This week, as we review the approximate two-thirds point of the 22-game 2022 NWSL Regular Season; if the season ended as of August 3, six teams would be in the playoffs: San Diego, Portland, Houston, OL Reign, Chicago and the Kansas City Current. Last season, Portland, OL Reign, Chicago, Washington, Gotham FC and North Carolina made the postseason, so expansion side San Diego, along with surprisingly consistent Houston and on-fire Kansas City, would be in at the expense of reigning champions Washington, Gotham FC and North Carolina. We look at each team and off-the field news, including some new team signings and acquisitions, with a focus on new signings during the summer transfer window as well as some players signed on short-term contracts to replace a number of national team players who have gone to play in Women's World Cup qualifiers in tournaments in CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CAF (Africa), CONMEBOL (South America) or at the Women's EURO in England. First, we have some news from the league office and some recent highlights from League Commissioner Jessica Berman.
NWSL Expansion and other League News
On a conference call in mid-July, league commissioner Jessica Berman talked about expansion franchise vetting, for which the league will now use an outside firm—Inner Circle Sports from New York City—for their first-ever formal bidding process for expansion cities. Inner Circle Sports has worked with multiple sports leagues, including several Major League Soccer (MLS) franchises. Berman described some of the key attributes in ranking cities, "We are confident that we will have some really great options…At a high level, we always talk about three tranches of areas that we look at: market, quality of investor and owner and [the] facility. Under each of those areas there are about 50 suppliants to talk about, whether it is the girl's soccer landscape or the college landscape in the market or other properties [teams] in the market. If you are looking at the facility, you want to know what access or priority you are going to get for dates and games [and] you want to make sure you have proper facilities for training and meeting and offering professional facilities to players; you want to make sure the market is accessible for the rest of the league. We want to make sure that our ownership group is resourced well but also willing to leverage those resources on behalf of the investment that is going to be required to make the franchise and the team successful. At a high level, those are some of the more specific considerations that we are going to talk about."
Berman said that the recent U.S. Supreme Court roll back of the Row vs. Wade Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing abortion rights has led to abortion bans in about half of the U.S. States, which could then limit some birth control options and procedures like in-vitro fertilization. Berman said that expansion into States that are pro-abortion rights will also be a factor that is considered, "It's one of the things that we're actually currently analyzing, which is looking even at our current markets to see where we have some differentiation between our values and what we stand behind relative to where we have teams located, and what are the solutions we can put in place that we feel comfortable we can commit to and execute on. Certainly, in the context of expansion that would be part of the analysis."
Berman also said that the league was instituting VAR [Video Assistant Referee] for future seasons and that the NWSL schedule is a "pain point" for players, under their current early Spring [with the preseason Challenge Cup] through late Fall format, which makes it difficult for current league players to balance international team commitments [particularly if they are playing for European, African or South American sides], as well as recruiting top international talent and young North American youth national team players.
The NWSL also will double their NWSL Shield [regular season winner before the playoffs] pot from $5,000 per player to $10,000 through a multi-year partnership with CarMax, a national used automotive dealer network. Berman called the partnership, "yet another indicator of the steadily increasing value of women's sports around the world." The NWSL has increased its sponsorship revenue 87% over last year, with Deloitte [Consultants], Delta Airlines and Nike coming on board.
The league will also open an office/headquarters in New York City, "in order to build confidence in the professionalization of the league. A lot of work can get done remotely [but] having a brick-and-mortar space that we can host partners and investors, that is commiserate with the respect we want for people to have for the league and our players, is necessary for us [and] to be in the city where all of the other professional sports leagues are based and housed is very important perceptually."
NWSL Regular Season Standings (as of August 3, 2022)—Part 1
Five of the NWSL teams have played 13 games thus far, with San Diego, OL Reign, Racing Louisville and Washington each playing 14 games and Angel City (12 games) Gotham FC (11 games) and North Carolina (10 games) each playing fewer games than the other teams. This review is roughly for the two-thirds point of the 22-game regular season.
San Diego Wave (7-4-3, 25 points; First)
The San Diego keeps rolling onward, with only one loss in their past eight games (four ties), though that one defeat came against 2022 expansion mate and Southern California rival Angel City FC (2-1) on July 9. Looking to the future, San Diego signed highly regarded midfielder Jaedyn Shaw (17), who was with the U.S. U-20 team at the Sud Ladies Cup in France this summer, scoring twice in the tournament that the U.S. won. She trained with the D.C. Spirit but the Wave claimed her as a discovery player and San Diego were permitted by the league to sign her permanently. Shaw had an iconic first game with the Wave on July 30, starting the match at forward and scoring the lone goal in the 27th minute for a 1-0 Wave win on the road in a special match at historic Soldier Field in downtown Chicago in front of a crowd of 23,951 (in a doubleheader with the Chicago Fire of MLS). Head coach Casey Stoney said about Shaw's debut after the match, "I've seen enough to know she is capable of starting. I am a coach that believes in: if you are good enough, you're old enough. I have watched her for a while before we acquired her signature, so I knew what the talent was, and I think she showed that tonight. I thought her finish was exceptional—she probably could have finished it first-time, but to chop it back and finish so calmly and composed, nothing really phased her. We need to work on how we play our principles and philosophy because she has not been here for long. For a debut at 17 years old, I am so pleased with her. She is a fantastic addition to our roster." Shaw said simply about her goal, "It's definitely an honor. I've manifested and prayed about this time for so long, and I just think it's an incredible opportunity to play at this stage and be able to score a goal. I think it comes down to just being confident in your ability and in your teammates, and that was a great ball across [from Mexican international Katie Johnson]. I had one job: to put it in the net."
The team also acquired defender Madison Pogarch from the Portland Thorns in exchange for defender Tegan McGrady (see more below in the Portland Thorns section). Pogarch was undrafted out of Rutgers University and signed with the Thorns for the 2019 season. Across four seasons in Portland, Pogarch appeared in 45 games across all competitions, registering three assists. In NWSL regular season action, she played in 28 games (7 starts), recording two assists.
San Diego Wave players surround Jaedyn Shaw (third from the right) after her goal in a 1-0 win over Chicago on July 30. Other Wave players include U.S. internationals Taylor Kornieck, (#22) Alex Morgan (#13) and Mexican international Katie Johnson (#33), who provided the assist for Shaw. Photo courtesy San Diego Wave.
Portland Thorns (6-6-1, 24 points, Second)
Portland is undefeated in its last nine games since late May (five wins and four ties) and is well positioned for a playoff berth in head coach Rhian Wilkinson's first season in charge. Midfielder Sam Coffey was named as June's Rookie of the Month by the NWSL Media Association. She won her first cap against Colombia this summer prior to the CONCACAF W Championship tournament. Her Thorns teammate Sophia Smith was the NWSL Media Association Player of the Month for June. Smith is second in the 2022 NWSL Golden Boot race and scored five of her eight goals in June, including a pair of braces in a 4-0 win over the Houston Dash and a 6-0 rout of the Orlando Pride. Leading the league in both shots (30) and shots on goal (20), Smith also scored a goal in Portland's 2-2 draw against the San Diego Wave FC. In June, the club had 3 wins and 1 tie with 15 goals for and only 2 allowed.
In a trade in July with San Diego, the Thorns received Tegan McGrady for Madison Pogarch. Most feel that Portland will come out better on the trade as McGrady was with the Washington Spirit's 2021 NWSL Championship side, appearing in 16 games. McGrady (24) was the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft by the Washington Spirit out of Stanford, where she won a national championship in 2017. Across three seasons with Washington, McGrady played in 34 matches across all competitions, including the Challenge Cup and playoffs. Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson said, "Tegan is an intense competitor who is strong on the ball and likes to get involved in attacks. She reads the game well and has wonderful timing to join in and contribute to attacks. We look forward to having Tegan become our newest Thorns addition; we know she will bring a lot to the team and the organization as a whole through her play and because of her top character." McGrady has one cap with the full national team
Some national team replacement signings during the summer, who have played with clubs abroad, included: midfielder Katy Byrne, defender Cheyenne Shorts and forward Jada Talley. Byrne was with Portland as a NTR player during the 2019 season and at the beginning of the 2020 campaign. In March 2021, Byrne signed with Hungarian club DVTK and has also played in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) with the AHFC Royals in Houston. In college, Byrne played four seasons (2015-18) at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Shorts played this past season with Celtic F.C. Women in the Scottish Women's Premier League. She was selected by the Orlando Pride in the 2020 NWSL Draft at No. 21 overall out of the University of Denver but did not play with the club. She went to Europe, first with French side Saint Etienne, before signing with Celtic in July 2021. She won the SWPL Scottish League Cup and FA Cup with the side—the first two titles in the club's history in women's football.
Celtic F.C. women's defender Cheyenne Shorts attempts to dribble past a Glasgow City defender in the final of the SWPL Scottish League Cup in December 2021. Photo Courtesy of Celtic F.C.
Talley recently played with the Kansas City Current as a COVID Replacement Player, featuring as a substitute against Angel City FC on May 21. Talley was the 31st overall pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft by the Orlando Pride after playing at the University of Southern California and at the University of Arizona.
Houston Dash (6-3-4, 21 points, Tied for Third)
In what early on appears to be one of the most impactful trades of the season, English youth and full international Ebony Salmon (21) was acquired by the Dash on June 27 from Racing Louisville and then scored three goals in a 4-1 defeat of Chicago on July 16 in front of another underwhelming Houston crowd of 4,637, a persistent problem for the side which plays at a very nice, purpose-built, downtown stadium that they share with the MLSHouston Dynamo. Houston signed her for the rest of the 2022 season and for 2023. The trade was also significant because Racing Louisville received $150,000 in allocation money for Salmon in 2022 and an additional $25,000 in 2023. Louisville could receive up to $15,000 more in allocation money this year if Salmon meets performance-based criteria while with the Dash. Salmon scored six goals last season after arriving in Kentucky in mid-May but did not score with Racing this season in five regular season appearances. She did have two starts in four appearances during the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup.
The acting head coach at the time, Sarah Lowdon, joked on a media call on June 29 when asked about Ebony Salmon's signing that, "It will be nice to have a familiar accent around [as both are natives of England]." Lowdon added that, "Salmon can score goals, [has] a deft front foot pace so we can score on the counter." Veteran American forward Shea Groom (29) added that, "Ebony Salmon [is] coming in and wants to make an immediate impact." Groom, a U.S. U-23 international who has been essential all season for the high-flying Dash, was certainly clairvoyant on that fact as Salmon has four goals in four games since her transfer. Groom also felt that Salmon's $190,000 price tag for the internal league transfer, "was crucial for the growth of women's football and that incentive-based outcomes [for trades] have never been seen before [in the league—though they are becoming more common for women's football in Europe]."
Before joining the NWSL, Salmon played for Bristol City from 2019-2021 where she made 34 appearances and scored 11 goals. Salmon led the team in scoring during the 2019-2020 season and helped the club avoid relegation. Salmon made her England Women's National Team debut in March of 2021 as a substitute against Northern Ireland. Salmon had been a mainstay in the England youth national team at the U-17 and U-19 levels.
The game against Chicago was the first game for new Dash interim coach Juan Carlos Amoros, who was most recently was head coach of Real Betis in Spain. (See: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL Review Part 1; Thoughts on future expansion; Berman responds - Tribal Football). Also in the Chicago game, Argentinian international forward Paulina Gramaglia (19) came on as an 84th minutes substitute for forward Shea Groom, to her make her NWSL debut.
The Dash has been hit hard by the injury bug this season: midfielder Makamae Gomera-Stevens suffered a torn ACL in the match against Orlando on July 8. She is in her second season and played collegiately at Washington State University and is a native of Hawaii. Another second-year player, defender Annika Schmidt (who played at Butler University and the University of Connecticut) suffered a torn ACL in May and has undergone successful knee surgery. Midfielder Kelcie Hedge, a third-year player who played two years with OL Reign after starring at the Santa Clara University, suffered a torn ACL in their match versus Orlando on June 8 and has also undergone successful surgery.
Houston's international team replacement players for July with experience in Europe included: midfielder Haley Berg and defender Machaela George; the club had seven players called to national teams in Europe, Africa and at the CONCACAF W Championship Finals. Berg spent last season with Zaragoza CFF in Spain after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin last spring. Berg appeared in 30 matches for the second division Spanish club. George returns to the NWSL after playing in Demark and Portugal. George made her NWSL debut with OL Reign in May 2021. The defender played collegiately at Santa Clara University, where she made 88 career appearances in four seasons for the Broncos.
OL Reign (5-6-3, 21 points, Tied for Third)
OL Reign has been active during the summer transfer window and brought on a strong young striker from Europe, who happens to have an Olympic Gold medal. Vancouver area native (Chilliwack, B.C.) Jordyn Huitema will take an international roster spot through the 2023 season, with the option to extend it for the 2024 NWSL season. Huitema joins the Reign from Paris Saint-Germain in France in exchange for an agreed upon transfer fee that was not disclosed per league rules, which included Allocation Money. OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey said, "Jordyn has shown her ability to play at the highest level at both the club and international level. We understand how much potential she has and think that she could have an important role on this team."
Huitema (21) spent three seasons with PSG, making 71 appearances and scoring nine goals across all competitions; this season won the Coupe de France with PSG. She entered the Division 1 Féminine with PSG in 2019 at the age of 18, skipping college, and helped guide the club to earn its first-ever league title in 2020-21. Huitema said, "I'm really looking forward to this new chapter and opportunity with OL Reign. This team is filled with some of the most talented players from around the world and I'm honored to be a part of it. I'm eager to get started and can't wait to contribute to the team's success."
In other player signing work, the Reign has extended the contract of goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce through the 2024 NWSL season. She joined OL Reign in 2021 after playing in the Division 1 Féminine for Stade de Reims in France. The University of Miami graduate made her first start for the Reign in the opening match of the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup and has started in every game since then. The 25-year-old has made 18 appearances across all competitions for the Reign. Coach Harvey explained the contract extension, "Phallon has been phenomenal since the day she arrived here and has proved that she is one of the top goalkeepers in this league. We love what she brings to our club and look forward to having her continue to produce high level performances." Through the first 10 games of the 2022 regular season, Tullis-Joyce has tallied a league-leading 38 saves and six clean sheets. Additionally, OL Reign leads the league this season in fewest goals allowed with nine; they allowed six—the fewest goals allowed in Reign history—through the first 10 games of the season.
The Reign transferred their Hungarian international rookie Zsani Kaján to ACF Fiorentina of the Women's Serie A league in Italy during the summer transfer window, which involved an agreed upon transfer fee that was not disclosed. Fiorentina finished seventh in the 12-team Serie A last season with a 7-3-12 (W-T-L) record for 24 points. Kaján joined OL Reign as the 8th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NWSL Draft from St. John's University but did not make an appearance for the Reign this season.
For July, the Reign signed three national team replacement players: defender Jodi Ulkekul, Ryanne Brown and Elli Reed. Ulkekul (25) played at Gonzaga University, scoring seven goals with 8 assists in 74 matches and then professionally overseas with CD Castellón in Spain and AS Roma in Italy. Brown was selected by OL Reign as the 21st overall pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft and was with the Reign during the 2022 NWSL preseason and Challenge Cup. Brown (23) played at Wake Forest University. Reed was an original member of the Reign in 2013 and played five consecutive seasons with the club through 2017, appearing in 77 matches, starting in 60 and playing a total of 5,613 minutes with the Reign. Additionally, Reed tallied four assists and helped the Reign win the Supporters' Shield in back-to-back seasons (2014 and 2015). Reed was capped by the U.S. at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 level and also played on loan in Sweden and Australia. Reed (32) has not played professionally since 2017, when she retired from the game.
Chicago Red Stars (5-5-3, 20 points, Fifth)
Chicago hasn't received a lot of media attention this season but, since May 22, they have gone nine games without a loss (five ties) until falling to Houston on the road 4-1 on July 16 and then again at home against San Diego 1-0, in a MLS/NWSL doubleheader at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago (see above). Rookie forward Sarah Griffith (22), who finished sixth all time in goals (26) and points (61) at Purdue University in Indiana, is a native of Chicagoland and has been one to watch, with 2 goals in 11 regular season appearances. Another rookie who went to school in Indiana, defender Amanda Kowalski from Butler University, also has 2 goals in 9 games.
American forward Sarah Luebbert (24), has returned from her loan spell with Club América in Mexico, where she scored 9 goals in 27 matches last season. So far for Chicago, in the regular season, she has 1 goal in 8 matches.
Kansas City Current (5-4-4, 19 points, Sixth)
The Current has moved up the table nicely during the summer, without a loss in eight consecutive matches since May 30 (with five wins). In their 2-1 road win on July 1 in Houston—in front of 5,007 fans in a 20,000 plus capacity stadium in downtown Houston—they recorded a franchise best fifth consecutive game without a loss [to which they extended it to eight by the end of July. The Houston victory was also the club's first regular season road win in franchise history. Midfielder Lo'eau LaBonta (an eight-year veteran of the league who also played in Australia with Western Sydney) and defender Hailie Mace (ex-UCLA who has played in Sweden and Australia with Melbourne City) scored goals in the 42nd and 46th minute, respectively. First year coach Matt Potter said, "A lot of players put in a good, honest night's work; that's what you have to do on the road. We've talked about ,at the end of the game, when we have to grind, then we need to be prepared to grind. When we can play, we have to be prepared to play. So tonight proved to be one of those nights and we're really proud of the group." If the Current make the end of season playoffs, Potter will have strong support as the Coach of the Year for 2022.
In a huge mid-season signing for the league and particularly for the Current, French international Claire Lavogez (28) moved this summer to Kansas City after four seasons at Bordeaux. She previously played for Montpellier, Fleury and Lyon. Lavogez made the last of her 35 appearances for France at Euro 2017 and totaled three goals. She helped France finished third at the U-20 FIFA World Cup in 2014. This is her first stint abroad. Last season, Lavogez appeared in 19 matches and notched four goals and three assists as Bordeaux finished sixth in the Division 1 Féminine table.
Off the field, in mid-June the club opened its new $18 million training complex, the first purpose-built training complex specifically for a National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team. The facility was completely funded by the team owners. The facility is focused on all aspects of player health including training (elite weight, cardio and recovery assets) and nutritional (high performance chef, locally-sourced menus). In addition, the design is also focused on fostering player community and promoting physical and mental wellness. Beyond two world class pitches and a FIFA-approved turf pitch, the complex also includes nearby trails and an outdoor roof deck with views of downtown Kansas City.
Kansas City Current training facility—view of the training fields. Photo courtesy Kansas City Current.
Kansas City Current training facility—cafeteria. Photo courtesy Kansas City Current.
Angel City FC (5-2-5, 17 points; Seventh)
Scottish international forward Claire Emslie, who went to college at Florida Atlantic University and played for the Orlando Pride in 2019 and 2020 after a high profile move from Manchester United in the WSL, has left Everton after two seasons to join Angel City this summer, who had selected her in the NWSL expansion draft from Orlando. She scored Scotland's first ever WWC Finals goal in 2019 in their first group match against England, a 2-1 defeat.
Angel City also made a huge within league acquisition of U.S. international and 2015 WWC Winner Sydney Leroux in a trade with the Orlando Pride. In exchange, Orlando will receive ACFC's natural first-round draft pick in 2024 and $75,000 in allocation money. Additionally, the Pride can receive an additional $10,000 in allocation money in 2022 and another $10,000 in 2023 if Leroux meets certain performance-based criteria. Her acquisition is particularly valuable as U.S. international forward Christen Press is lost to the season with an ACL injury.
These signings for the frontline should help Angel City overcome a bit of a rough patch since May 29, with four losses, two ties and only 8 points from 24 possible in 8 matches. They remain a huge hit off the field, leading the league in average attendance for 7 home games at 19,006, almost 5,000 more a game than previous standard barriers Portland Thorns (14,348), with a large gap to third place Kansas City Current (6,794) while the league is averaging 6,679 fans, but Gotham FC (4,937 for 4 games), North Carolina Courage (4,621 for 4 games), Washington Spirit (4,410), Chicago Red Stars (3,265) and the Orlando Pride (3,141 for 5 games) are all drawing below 5,000 fans a game. The Chicago Red Stars were averaging 3,265 prior to their late July match at Soldier Field that drew 23,951 and increased their average to 6,220 after 7 games. Note: unless mentioned, all the clubs have played 7 home regular season matches for the attendances shown.
Late in July, the club sent rookie goalkeeper Maia Pérez (from the University of Hartford) on loan to Grand Paris Seine Ouest (GPSO) 92 Issy of Paris for one calendar year. Pérez is expected to be the starting goalkeeper with Issy. She joined Angel City earlier this year as a tryout player during pre-season and is expected to return next summer to L.A.
Orlando Pride (3-5-5, 14 points, Eighth)
Orlando has been quite the mess this season, with their head coach and assistant suspended due to a league investigation of player harassment and the club was not even allowed to do any trades or signings for a while (see: The) but picked up a true young elite star from Europe who we featured earlier this summer—Haley Bugeja of Malta (see: The Week in Women's Football: Liga MX Femenil Clausura review; Oakland joins W-League; Moscato coaching Tigres - Tribal Football) when we reviewed the list of ESPN's 21 best players who are 21 years or age or younger.
On July 3, over the Independence Day weekend, Orlando hosted Racing Louisville at the historic Daytona Speedway in nearby Daytona Beach on national television [CBS Sports], with the teams tying 2-2 in front of 7,572 fans. The NWSL game was a key feature of the first ever Daytona Soccer Fest, a two-day festival that included a concert from Chance the Rapper, the World Freestyle Football Qualifiers and an All-Star Legends game between men's players from the Americas and Europe. The Pride match was played on a temporary field built over the race track's pit row, at a cost of over a $1 Million by a Miami-based sports event company. It allowed the game to be presented as a big event. The attendance figure was more than double Orlando's typical attendance, which have been under 3,600 except for the home opener on May 1, when 4,304 saw Gotham FC defeat the home side 3-0. Orlando Pride president of business operations Jared Dillon admitted that he was reticent about the idea when the Pride was first approached with it, telling Equalizer Soccer, "My first impression was: can this really be pulled off? It was such a grandiose idea. It just seemed like a pipe dream at the time." Dillon was convinced of how much the Pride could gain from the event, "To be able to have an opportunity to put our team in our league on that type of stage, to be able to play a first-of-its-kind soccer match in that iconic of a venue, how special would that be? And then to have it within an hour's drive of Orlando in our marketing territory to help us expand our brand. I just thought it was an amazing opportunity."
On July 28, Orlando Pride and Angharad James have agreed to a mutual termination of the midfielder's contract. James (28) joined the Pride ahead of the 2022 season and two days later signed with Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL in England on a two-year contract. The Wales international made a total of 11 appearances across all competitions during her time with the Pride.
Racing Louisville FC (2-6-6 12 points, Tied for Ninth)
Racing Louisville FC made a high profile signing during the summer transfer window as Thembi Kgatlana, a South African national team star and recent African Women's Footballer of the Year, joined the club from Atletico Madrid, with Racing paying a transfer fee that was not announced by Racing or the NWSL per league policy; she signed a two-year contact with an option for the 2024 season. Last month, she helped South Africa win the WAFCON for the first time ever after finishing as runners-up in 2018 and are qualified for their second consecutive Women's World Cup Final.
Racing head coach Kim Bjorkegren explained Kgatlana's signing, "We were looking for a winger/forward who has a good first touch and is not afraid to dribble and attack—and we have found exactly that with Thembi. What's also important to us is that we signed not just a good player but a good teammate. Thembi always has a smile on her face and loves football, and she is ready to help the team as soon as she arrives in Louisville."
Kgatlana played previously in the NWSL in 16 matches with two goals for the Houston Dash in 2018 for Vera Pauw, who coached her with the South African national team and is now the head coach of the Republic of Ireland. The forward has also played in China, Portugal and Spain for the past two seasons. Kgatlana starred with newly-promoted Spanish club Eibar, tallying 10 goals in 27 games over the 2020-21 campaign. Last season, she played with four-time Spanish champion Atlético Madrid, scoring 7 goals with 3 assists in 28 matches to help the club finish fourth in Spain's Primera División and reach the final of the Supercopa Feminina. She briefly played for Portuguese club Benfica in 2020, helping the Lisbon-based team qualify for its first UEFA Women's Champions League.
Kgatlana said, "I'm very excited to have this opportunity to return to the NWSL with Racing Louisville. It has always felt like there is unfinished business for me in the league, and I can't wait to get started. From the moment I spoke with Kim, it was clear that it is an exciting project. I joined Beijing BG Phoenix [in China in 2019 and scored 6 goals in 10 appearances] shortly after he had left and heard only good things, so it was an easy decision. I look forward to seeing everyone after the Cup of Nations!"
Kgatlana has 22 goals in 63 appearances for South Africa, including her country's first-ever World Cup goal, which she scored against Spain in 2019. She debuted for South Africa's senior team as a high school senior at the 2014 Africa Women Cup of Nations and twice started as a 20-year-old at the 2016 Olympics.
At the end of July, the club signed national team replacement player Zaneta Wyne to a permanent contract through the end of the 2023 season. Wyne, a 31-year-old defender, joined Racing in late June from England's West Ham United as several Racing players left to represent their countries in international tournaments. After back-to-back starts, Wyne inked a contract with Racing that runs through the 2023 season. Wynn (31) played at the University of New Mexico and made 18 appearances last season with West Ham United, which finished sixth in England's top-flight league. The American-French dual citizen is well-traveled in her career, playing for top-tier clubs in Cyprus, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Scotland in addition to her two stints in England. She won the Cypriot league and experienced the UEFA Women's Champions League in a one-season stint with Apollon Ladies, from whom Racing head coach Kim Björkegren joined ahead of this season. Wyne played in Cyprus four years ahead of Björkegren's time.
They also released midfielder Taylor Otto (ex-University of North Carolina) and winger Sh'Nia Gordon who signed earlier this year from CSKA of Moscow (see: (The Week in Women's Football: Sh'Nia Gordon interview; Ukraine update; NWSL Challenge Cup - Tribal Football), with both pursuing opportunities in Europe.
Racing also acquired the playing rights to Chinese international forward Wang Shuang from OL Reign in exchange for $30,000 in allocation money and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NWSL College Draft. She was the 2018 Asian Women's Footballer of the Year and a three-time player of the year in China. Shuang (27) has been with Whuan Jianghan University and had 7 goals in 18 matches for France's Paris St. Germain in 2018-19. In 2013-14 she played in the Korea Republic with Daejeon Sportstoto where she scored 7 goals in 14 games.
Racing will also host The Women's Cup again this summer — the world's largest club women's professional soccer tournament —adding England's Tottenham Hotspur FC and Italy's AC Milan. The European teams will combine with host Racing Louisville FC, the National Women's Soccer League's OL Reign, Liga MX Femenil's Club América (Mexico) and the WE League's Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan) for seven total games from Aug. 14-20 at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
Tottenham is fresh off its best-ever FA Women's Super League finish during the 2021-2022 campaign, its first full season led by manager Rehanne Skinner, with a 9-8-5 record for fifth place. AC Milan founded its women's side in 2018 and is already challenging near the top of the Serie A table. The club went 14-4-4 during the 2021-2022 season and also finished this year as runner-up in the Supercoppa Italiana. Former AC Milan player Maurizio Ganz manages the club, which was led in scoring last season by French striker Lindsey Thomas. Team captain Valentina Bergamaschi ranked second in goals.
The international clubs open The Women's Cup with quarterfinals on Sunday, Aug. 14. On Wednesday, Aug. 17, the winners will meet Racing and OL Reign in the semifinals, while the two losing teams from Sunday will play against each other for fifth place. The final and third-place matches are set for Saturday, Aug. 20. Europe's FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-German visited Louisville for the inaugural edition in 2021.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-0-7, 12 points, Tied for Ninth)
NJ/NY Gotham FC has some games in hand over most of the other teams, which is good, but also means they will need to handle fixture congestion at the end of the season, which will put pressure on the roster.
Defender Gina Lewandowski retired from the league, with her final game being a 3-0 home loss to Chicago Red Stars on July 2. Lewandowski (37) has been with the side since 2019 and was capped once by the U.S. in 2015, during a decade-plus career in Germany with FFC Frankfurt and Bayern Munich, when she won the now UEFA Women's Champions League in 2007-08 with Frankfurt and three Women's Bundesliga titles with the two Germany powerhouses. She said, "The game has brought me so much in my life personally, as I've grown so much as a player, but also as a person and just the relationships that I've built over time and then going overseas, just the people I was exposed to, all the adventures that I've had, and I'm just really blessed to have a career that I've had and just the person who I've become these last 15 years through the game, and got me to just be that best version of myself, and I'm really grateful for everybody who's been a part of it."
Gotham FC also fell to San Diego 3-0 at home on June 19 and then 5-0 in Portland just before the international break. They will welcome Cameroonian international Estelle Johnson and Nigerian international Ifeoma Onumanu from the Women's African Cup of Nations in Morocco, where Cameroon qualified for the Intercontinental Playoffs and Nigeria directly qualified for next summer's Women's World Cup. For the Americans, Kristy Mewis and Midge Purce helped the Americans qualify for the 2023 WWC and 2024 Olympic Games from CONCACAF qualifying.
Gotham FC signed forward Jenna Bike and Amanda Visco to National Team Replacement Player contracts while their four internationals were away on national team duty. Bike was invited to preseason camp and is a product of Boston College, where she was a two-time captain. Visco is a local product out of Rutgers, who has previous professional experience overseas with Santa Teresa de Badajoz (Spain), Apollon Ladies FC (Cyprus) and Valadares Gaia FC (Portugal). She saw action in 83 games during her collegiate career and scored six goals from defense.
Defender Taylor Smith was released by the North Carolina Courage in the summer but picked up off of waivers by Gotham FC. Smith won the 2016 NWSL title with the Western NY Flash and then played with the Spirit and Reign. She joined the Courage in a trade for the 2021 season. In total, Smith recorded 63 regular-season appearances (28 starts) for the Flash and Courage, and tallied two goals and four assists in that span. This year, in North Carolina, she made four appearances and two starts during the 2022 regular season. Smith earned call-ups to the U.S. Women's National Team in 2017-18, earning 10 caps. This is an inspired signing by the club for Smith (28), who played collegiately at UCLA.
Washington Spirit (1-8-5, 11 points, Eleventh)
It's quite odd to see that the reigning NWSL league champions from 2021 and 2022 Challenge Cup Finalists—along with the winners N.C. Courage—propping up the league table; there is still time for the Spirit to make a move up the table, but having played 14 games—tied with three others for the most in the league—the sell-by date on playoff hopes will expire soon. Their bevy of U.S. national team players including Ashley Sanchez, Trinity Rodman, and Emily Sonnett will now be able to focus on the league race after qualifying this summer for the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympic Games Finals. It is still stunning that they have gone 13 regular season matches without a win (eight ties and five losses). Head coach Kris Ward can probably miss the playoffs and keep his job for 2023, but really, should he?
Interestingly, the Spirit's first game back after the summer international window on July 29 was an exciting 3-3 draw with the Courage in Cary, North Carolina, with the one point each giving either team little value in the playoff hunt. Trinity Rodman for the Spirit and Mexican international Diana Ordonez for the Courage both had braces in the match.
Off the field, the club made a huge addition in bringing Mark Krikorian into the front office as President of Soccer Operations and general manager. Krikorian, who led Florida State to NCAA Division I women's titles in 2014, 2018 and 2021, is well respected as a former college and professional coach and has contacts with players and clubs from around the world. As head coach of Florida State University's women's soccer program for the last 17 years, he transformed it into a perennial national power. The three-time National Coach of the Year and five-time ACC Coach of the Year led Florida State to three national titles, 11 College Cup semifinals, and captured eight ACC championships. Krikorian also served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Charge in the Women's United Soccer Association between 2000 and 2003, producing 10 WUSA All-Stars and leading the team to two playoff berths. He was named WUSA Coach of the Year in 2002. Prior to Florida State University, Krikorian served as the head coach of the United States U-19 National Team and guided the team to the bronze medal at the 2004 U-19 Women's World Cup. Krikorian also served as the head coach at the University of Hartford from 1996-2000, reaching the NCAA Tournament in four out of his five seasons and winning three conference championships. He got his head coaching start at Franklin Pierce College, where he spent six seasons from 1990 to 1996 winning two NCAA Division II championships.
North Carolina Courage (2-3-5, 9 points, Twelfth)
The 2022 Challenge Cup title looks like a distant mirage at this point as the team appears in free-fall. As Bruce Springsteen sang, I'm going down, down, down, down…
I did predict but am not happy to be right and they clearly are still struggling with the fallout from all of last season's turmoil with Paul Riley. This time they beached COVID-19 medical protocols which caused a road game at Gotham FC to be postponed. The $30,000 fine will be used to reimburse Gotham FC for unrecoverable expenses for the postponement. Then on July 30, their defender Jaelene Daniels refused to play with the Courage on Pride Night, recognizing the LGBTQ community. Daniels essentially walked away from the U.S. women's national team in 2017 (after winning 8 caps) for not wanting to wear a rainbow-colored jersey to recognize LGBTQ rights and issues due to her religious beliefs. The club signed her—knowing her views on this issue—and then had to apologize to the fans, which is probably part of their 10% decline in attendance from last season (5,036 average in 2021 and now 4,621 for 4 games), along with the aftershocks of the Paul Riley abuse scandal. After the July 30 match (an exciting 3-3 draw with Washington), head coach Sean Nahas told the media, "In terms of the situation we're in, it's definitely a unique one, and I can understand the frustrations, for sure. But it's really how I treat the players here, what I say to them, and making sure that my actions follow up. People's private decisions and things along those lines, that's things that they have to manage, and they have to be understanding of what comes with it." What Nahas is not recognizing is that this has gone beyond a locker room issue and affecting the franchise.
A two-game winning streak early in June was promising as they beat Racing Louisville 3-0 and Washington Spirit 3-2, both on the road but then lost consecutive games to Houston 4-3 at home and 2-0 to the Reign at home. The team has some games in hand but Paul Nahas—despite years with the organization—should be gone by year's end, as this team needs a massive reset.
Bri Folds signed on in late June as a national team replacement player. North Carolina originally selected Folds in the fourth round (36th overall) of the 2020 NWSL Draft. After COVID-19 disrupted the 2020 NWSL Regular Season, Folds signed an 18-month contract with Swedish side BK Häcken (formerly Göteborg FC), where she played six games before being loaned to Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark, starting eight of 11 games played. In August 2021, she signed a two-year contract with Spanish side Real Betis Féminas. She played at Auburn University where she made 76 appearances in four years with the Tigers, recording 24 goals and 25 assists.
On July 12, The North Carolina Courage announced they have signed Japanese international midfielder Fuka Nagano through the 2022 season with an option for 2023. Nagano joins the squad having most recently played with Japanese side Mynavi Sendai. Sean Nahas said, "We are thrilled with the addition of Fuka to our team. She has an extremely high technical standard and soccer IQ. Her ability to break lines and find positive spaces to occupy is something we are excited to add to our midfield. She brings international experience and is someone we feel will have a great impact in our style of play. We cannot wait to have her with us and look forward to adding her quality to our roster."
Nagano (23) has made 10 appearances for the Japanese senior women's national team, including eight appearances in the last nine months. In June, Nagano received a call-up for the Japanese senior women's team and started two friendlies, both wins over Serbia and Finland. Nagano also made appearances with Japan in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cups in 2014 and 2016, and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2018. Nagano has played and started all 20 matches for Sendai in the Japanese WE League, recording four assists and 1,800 minutes in that span.
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 yours copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey