally for the Football Ferns and for many years on the club side in Europe; we will explore the top players in the league in terms of sponsorships in the upcoming weeks.
Riley returned this season after a persistent and chronic leg injury and said: “I am so thankful and so proud that I have been able to come back to the game, come back to the field, make the travel roster, and the game day roster. What it’s taking for my body to do those things is not something I can’t sustain long-term. It went through my head, ‘can I do this for six more months, can I do this for another year?’ The answer is, ‘no.’ I spend the rest of my days just preparing for the next day. While I do love football, there is so much more to life, especially my family and rebuilding our home, spending time with my husband, and hopefully starting a family. Those are all things I want to be able to have energy to do.” During the NWSL playoffs, Riley has been an analyst for NWSL playoffs games as well as UEFA Women’s Champions League games for CBS.
American midfielder Nealy Martin (27) joined Angel City on September 9 for $85,000 in intra-league transfer funds this season, following almost three full seasons with Gotham FC as well as Racing Louisville during their first two seasons in 2021 and 2022. She talked to the media on what she was looking forward to in the 2026 season: “It’s really exciting what Alex (Straus—head coach) is building here; you can see moments of it on the field. We want to be more clinical, and we want to be better defensively. There are a lot of things to work on, which is exciting because we haven’t had a preseason with this group. There were a lot of moving parts this year, but I’m super excited for next year and what we’re going to build.”
After the final game, former Bayern Munich head coach Alex Straus, a native of Norway, talked about what he was looking to change in the off-season: “We need to change a lot of things, and we need to do it in the offseason because we will not look like this for one more year (the fans would agree with a plaintive ‘Please no!’). I don’t think anybody within our organization wants that, and that’s not why I came here. I know what I’m used to, I know what I want, and I want to bring this fantastic club to where they need to be, and that’s why I’m here.
"We’re gonna (sic) get the right people on the bus and in the right seats, and it starts in January. For me, it’s refreshing. I feel like that is the main start for me, where I can do the things that I’m planning to do because I came mid-season. We need stability, and we need to make the changes that need to be made and create a group that’s going to be here for many years. We can build them and go where we want to. That process starts now. We don’t like to be in this situation, and we cannot accept it as a group.”
I have talked to Alex Straus on multiple occasions since he joined the club this summer and I like him a lot. The club desperately needs to make the playoffs next season in their fifth season, as they are a standard-bearer off the field in terms of investment, value, brand building and fan support, but on the field has been a struggle with only one playoff spot (in 2023). I think next season’s club will be largely unrecognizable from this season—particularly with the retirements of Christen Press and Aly Riley—and Straus has the global contacts to do that. He started that process late in the season with the acquisition of Japanese international midfielder Hina Sugita from Portland (see part 1 link above for more) along with acquiring Zambian international forward Prisca Chilufya from the Orlando Pride in early October (see more below).
It seems odd that the team sent USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea of the WSL in early September just a few months after Straus arrived for the largest outgoing transfer in NWSL history for $1.65 million). Straus started a press conference just before the transfer by stating that he wouldn’t discuss “a certain player” or “a certain transfer.” She left as the all-time club leader in goals (15 in the league games and 21 overall) and sixth overall in games played (with 62 in the league and 74 overall).
Later that day, the transfer was approved and the club tried to position it that they had tried to keep Thompson—who had signed an extension to her original three year contract from 2023 through 2028 in January with ACFC and was on a reported $1 million dollar total contact—but that didn’t seem to be the case. It was rather perplexing behavior by Strauss in that Angel City FC picked up its biggest win of the NWSL season on August 21 when it beat the reigning champion Orlando Pride 1-0 on a late Alyssa Thompson goal (86th minute) in front of 15,749 fans at BMW Field. It was the first victory for Straus since he took over on June 1 after leaving Bayern Munich (in his seventh game in charge after three ties and three losses). Interestingly, Angel City’s founding control owner Alexis Ohanian purchased a minority stake in Chelsea in May of 2025.
Thompson was the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL draft — becoming the first high schooler to be drafted first in NWSL history—and backed out of a verbal commitment to play at college powerhouse Stanford University in Northern California. She made 16 league appearances this season, scoring six goals.
Thompson has been capped 24 times for the U.S. after the October international window (with three goals), after making her senior debut as a 17-year-old in October 2022 against England at Wembley Stadium.
Thompson said about the move to England in a news release: “Chelsea is such an amazing club, one of the best in the world. Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age and I want to learn, grow and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in.”
Australian international defender Alanna Kennedy and English international midfielder Katie Zelem also moved to England this season, with both joining London City Lionesses, which won promotion to WSL1 last season.
At the end of the season, five players were at the end of their contracts and were entering free agency: defender Elizabeth Eddy, midfielder Madison Hammond, defender Miyabi Moriya, defender Megan Reid, and goalkeeper Hannah Stambaugh. Reid and Hammond have been with the club since its inaugural season in 2022.
Forward Casey Phair, who is contracted with ACFC through 2028, was sent on loan to Djurgårdens IF in Stockholm Sweden and appeared in six matches for the team that finished fourth on the table with 50 points from 26 matches, behind champions Hacken of Gothenburg (64 points), Hammarby of Greater Stockholm (60 points) and Malmo FF (57 points), who will all advance to the second qualifying round in next season’s UEFA WCL. She will return for preseason in 2026.
Midfielder Lily Nabet, who is under contract through the end of 2025, is on loan with Gainbridge USL Super League’s Fort Lauderdale United FC, where she has played in seven matches to date. Colombian international forward Maithé López has been recalled from her seven-month loan with Gainbridge Super League Team Lexington SC in October, where she made seven appearances with one goal.
On October 9, Angel City acquired Zambian international forward Prisca Chilufya and a 2025 international roster spot through a trade with the Orlando Pride. In exchange, the Pride received $50,000 in intra-league transfer funds. Chilufya joined the Pride in January of this year, scoring two goal in 16 matches in her NWSL debut season, following her transfer from FC Juarez of Liga MX Femenil, where she played two seasons, scoring 14 goals in 48 appearances. She previously played for Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk and helped Tomris Turan of Kazakhstan win the Kazakh Women’s Championship in 2022-2023, with 14 goals in 18 games. She began her pro career with the Zambian club Red Arrows in 2021. Chilufya appeared in all three group stage matches for Zambia at the 2024 Paris Olympics and was an alternate for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup team.
In July the club signed U-23 U.S. international player Evelyn Shores to a contract through 2028. Shores joined after a college career with University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she won the 2024 NCAA Championship. Shores scored her first goal at the international level, nailing a game winning second-half stoppage time goal to seal a 2–1 victory over Germany on June 2 on a two-match tour of Germany. (The U.S. fell by the same score to Germany in the second match). She then traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina where she competed in The Soccer Tournament (TST) with the US Women, a team that featured Heather O’Reilly and Carli Lloyd, where she hit another game-winning goal as the team won the $1 million tournament prize.
With the acquisition of Japanese international Hina Sugita (28) towards the end of the season (see part 1 link above for more), head coach Alex Straus said: “Hina was one who captured my attention when I was in Europe. When I arrived here, I very early said to (General Manager Mark) Parsons that this is a player who will understand the journey that we started and the way that we want to play our soccer for the coming years. She will be a very good addition.
"We tried to get her earlier, but it was not possible. But in the last couple of weeks, something changed, and it was possible. She’s such a fantastic talent that we just capitalized now. She fits the way I want to play soccer. She’s extremely technical, and she’s good on the ball, she’s very active. You have probably seen her play for Portland, and I think she is one of the best in her position. When she’s at her best, she is one of the top players in this league. So I’m very happy (to bring her into the side).”
In July, ACFC signed German defender Sara Doorsoun (34) to a contract through 2026, who came from Frauen-Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt for an undisclosed transfer fee. Doordoun explained her move: “It has been my dream to play in Los Angeles. I came to LA when I was 14 with the U-15 German National Team and it was always on my mind to play there. I didn’t know if this team would exist and now that it does, my dream is coming true 19 years later. I promise to give it my all for the fans and the city. I am excited to play for Alex, with the whole team, and in front of the incredible fans.”
A native of Cologne, she debuted for the German Women’s National Team in 2015, earning one goal in 59 caps. She finished second in the Women’s EURO in 2022 in England. She was on the 2019 and 2023 Women’s World Cup Finals and won a Bronze Medal in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. For Eintracht Frankfurt, Doorsoun scored eight goals in 88 match appearances. She had 73 appearances for VfL Wolfsburg and helped the club to back-to-back Frauen-Bundesliga and DFB Pokal (cup) titles and was a UEFA WCL runner-up to Lyon of France in 2019-20 She previously played with SGS Essen and FFC Turbine Potsdam. Through ancestry, she also qualified to play for Iran and Turkey.
Utah Royals (6-7-13, 25 points; Twelfth)
The Royals remain a difficult team to figure out in their second season since the franchise came back in 2024—they were terrible in the first half of the season and then, after the summer international break, they won five, tied five and had only three losses, all by a single goal to playoff sides Seattle, San Diego and Kansas City, compared to one win, two ties and ten losses in the first half of the campaign. Last season, their head coach from Belgium, Jimmy Coenraets, took over mid-season and led the team to a 7-2-4 (W-D-L) record. Coenraets, if he returns, won’t survive another terrible start to the season—maybe Utah can just start the 2026 season in late summer to avoid their habitual early season blue funk.
American international goalkeeper Maddy McGlynn tied for sixth in the league among goalkeepers with five shutouts. Japanese international Mini Tanaka of Japan (31), who was born in Thailand and has 40 goals in 92 caps since her debut in 2013 for Japan, led the side with six goals (and one assist) followed by American veteran Paige Monaghan with five goals (and two assists). Guatemalan international Aisha Solórzano became the first player from her country to score in the league, with one goal in 20 games.
Utah native KK (Kherrington Azreal) Ream (16) scored the Royals’ winning goal in the 85th minute in Portland (2-1) for the team’s second win in 18 games on August 29 and became the youngest goal scorer in NWSL history, only 52 days past her birthday. The U.S. youth international finished the season with one goal in nine games but is a highly valued prospect in a league that is growing ever younger. Mandy McGlynn made 11 saves—a career high—to preserve the win. On May 3, when still 15, Ream made her first career start in the Utah Royals’ 2-0 loss to the North Carolina Courage to become the league’s youngest ever starter in a regular season match.
Manchester United Women head of player recruitment Harvey Bussell was brought on by the Royals in the same position for 2026, officially announced on November 7, but rumored for some time. Bussell joined United in October 2022 from Millwall, where he was head of recruitment, as a talent scout. Bussell was named head of player recruitment on United’s women’s side in June 2023. Under Bussell, United signed Brazil forward Geyse, Japan midfielder Hinata Miyazawa, 2023 World Cup winner Irene Guerrero of Spain, England defender Gabby George, USWNT goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Netherlands defender Dominique Janssen, France forward Melvine Malard, Canada international Simi Awujo and Wales defender Gemma Evans. Bussell needs to quickly work his magic with this team to bring in some scorers, as only two teams scored fewer than their 28 goals in 2025—Houston with 27 and Bay FC with 26. Their average attendance of 8,727 for eighth in the league is acceptable and near the league average of 10,583, but it could fall off unless they are more competitive immediately next season.
Bay FC (4-8-14—20 points; Tied for Thirteenth)
Bay FC made the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2024 but this second year franchise seemed to have a hex on it, particularly as players skied out after 2024 and before the start of the season despite making the playoffs, with allegations that head coach Albertin Montoya was playing favorites and dismissive of players’ mental health concerns. In July, the league’s biannual player surveys revealed that Bay FC was ranked 11th out of the 14 NWSL teams in overall player satisfaction while the coaching staff was rated 13th by players. The same month, the league finally completed its month long investigation, clearing Montoya of any specific infractions but did find that his communication style could be improved.
On September 8, Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya announced that he was stepping down as head coach at the end of season—a curious decision of why he felt he should finish the last two months of the season, with Bay FC in the midst of a winless streak that hit 15 games when the season concluded. Their last win was a 1-0 win over Portland at home on June 7 in front of 14,049 fans at PayPal Park in San Jose.
NWSL veteran defender and U.S. youth international Caprice Dydasco (32), who has been in the league since 2015 and was the NWSL Defender of the Year in 2021 with Gotham FC, said towards the end of the season “As sad as it sounds, I’ve gone through so many coaches. They come and go, but we’re the players. We’re the people that can make these changes (in improving their performances).”
Generally, the thinking is that Montoya’s assistant coaches will not return either, including Angela Salem (37), who won a WPS title with Sky Blue FC in 2009 and played in the NWSL with four teams from 2013-21. She has previously been an assistant coach in D.C. with the Spirit. Their mental performance specialist Agustina De Giovanni (40), a former Olympic swimmer from Argentina, was adept at guiding players through a pregame visualization sessions. She swam at the University of Alabama and has recently done television commentary for swimming and football.
Their 26-strong roster in 2025 included 12 players in either their rookie or second seasons in the league and American defenders Abby Dahlkemper and Emily Menges out on maternity leave hurt the chemistry of the team. In January, Venezuelan international forward Deyna Castellanos agreed with the club to become a free agent; she now plays for the Portland Thorns. Bay FC mutually parted ways with Ghanaian forward Princess Marfo (22) in mid-August; she has joined her former Danish side FC Nordsjaelland. On September 2, Nigerian striker Asisat Oshoala (31) left for Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia. However, her seven goals in 37 games were a massive disappointment to many followers and was seen as quite unproductive as a scorer in San Jose. Zambian international Racheal Kundananji (26) leads the line and has nine goals in 45 games for Bay FC since joining for the 2024 season, but is five years younger than Oshoala.
Some high points of the season included the play of rookie midfielder Taylor Huff (23). Huff, a product of Florida State, is one of two rookies, along with Angel City’s Riley Tiernan, to start in every league game this season. She had four goals and one assist and was impactful in creating shots and passes into the penalty area.
Another high point of the season was Bay FC setting the single game NWSL attendance record (for a stand-alone match) of 40,081 at Oracle Park—San Francisco’s downtown baseball stadium and home of the San Francisco Giants—falling to the Washington Spirit 3-2 on August 23. This is part of a strategy to involve North Bay fans (Oakland and San Francisco along with their suburbs) with the club, which for two years has been centered in Santa Clara County, with practices at San Jose State University and games at PayPal Park, which they share with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer across the street from the San Jose International Airport.
The were fourth in the league in attendance this season with 14,823, including over 40,000 for the SF game. Late in the season, they started building a dedicated training facility on Treasure Island, just off the San Francisco Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland, about 50 miles from Pay Pal Park, which can take 90 minutes to drive each way by car in the congestion-clogged region. Bay FC will become the third NWSL club to own its own practice facility after Kansas City and Angel City FC, while Kansas City remains the only team with its own designated stadium.
2026 Expansion franchise Denver Summit FC plans to have their own dedicated football stadium by 2028. Oakland has a well-supported men’s USL Championship side, the Oakland Roots, and their former baseball and American football stadium Oakland Stadium (soccer capacity of 15,000) might be a good prospect, at least as an occasional site for Bay FC, if they want to be a region-wide team. The downside with playing in multiple stadiums—which professional soccer teams have found for decades—is that fans can become confused as to where the team is playing in a given week, and instead stay home. I think Bay FC will come up with good solutions in the future to involve the entire San Francisco Bay Area in following the team.
Chicago Stars (3-11-12—20 points; Tied for Thirteenth)
Chicago led the league in tied matches with 11—two more than Seattle and Louisville, who both made the playoffs. Their three wins were the fewest in the 14 team league. The Stars did win their last game of the 2025 regular season over Angel City (2-1) at home in front of 4,219 fans, but their average attendance in 2025 of 5,539 was just ahead of Louisville’s 5,521 at the bottom of the table. They hope that their new home stadium on the north side of Chicago at Northwestern University will help drive more fans, but they need to perform on the field as well (see more below).
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made her 200th NWSL appearance and scored a 99th-minute goal on a scramble in the box to tie the Seattle Reign (3-3)—her first goal in the league, in which there have only previously been two goalkeepers to score from the field—Michelle Betos and Bella Bixby, both with Portland Thorns. Chicago scored three goals in the last 17 minutes of the game, plus overtime, coming back from a 3-0 deficit. Even with the tie, the Stars had gone winless in 12 matches (with six ties) at that point.
American international defender Sam Stabb was phenomenal this season and Finnish Natalia Kuikka will return in 2026 as well as American international Mallory Swanson from maternity leave (she gave birth last month)—her contact is through 2027 with an option year in 2028.
On August 28, the Stars acquired Colombian international Ivonne Chacón (27) from Spain’s Levante U.D. for an undisclosed transfer fee; she is signed through the 2027 season. Chacón spent three years in Spain playing for Valencia and Levante in Liga F. Last season with Levante, the Colombian native played 30 matches, scoring 11 times. Before moving to Spain, she played at home with Millonarios FC and Independiente Santa Fe, winning the league title in 2020 with Santa Fe. She played in the 2023 WWC as Colombia made the Quarterfinals, losing to ultimate runners up England narrowly by a 2-1 score. She told the media on September 26: “My game is fast and strong and I think the NWSL is very fast, so I think my game adapts well to the league and I hope to contribute speed and goals and help the team as best I can.”
The Chicago Stars FC brought in yet another head coach for the season after firing Lorne Donaldson earlier in the season and then interim coach Masaki Hemmi leaving for Lexington SC of the USL Super League (with 0-3-4 record and no wins), where he has the team flying at the top of the table, undefeated with a 5-6-0 record for 21 points to date. The club hired Hammarby’s Martin Sjögren as the next head coach, and with Sjögren’s longtime assistant, Anders Jacobson, as first assistant, with Jacobson seeing out the final two months of the season as Sjogren was finishing the Swedish Damallsvenskan league season with Hammarby—finishing in second in the league (see above)—and Sjogren will start the 2026 season in Illinois.
Another acting manager, former NWSL player Ella Masar, continued as an assistant coach after Jacobson came in. It was reported that Massar was not part of the interview process nor a candidate for the position, as the franchise wanted to allow her to focus on preparing the team for the re-start of the NWSL season after the summer international break. She does not have a Pro-License, which is required by the NWSL, though she does have a UEFA A License.
Sjögren was a former player in Sweden and said upon his hiring: “To get the opportunity to lead the Chicago Stars in the NWSL is something that I really look forward to. I have got a very good impression of the owners and people working in the club. The future plans of the club that have been presented match my own ambition in building a sustainable and successful organization over time. I see lots of good opportunities to build something really interesting with the Stars.”
After his playing career, he began coaching in the Damallsvenskan and won the league three times, including a back-to-back stint (2010, 2011) with LdB FC Malmö (now Rosengard). After a third title in 2016, and going undefeated with Linköpings FC, he accepted the role of head coach with the Norway Women’s national team. His time in Norway was fairly unproductive as they were eliminated from the 2017 and 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro group stages—despite having a number of players with top club sides throughout Europe—and making the quarterfinals at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which was still seen as disappointing. He played collegiately for two season at the University of North Florida.
Anders Jacobson spoke with the media on September 26 and explained his initial impressions of the league: “My game is fast and strong and I think the NWSL is very fast, so I think my game adapts well to the league and I hope to contribute speed and goals and help the team as best I can.” He also talked about the club’s new signing from Colombia, Ivonne Chacon (see above): “It was a good feeling. We’ve been following her before we arrived here. We were really impressed; we knew she was a high class player. She has performed in so many good games and the quality she can bring to the team is something we’ve missed, especially in that specific role. We were happy when we found out she would be joining us and we’re happy to have her here.”
He also addressed what he felt had been working during the Stars seven match undefeated streak, during which he joined the team on August 23 and had started with two ties, one win and one loss: “To evaluate that question you need to look even further back, and I’ve been watching the games. One of the things is we’ve started playing shorter and not always so long. I think defending also got better. We were increasingly improving our high press, which I think we got some points from doing that. It also gave us some scoring opportunities. Since my arrival, I’ve tried to continue doing the development of defensive play, how we can get more players involved on the ball and reach higher points. That was something I was a bit disappointed in when we played Houston (a 1-0 loss away on September 19). The evaluation of that game has given us good knowledge for this week to make improvements.”
TribalFootball.com asked Jacobson what his thoughts were since joining the league and if anything surprised him, to which he replied: “The quality is on a different level. If you look at the sizes of the two leagues, the clubs are much bigger here. The quality of the players is on another level. The interest to the game is also on a high level, more interest overall. The quality of the league is also on a high level because there are so many good players that play here. What’s surprised me, it hasn’t been a surprise really, but it’s small. The game goes much quicker. It’s more direct, many good fast players are prioritized up on the pitch, which also threatens teams’ defense. This is something that is much more different. I knew this before my arrival, but it’s really clear to me those teams are doing what they’re doing.”
The Chicago Stars played their first game at Northwestern University’s Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in northern suburb Evanston on September 7 and drew 10,127 at the 12,000 seat stadium; this is where they will play in 2026 after leaving their long-time home on the south side, Seat Geek Stadium in Bridgeview, where crowds of 3,000 are typical at the former home of the MLS’s Chicago Fire.
In their debut at Northwestern University, they had a tremendous 5-2 win over the defending champion Orlando Pride on. Brazilian international Ludmila and Canadian international Julia Grosso each had a goal and an assist as the Stars won for only the second time in 19 games in 2025 (since a 2-1 win away over Bay FC on April 13). Hopefully they will outgrow Evanston—also the interim home of Northwestern University’s American football team. The stadium is on the shore of Lake Michigan and offers unmatched views of Chicago’s skyline; it should be a stunning setting and hopefully a fun and lively place for fans. The stadium is easily accessible through public transportation, which was definitely not the case in Bridgeview. The stadium is easily available to local restaurants in downtown Evansville an fans can even bicycle along the lake to the stadium.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey