This week we look at our second 2021 NWSL Regular Season Review. For the playoff race, after the expansion for 2021 to 6 from 4 sides in the past, the top two teams receiving a first round bye. In 2019, the last full NWSL regular season, North Carolina, Chicago, Portland and Tacoma Reign FC (now OL Reign but still in Tacoma) made the top four. So far, all four would repeat along with the Washington Spirit and Orlando Pride also making the playoffs at the present time, with NJ/NY Gotham (formerly Sky Blue FC) and the Houston Dash two points behind the Spirit and still in the race. About two-thirds of the 24 game regular season has been played—with Orlando, Chicago and Kansas City playing 17 games as of August 31, with the other teams completing 16 except for the Houston Dash, who have played 15 games.
Attendances are improving as the season goes on and the country increases its COVID vaccination rate in general which has allowed for larger crowds at sporting events, but the average per game attendance will fall well below 2019's 7,399 because of stadium capacity restrictions as well as other distractions such as the Olympic Games (see below). On Saturday August 7, three games attracted an average of 2,666 per game with Gotham FC drawing 2,179 for their game with the North Carolina Courage (0-1), 2,922 in Tacoma saw OL Reign blast Houston (5-1) while Washington drew only 2,899 at Segra Field in suburban Virginia to see a narrow defeat to league leaders Portland (0-1) The league has faced a number of national team players being gone for the Olympic Games Finals and considerable coaching turnover/turmoil on some teams (with five midseason coaching changes—two within two days last week and three during the month of August, with one to come at the end of the season when Mark Parsons leaves Portland to coach the Netherlands women's national team—as well as complaints from players and fans about refereeing standards.
NWSL 2021 Regular Season Update (in team order per the standings as of August 31.)
Portland Thorns (10-2-4, 32 points, First)
The Thorns have been cruising despite losing stars like Canada's Christine Sinclair and the American quartet of Lindsey Horan, Crystal Dunn, Becky Sauerbrunn and Adrianna Franch for the Olympics this summer; the reserves stepped up and didn't slow them down at all. The Thorns put together an eight game undefeated run (with six wins) after dispatching NJ/NY Gotham FC at home on August 25 in front of 14,299 fans. They also won the International Champions Cup trophy during that span by besting Houston and Olympique Lyon for the international friendly tournament title. Portland leads the NWSL in league in goals (24) and is second to North Carolina for the fewest goals allowed (11 vs. 9) and has the most home wins of any team (6), only allowing four goals in their home matches.
On August 17, the Thorns sent goalkeeper Adrianna Franch to Kansas City for goalkeeper Abby Smith, along with $150,000 in allocation money, to utilize for future player trades or salaries. Franch, 30, arrived in Portland ahead of the 2016 season after after a trade with the Orlando Pride. From 2016-21 with Portland, Franch made 65 appearances (all starts), posting a 0.95 goals-against average and 26 shutouts while recording 198 saves. Franch was named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and helped guide the club to an NWSL Shield in 2016, the 2017 NWSL Championship, and a second appearance in the title game in 2018.
Originally drafted by the Boston Breakers in the 2016 NWSL College Draft, Smith (27) was born in Portland and grew up in Plano (suburban Dallas), Texas and has played 44 regular-season games across five seasons in the NWSL with Boston, Utah Royals FC and KC NWSL. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Breakers, she logged 21 appearances, with six starts coming this season in Kansas City. She was capped by the U.S. at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 national teams and been in a full team camp but has not seen game action yet. She was critical in helping Western Sydney Wanderers make the playoffs for the first time ever during the 2019/20 season in the Australian W-League.
During the Olympic Games while Franch was with the Americans, Bella Bixby (ex-Oregon State University) was outstanding in goal, with four clean sheets in five matches while allowing only one goal for a miniscule Goals-Against-Average of 0.20. The club has signed forward Raisa Strom-Okimoto and midfielder Taylor Porter as National Team Replacement players. Strom-Okimoto played at the University of Hawaii and in 8 games for the Utah Royals in 2019 and 2020. Porter joins Portland from UDG Tenerife Egatesa in the Spanish first division. Previously, she played for ZFK Spartak Subotica in Serbia, featuring for the club in UEFA Women's Champions League action, and with the Orlando Pride in 2019 after playing at North Carolina State University.
The big story for the Thorns in the second third of the season is that, on July 30, the league settled a court case to allow 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie to play with Portland and then on August 7, she had a shot hit the woodwork and bounce away before assisting on the only goal of the game by Simone Charley in a 1-0 win over Washington in her first start, after two appearances as a sub. The upcoming initial Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the NWSL Players Union will finalize the minimum age for league play, but no matter what happens, she should be grandfathered in (she is on a 3-year-contract with the Thorns) or else I'm sure her lawyers will happily take the NWSL to court again.
Olivia Moultrie (#42) in black dribbles against NJ/NY Gotham FC in a league game in the summer of 2021. (Photo courtesy of Portland Thorns FC/Craig Mitchell Dyer).
Moultrie also scored against the Houston Dash in the ICC and scored in the penalty kick session to decide the match. She has looked strong in her matches so far and appears to be worth all of the effort which the Thorns went through, even trading a 2022 third round draft pick in the College Draft to OL Reign, who during the turmoil made a Discovery Selection on Moultrie, even though she was playing in the Thorns youth team and had moved to the city from California—a questionable moral and legal move by Tacoma/OL Reign.
North Carolina Courage (8-4-4, 28 points, Second)
The Courage has had a strong run this season despite a slow start, with four points from 12 in their first four regular season matches and despite some significant player turnover during the season, they simply keep winning. U.S. international midfielder Sam Mewis had arthroscopic surgery on her right knee in late August and will be out 6-8 weeks but should be back for the playoffs and October internationals. She returned to the club this season from Manchester City in the WSL and had one goal and one assist in 5 matches before leaving for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she won a Bronze Medal.
In terms of roster moves, Caeley Lordemann was a replacement player for North Carolina's four players away at the Olympics: Americans Lynn Williams and Mewis along with Debinha of Brazil and Abby Erceg of New Zealand. Lordemann played at Creighton University and then Colorado State University; she moved to Europe to play with Santa Teresa Club Deportivo in Badajoz, Spain near the Spanish and Portuguese coast. With Santa Teresa, Lordemann appeared in 28 matches for a total of 1,788 minutes.
The blockbuster trade of this summer was the Courage sending forward Kristen Hamilton, midfielder Hailie Mace and goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland to Kansas City for veteran U.S. international forward Amy Rodriguez and $60,000 in allocation money. Rodriguez (34) had two goals in her ten appearances with Kansas City in their inaugural season. With the Utah Royals, Rodriguez played in 51 matches and scored 16 goals and two assists in three seasons (2018-2020). Prior to her time in Utah, Rodriguez led FC Kansas City to two NWSL championship titles in 2014 and 2015, and was named the NWSL Championship MVP in 2015. In the WPS, she played for the Philadelphia Independence, who were coached by current Courage head coach Paul Riley. At the U.S. national team level she totaled 132 caps and 30 goals, won an Olympic gold medal in 2008 and 2012, a World Cup title in 2015, and a CONCACAF Women's Championship in 2014. She also won a College Cup at the University of Southern California.
In August the Courage won three games in a row, all by shutouts, over Gotham FC (1-0) on the road and at home against Chicago (1-0) and Kansas City (4-0). Rodriguez, better known as 'A-Rod,' scored her first goal for the Courage on August 15 in the win over Chicago. After the game she said, "It's such a privilege to score, let alone play for this club. I have all of my teammates behind me to thank, because they raise my level immensely and make me a far better player. This team has a championship mentality. It's been clear from the day I showed up that they do things differently here, and you don't accomplish the things that they have without that mindset."
U.S. international Casey Murphy, who they acquired from OL Reign in the off-season, has been outstanding all season, with an astounding 9 shutouts and only 9 goals allowed in 15 games in the regular season. The Courage leads the league in fewest goals allowed (9). American wing-back Carson Pickett (who has played in Australia for Brisbane Roar) leads the league with 5 assists.
OL Reign (8-1-7, 25 points, Third)
Now we begin the start of the coaching turnover/turmoil section. OL Reign in Tacoma has turned their season around after changing their head coach, sending French coach Farid Benstiti on his way and bringing in former Seattle Reign, Arsenal and U.S.-20 women's national team head coach Laura Harvey—with Sam Laity as the interim (who has been with the team since 2013)—after she completed a stint at Vlatko Andonovski's assistant with the U.S. national team in Japan at the Olympics.
Admittedly, Benstiti—who was hired in late 2019—was affected by COVID but he always seemed to be a bit lost and was a poor choice to begin with. He left after seven games into the regular season as the Reign were mired in ninth place after the first third of the season on 7 points from 7 games (see: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL Regular Season review ahead of 2021 playoffs - Tribal Football). In all league and cup games in the NWSL, he was 6-5-9 overall—pretty mediocre really after he was hyped as the savior of the squad—which had made the playoffs the two previous seasons under Andonovski. Some reports named Jean-Luc Vasseur, who was terminated as Lyon coach late in the 2020-21 season, as the favorite to take over OL Reign, with three OL players on loan that he was familiar with. However, Harvey was an inspired and a terrific choice—she was the head coach of the club from 2013-17 and guided the Seattle Reign to two league finals and was twice named as the NWSL Coach of the Year (2014 and 2015). The Reign is more than their three high profile French imports— Dzsenifer Marozsan, Eugenie Le Sommer and Sarah Bouhaddi—and Harvey is well-placed to get the best out of all of the players.
Harvey took over the U.S. U-20 side in January 2020 and led the team to a seven-game unbeaten run at the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic in late February and early March. The USA defeated Mexico, 4-1, in the championship game and outscored its opponents 44-1, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the last time she was able to coach that group as the 2020 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup was later cancelled. She explained about returning to the Reign, "I've really enjoyed my time with U.S. Soccer and it's sad that I didn't get to coach the U-20 players more due to the pandemic, but I'm looking forward to seeing them have continued success in their careers. I'm really appreciative of my time on Vlatko's staff and I feel like I grew as a coach and a person, and that will definitely benefit me as I return to the NWSL. I love the league, I missed the league, and I'm looking forward to getting started with the Reign after the Olympics."
The Reign won three straight beginning with a 2-0 road victory in Orlando on July 24 and then added home wins over Racing Louisville (2-0) on July 31 and Houston Dash (5-1) on August 7. After falling surprisingly to Kansas City away for their first win of the season on August 14, the Reign came home to Tacoma to defeat Gotham FC 3-2 on August 21 to make it four out of five victories. That record went to five wins in their last six games with a statement making 2-1 win over the league-leading Portland Thorns on August 29 in front of NWSL record of 27,278 in Lumen Field as part of a MLS Sounders-Timbers doubleheader—a record for women's club soccer in the States and saw a return of the franchise to its original city for the first time since they moved to Tacoma after the 2018 season. This special game and stupendous crowd should help ultimately keep OL Reign in the area (they currently play in Tacoma—about an hour's drive south) rather than move outside the state and build the visibility of the club in the Queen City. Also, hopefully the Reign can continue to work with the Sounders—always the epicenter for soccer in the state—so the team can play more (if not all of their games) back in Seattle in the years to come. The total attendance announced after the men's nightcap was 45,737. American national team star Megan Rapinoe returned from Olympic duty and scored her second consecutive brace—with three of these goals coming from the penalty spot—in the wins over Gotham and Portland and has now five goals on the season.
Third year American forward Bethany Balcer (who was the 2019 season Rookie of the Year) leads the club with 6 goals in 15 matches while Jess Fishlock of Wales has 3 goals and 4 assists. Midfielder Sophia Huerta (1 goal, 2 assists) has been sublime at times this season with her passing while French international Eugenie Le Sommer has 3 goals and 3 assists. Rose Lavelle, who was also with the Americans at the Olympics, should add experience and guile for the end of the regular season and probable playoff matches.
Orlando Pride (6-6-5, 24 points, Tied for Fourth)
Yes, there has been a coaching change here as well with Marc Skinner going back to England to join Manchester United. Recently retired University of Florida women's team head coach Becky Burleigh took over as interim head coach and helped to stabilize the team that had been tumbling down the table after starting the season undefeated in their first seven games (four wins).
After a five game winless skid with four losses to end the Skinner era, Becky Burleigh's start saw the Pride pick up five points in their first three games: a 1-1 tie at the Courage on July 31, a 2-0 win on the road in Chicago on August 8 and a 1-1 home tie with league leaders Portland on August 14. In the Red Stars game, Burleigh earned her first NWSL win and recorded her second-consecutive result. U.S. international and two-time WWC winner Ashlyn Harris earned her second shutout of the regular season, making a big stop in the 29th minute to preserve the win. The clean sheet also came on a historic night for the Pride captain as Harris earned her 74th regular season appearance with Orlando to become the Club's all-time leader, passing former midfielder Dani Weatherholt. Against Chicago, the goals were scored by Sydney Leroux, who is tied for the league in scoring with 7, and English international Jodie Taylor, who scored her first goal with the club (see below).
On August 29, the Pride continued their good run by defeating NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-0 at Red Bull Arena, with forward Erika Tymrak scoring off a long range shot for her first goal of the season from a Leroux assist. In July Leroux scored in the 94th minute in an exciting 1-1 home draw with Louisville on the 9th when Skinner was still the coach.
The signing of English international Jodie Taylor (35) in July was a huge positive. She came from French powerhouse Olympique Lyon, who she joined in August 2020 via transfer from OL Reign. Taylor appeared in the 2020 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, coming on to help Lyon secure the trophy in a 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg.
Jodie Taylor—far left, partially obscured, celebrating Olympique Lyon's 2019-20 Women's Champions League Final triumph. Photo courtesy of TribalFootball.com.
In the 2020-21 season, Taylor made six league appearances for the side, scoring one goal. She has a long history in the U.S, playing the 2018-20 NWSL seasons with the Reign, making 47 appearances with 14 goals and four assists. Following the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, Taylor's rights were traded to the NC Courage, for who Orlando acquired them this past February for Carson Pickett. Taylor first joined the NWSL in 2014, making 21 appearances and scoring 11 goals for the Washington Spirit before being traded to the Portland Thorns the following year. In that 2015 season, Taylor recorded three goals over seven appearances while playing for England in that year's Women's World Cup. She also played in the USL W-League with the Boston Renegades, the Ottawa, Canada Fury and Pali Blues in the Los Angeles area and also at Oregon State University. Taylor currently holds the Beavers' career record for six different categories including points (113), goals (47), game-winning goals (18), multi-goal games (10), multi-assist games (6) and shots (269), and sits third all-time in assists (19). She has also played in England's WSL—including with Arsenal in 2016-17, where she scored 10 times in 17 games—and earlier in her career with Birmingham City and on loan to Lincoln Ladies—as well as spells in Australia's W-League with Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Sydney FC and in Sweden.
Internationally, Taylor has had a lengthy career with the England national team, earning 48 caps for the Lionesses, including being a member of the nation's 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cup side—the former finishing third—and their 2017 UEFA Women's Euro squads.
Chicago Red Stars (7-3-7, 24 points, Tied for Fourth)
Finally, we have a brief interlude as there is no coaching change here since Rory Daimes—the Red Stars' head coach for 9 seasons—is well entrenched in the job. They do need to reverse a run of one point in their last four matches but did move up the table nicely after being in 8th with 8 points after 8 games, taking four wins in 5 games in July/August. Their 3-0 win at home on August 29 over Kansas City, with a brace from Sarah (Killion) Woldmore, who is in her first season with Chicago after playing with Sky Blue FC (now FC Gotham FC) since 2015.
U.S. international midfielder Mallory Pugh—on the 2019 WWC winning team but hasn't appeared for the nats since March of 2020 and missed the Olympic Games friendlies and Finals and has been a bit off of the WNT radar—has been outstanding and should see action in upcoming national team games. For Chicago, she has two goals but only two each from Kaelia Watt and Rachel Hill and one from Mexican international Katie Johnson (against KC on August 29) is not good enough and needs to improve; the Red Stars are tied for fifth in the league in scoring with only 19 goals in 17 games—three coming in their latest outing against Kansas City in front of only 3,546. Their defense needs to tighten up as well as they have allowed 22 goals so far this season for eighth best in the ten team league.
Sarah Luebbert, who played college at the University of Missouri and in 5 games last season for the Red Stars, is now playing in Mexico with Club America on loan after training with the Mexican powerhouse for two weeks. The agreement will be re-evaluated at the end of the year and could be extended or Club America could even purchase her contract.
Washington Spirit (6-5-5, 23 points, Sixth)
Another head coaching change in Washington was probably the most controversial and turbulent of all of the coaching changes we have seen this season in the NWSL and all credit to the Washington Spirit players who have done quite well so far this season—particularly forward Ashley Hatch (who is tied for the lead in league scoring with 7 goals) and midfielder Tori Huster (1 goal), but also forward Ashley Sanchez (with four goals, who the club re-signed on a long-term extension in late August through 2024, with a club option for 2025) and rookie Tiffany Rodman (4 goals). The Spirit has a high number of ties with five compared with the other teams in the league (except for Orlando and Gotham FC on six) and that could hurt them on playoff seeding or even a postseason spot if someone outside the current top six makes a late run.
On August 9th we received word that Liverpool native and Spirit head coach Richie Burke had resigned for health reasons and would rejoin the club in an administrative position. The next day, after a report in the Washington Post revealed complaints of his abusive coaching as well as insensitive comments by some former players, the team and league began an investigation. The Post report quoted former player Kaiya McCullough (ex-U.S. youth national teamer who played at UCLA) and other unnamed former players about what they called abusive treatment, including aggressive screaming by Burke inches from their faces and degrading language, such as calling players "dog sh**" and "a waste of space." McCullough, who is Black, told the Post that Burke used the n-word in front of her, although it was not directed at her. She said that Burke made her "hate soccer" and she is now out of the game. McCullough explained, "I was 100 percent in a situation where I was being emotionally abused by Richie. He created this environment where I knew I wasn't playing as well, because I was so, so scared to mess up and be yelled at. It crippled my performance, and it made me super anxious."
On August 11, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird told the media—including this reporter—that the league had launched an investigation, which included a video showing Burke slapping the butt of one of his starters, and that she couldn't comment on the medical condition that he faced. When Burke was hired ahead of the 2019 season, there were reports from youth team parents of his abusive language on teams that he coached but nothing ever came of it from team or league management.
When Richie stepped down, he had the club in seventh place on a 5-3-5 record for 18 points, one point out of a playoff berth behind surging OL Reign (6-1-6 for 19 points) and two adrift of Chicago Red Stars (6-2-6 for 20 points), Orlando Pride (5-5-4 on 20 points) and NJ/NY Gotham FC (5-5-2 on 20 points). Assistant coaches Kris Ward (who played at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee) and Paul Crichton (an English native who played goalkeeper for years at home including at West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and other sides) are in charge of the team in the interim but you have to give the players the credit on this one for gaining five points in three games since Burke's departure—an exciting 2-2 tie in Houston on August 13 and a 2-1 home win over Orlando on August 21 at D.C.'s MLS stadium Audi Field in front of 6,002 fans, a club high for the season. They followed that up with a scoreless tie against second place side NC Courage at home on August 29.
The Burke situation has now sparked a battle for control of the team between co-owners Y Michele Kang and CEO Steven Baldwin—which is consistent with the league's desire to have more women in key management positions at the team level.
In July, Spirit Technical Staff Coach Carrie Kveton of the U.S. left the club to join Danish Elitedivisionen side FC Nordsjaelland, where she will be the head of Player Development. Kveton joined the Spirit in 2020, just prior to the start of the Fall Series. Kveton has over eight years of top-flight coaching experience and holds a UEFA Pro License. Prior to joining the Spirit, she was an Assistant Coach for OL Reign during the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. Prior to the NWSL, Kveton spent over seven years in a coaching role at Fortuna Hjørring in the Danish Elitedivisionen. Kveton began at Hjørring as an Assistant Coach before being named Co-Head Coach in 2014, then taking the lead as Head Coach from 2018 to 2019. During her time at the club, Hjørring won three league titles and two Danish Cups. Kveton was also an assistant coach for the U.S. U-18 and U-19 women's national team.
In early July the Spirit waived defender Natalie Jacobs at her request in order to pursue other opportunities. Typically this type of mid-season release is done to allow a player to go abroad but there has been no word yet in terms of her next destination. The 23-year-old from USC was the club's No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft. This season, Jacobs played 167 minutes in four regular season matches. During the 2021 Challenge Cup, she started two matches and recorded the lone assist of her career. During the 2020 Challenge Cup and Fall Series, Jacobs played in eight of the nine matches and started in five, totaling 397 minutes.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (5-6-5, 21 points, Tied for Seventh)
Goalkeeper DiDi Haracic (American-raised but plays internationally for Bosnia and Herzegovina) stepped in while Kaetlyn Sheridan was in Japan winning an Olympic Gold Medal for Canada and allowed only four goals in six games, with two shutouts. The team is rolling but not scoring a lot; they are eighth best in the league with 17 goals in 16 games but they do have the third best defense in the league with only 15 goals allowed. California-born Nigerian international Ifeoma Onumonu has been outstanding this season, scoring 7 goals—tied for best in the league with Orlando's Sydney Leroux and Washington's Ashley Hatch. Midge Purce—who was capped by the full American national team in 2019 and played in friendlies in June—has been strong as well and added four goals in 10 games.
Okay—now on the coaching front—head coach Freya Coombe announced on August 24 that she was leaving the club at the end of the season to join Los Angeles expansion side Angel City FC, where she will work with fellow English native and former English international striker (with over 100 caps) Eniola Aluko, who is the club's sporting director. Freya said in a statement, "I think everyone has been watching the story of Angel City unfold and I have been very impressed with the direction of the club and the core values upon which it is built. When the opportunity to connect with Eni and the team arose, I knew I had to explore it. Leaving NJ/NY Gotham was not an easy decision, but the chance to join ACFC as the head coach of a new team was something I could not pass up."
Coombe expected to continue to coach the New Jersey side until the end of the 2021 season but the idea of her staying on to the end of the season was a non-starter and the club announced that she would coach one last game on August 29—a 1-0 home loss to Orlando—and then a replacement would be made. (The plus side was that at least 7,035 fans watched the match at Red Bull Arena—a team high for the season.) The conflict of interest was too great for Coombe to stay—particularly with Angel City taking part in an expansion draft of every current league team's roster (including Gotham FC). In Portland, Mark Parsons was allowed to stay on all season but he is taking over the Netherlands national team, not another team in the league.
Scott Parkinson has now been named as head coach, with former NWSL player Bev (Goebel) Yanez as the assistant coach on August 31. This is Parkinson's first professional head coaching role. He joined the Red Stars after spending two seasons as an assistant with Utah Royals FC and is in his fourth season in the league. Previously, he served as the head coach of the Rogers State University (in Claremore, Oklahoma )women's soccer program for two years, leading the Hillcats to a runner-up finish in the Heartland Conference Tournament in 2017. Parkinson is a native of Liverpool in England said after his appointment, "We know this league; the players know this league. We know how good they are. They know how good they are. And I think the message for others is, let's dust ourselves down, let's bring a new outlook, a bit of freshness and some passion, some energy, and work on the things that we're really good at and then just get to playing. Right now, there will be no pressure from us on the players." Yanez played professionally in Japan, Finland and Australia and in the NWSL entirely with Seattle/Reign FC from 2014-2019, appearing in 123 regular season games with 24 goals and 9 assists.
Photo courtesy NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The club insists that the pair are not interim coaches, even though their contracts are only through the end of the season—goodness me, can't this club ever make a decision and let it play out without tightening a leash around the initiatives?
It will be interesting to see how Gotham FC ends the season as they have gained only two draws in their last six matches, though the four losses have all been by one goal to currently playoff-placed North Carolina, OL Reign, Portland and Orlando. In the 2-1 loss to the Thorns on August 25, Carli Lloyd—who recently announced that she will retire from the U.S. national team and Gotham FC at the end of the season—scored from a Caprice Dydasco assist, the latter who has been simply superb all season, scoring one goal with four assists and is tied with two others for second in the league in the latter category.
Though their 3-2 away win over Washington on July 18, Gotham FC was unbeaten in all eight of its away matches in 2021 (3-5-0) including the 2021 Challenge Cup, the longest streak in competitive matches in club history, surpassing a six-game run that started in July 2015 and ran through April 2016. Since that time, they have had only one tie in three rod matches.
In yet more bad publicity for the club, General Manager Alyse LaHue was fired on July 9 but effectively was sidelined in mid-June for violation of the league's anit-harrasment policy. She took over as GM in September 2019 and helped to change the image of the team, including the new branding of NJ/NY Gotham FC (from Sky Blue FC) and moving to Red Bull Stadium from decidedly third rate Rutgers University Yurcak Field—to call it a stadium might be a reach. This reporter always felt that there was a little too much self-promotion from La Hue, who has also worked with the Chicago Red Stars. Despite the move to the New York City area, this club seems to continue to be dogged by controversy, but play on the field has been markedly better this season. Former U.S. international and NWSL player Yael Averbuch West was named as Gotham FC's interim general manager and head of soccer operations. This was an excellent choice by the club as Averbuch West is a phenomenal soccer mind, person and public speaker; she will add credibility to a club that always seems to need it, especially with the turnover on the coaching and administration side this season.
Houston Dash (6-3-6, 21 points, Tied for Seventh)
The Dash has not been playing badly this season but only 2 points from their last 4 games during and after the Olympics Games have stalled their progress and they need to put together a string of wins to finish in the top six and the playoffs. A blockbuster acquisition on August 29 with the North Carolina Courage could be a key assist in that effort as they received 2019 WWC winning defender Abby Dahlkemper in exchange for $25,000 in allocation money. North Carolina will also receive additional funds from Houston if certain conditions are met in the 2021 season (usually involving the number of games played). Further terms related to this deal will be announced at a later date. Earlier this month, Dahlkemper left Manchester City, where she had been playing in the FA Women's Super League since signing with the club in January of 2021. While with City, Dahlkemper appeared in eight league matches for a total of 645 minutes, plus four Champions League games tallying 333 minutes of playing time. Prior to her time in Manchester, Dahlkemper played for the NC Courage for five NWSL seasons, plus the 2020 Fall Series. Throughout her time with the club, she won three NWSL Shields and three NWSL Championships, including the 2016 NWSL Championship with the Western New York Flash before the team relocated to Cary, NC. On the international stage, Dahlkemper has made 74 appearances for the U.S. Women's National Team, winning three SheBelieves Cup titles, one Tournament of Nations title, one CONCACAF Women's Championship title, a FIFA Women's World Cup title in 2019 and a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Another recent signing was forward Michaela Abam, who grew up in Houston and played for the club in the youth organization that eventually was folded into the professional organization; she is the first player from what became the Dynamo/Dash Youth Club when it was Texas Rush. Abam started three games for Cameroon at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup after helping West Virginia University to the 2017 NCAA College Cup Final. Dash head coach James Clarkson said about his new international signing, "I think it's fantastic that we are able to sign not only a Houston native, but also the first player from our developmental partners at Dynamo/Dash Youth, to the Dash first team. Michaela can certainly score goals, and she also has excellent technical ability and a great understanding of how to move without the ball to create space for herself and her teammates. Her personality and attitude will make her a great fit with our existing squad as well, and we're excited for her to join us."
Abam initially entered the NWSL as the fourth overall pick of the 2018 NWSL College Draft by Sky Blue FC and she played in four games during her rookie season. She transferred to Paris FC in the French Division 1 Féminine on August 1, 2018 and appeared in 10 games with one goal over the 2018-19 season. She signed with Real Betis in the Spanish Primera División ahead of the 2019-20 season and made a total of 20 appearances, scoring three times. She represented the United States at the Under-17 level before electing to represent Cameroon at the senior level beginning in 2018. She scored twice on her debut for the Indomitable Lionesses on November 12, 2018 in a friendly win over Zambia (7-0). Abam then scored a late tying goal on August 13 in 2-2 against Washington in her first home game with the Dash. After the game she talked about playing in front of her hometown fans, "I was speechless. I received a big amount of support. It was a blessing for me. There couldn't be a better moment for this. I went through difficult moments the last two months and almost a year. To be back, to compete at this high level again. I am super happy." She talked about her last two months, including her time in Spain, "When I was in Spain, I could only play the first two matches. Then injuries came. I dislocated my knee cap. It was mixed emotions. Back and forward. At the end of the day, I was having faith with the process. Literally, I was praying minute by minute. Keeping in touch with my family. Keeping in touch with James (Clarkson). I was trying to get back with my training, trying get back with my fitness, trying to get back with my game speed; I couldn't say no to coming home. There is (sic) no excuses for me now. There is really a good group here." About the Washington Spirit match and her late game heroics she said, "Tonight is one of those moments that you have being waiting for. To have my family and friends in the stands. The energy and spirit of everyone was super special today. They have been a factor for me coming here." [After scoring the goal] "I turned to Michelle (Aloizie). I wanted to cry but the tears aren't coming. Rachel (Daly) was holding me about two minutes. To hear the crowd…. It was an emotional moment. It was a great moment. I will remember it for a very long time. I am 100 percent for Portland [for the ICC tournament—see above]. Hopefully we can earn a couple of wins while we are there."
Other signings are American-born Nigerian national team forward Michelle Alozie, who was signed in late August for the rest of the 2021 season. She came to the Dash for the 2021 pre-season and was a National Team Replacement Player for much of the season, playing in four games. She replaced forward Deneisha Blackwood (24) who underwent surgery on her left knee in late August and is expected to miss the rest of the season; Blackwood appeared in two games this season. Blackwood spent the 2020 Fall Series with the Orlando Pride, making appearances in all four games. Before joining the Pride, Blackwood spent a season with Slavia Prague in the Czech First Division, logging nine appearances.
In early July, the Dash signed midfielder Hannah Diaz to a two-year contract through the 2022 season. Diaz spent three years in France's Division 1 Féminine with Lille Olympique Sporting Club in Villeneuve-d'Ascq—scoring three goals in seven appearances—after graduating from Saint Mary's College in Northern California. Diaz joined FC Fleury 91 for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and finished with 12 starts in 27 games. During her collegiate career, Diaz starred in 76 of 79 appearances in her four years with the Gaels from 2014-17, scoring 24 goals and 10 assists.
Going the other way to France was defender Ally Prisock, who was sent on loan to GPSO 92 Issy of France's Division 1 Feminine in late July through June 2022. She has 33 appearances for the Dash since being drafted 12th overall in the 2019 NWSL College Draft. Prisock was named the club's 2020 Young Player of the Year; she played collegiately at USC in Los Angeles.
The Dash, who played Barcelona last week in the ICC tournament as 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup champions, has another international exhibition coming up when they play Tigres UANL from Mexico's LigaMX Femenil at their BBVA Stadium on September 19. Dynamo and Dash president John Walker said. "We have a fantastic relationship with Tigres and this really brings everything full circle. We learned so much from our first visit to Monterrey in 2019 and that was really a catalyst for a deeper connection between our two teams. We look forward to a great match at BBVA Stadium in September and offering our fans a world-class exhibition between our two clubs." Tigres hosted Houston at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey, Mexico on Oct. 5 and the LigaMX Femenil side edged past the Dash with a late penalty kick for a 2-1 victory. Tigres is the reigning LigaMX Femenil champion and have won the title four times since 2018. Tigres have also reached the final in six consecutive tournaments, the most in LigaMX Femenil history. Tigres includes former Dash forward Maria Sanchez, who joined the Dash for a short-term loan earlier this summer, and scored in her Dash debut at BBVA Stadium. The forward appeared in three games for Houston prior to reporting for international duty with the Mexican Women's National Team.
On July 17, in the Dash's 2-1 away win over North Caroline, forward Shea Groom made her 100th league appearance and scored the first goal while the Dash earned their first ever win or tie at North Carolina. She has two goals in the regular season, one in the Challenge Cup competition and three during the two games of the ICC tournament earlier this month in Portland. Groom (28) is in her second year in Houston after one year each with the Reign, Sky Blue FC and three seasons at FC Kansas City, where she won a league title in 2015.
In terms of the coaching situation, head coach James Clarkson should be safe has he has been with the MLS Dynamo parent organization for over a decade and has done a marvelous job since taking over the Dash position in 2019—driving the team to competitiveness in their matches, which was not always the case in the past.
Racing Louisville FC (4-4-8, 16 points, Ninth)
Racing Louisville won its international tournament, the Women's Cup (see: The Week in Women's Football: What's next for Canada; Evans leaves Arsenal; U.S tournaments - Tribal Football), which was a big plus for the expansion franchise, defeating Chicago Red Stars on penalty kicks (which doubled as a NWSL regular season that was officially a tie) and then Bayern Munich of Germany 2-2 (7-6 on penalty kicks) to win the tournament's Final Game, in which Paris St. Germain also participated. In the NWSL, Racing has only gained 2 points out of 12 possible in their last four regular season games and 6 out of 27 in their last nine games. A chance to make the playoffs seems to be sliding away, but the team overall has had a good first season, along with impressive home crowds. They have a deeply talented group of internationals including Ebony Salmon of England, Nadia Nadim of Denmark and Savannah McCaskill, who has been stellar and should be invited back to the U.S. National team after spot duty in 2018. Salmon—a 20-year-old from England, who just joined Racing last month—has now scored five goals in her league appearances and uses her speed to get behind defenses.
American national team forward Christen Press (32), signed with expansion team Angel City FC after Racing Louisville traded her rights for Angel City's natural first-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, $75,000 in allocation money and roster protection during the 2021 Expansion Draft. Press didn't want to play in Louisville anyhow and targeted Angel City FC and—based on history—if Christen Press doesn't want to play somewhere, just let her go; it's not worth the turmoil for a club to try to convince her otherwise—as the Houston Dash learned the hard way a few years ago as Press flew off to Gothenburg for a bit until Utah Royals signed her. Interestingly, Angel City FC was later fined by the league for announcing the signing before the agreement was fully executed—presumably that the league office had not received a copy of the final signed contract. Most in the States saw this as a case of, "Much to do about Nothing." This writer sees it as the opening act in the Christen Press drama show, which now Angel City FC has so quickly seen that comes with the player.
On August 31, I was literally about to write that head coach Christy Holly, a native of Northern Ireland, was fine in his position for at least another year when I received a press release from the club that Holly was terminated for cause and replaced on an interim basis by Mario Sanchez, who runs a youth academy and has two decades of college coaching experience. According to Jeff Kassouf, the founder and editor of Equalizer Soccer in the U.S., "Holly's name has also appeared in documents leaked regarding the ongoing visa fraud scandal involving Global Premier Soccer (GPS), a now-defunct youth club which used professional soccer teams for wide-ranging visa fraud. Several NWSL teams have been listed in documents regarding GPS. Nobody with known connections to the league, including Holly, has been charged to date." For the time being, Holly's sudden departure will be shrouded in mystery. There have been—even before Holly's dismissal—comments about the high coaching turnover this season in the NWSL and one women's head coach in the U.S, who wished to remain anonymous, said that working in a Siberian Gulag was more secure and stable than a NWSL head coaching job.
Kansas City NWSL (2-4-11, 10 points, 10th place)
There has been no coaching change here and the new club owners are being loyal to Hue Williams, but this team desperately needs a change and Williams is not the long-term answer here. The team has some good talent, led by Scottish national team captain Rachel Corsie, and changes have been made during the season but things just aren't clicking and expect a coaching change for 2022. Williams was the General Manager for FC Kansas City when they won two league titles in 2014 and 2015 under then coach Vlatko Andonovski. The new Kansas City NWSL incarnation didn't win their first game until the 14th game of the regular season—a 1-0 win at home against OL Reign on August 14th—but have won two of their last four games. The winning goal against the Reign came in the 73rd minute when Canadian rookie Victoria Pickett scored after Hailie Mace's free kick deflected to her in the penalty area and she fired a shot past OL Reign's French keeper Sarah Bouhaddi. Pickett said the win before 5,368 fans at Legends Field felt surreal, "It has been a long time coming. I am so excited to be part of this win and have this win. To have my first goal as well is a huge honor."
The KC attendance has been strong this season, including four crowds over 5,000 fans with no crowd below 3,900, which is very good during the second year of COVID and shows interest in the franchise, though well below the 10,774 they drew in 2019 in their last full season in Utah. They didn't have much lead time to do marketing and promotion ahead of 2021, along with COVID restrictions, so off the field the potential looks high in this large, soccer savvy market.
On July 22, Kansas City NWSL traded forward Amy Rodriguez and $60,000 in allocation money to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for forward Kristen Hamilton, goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland and midfielder Hailie Mace. Hamilton was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NWSL Draft by the Western New York Flash and was a member of the 2016 NWSL Championship team with the Flash. Following the team's move to North Carolina, she also won two NWSL Championships in 2018 and 2019. Hamilton added 16 goals for the Courage during her tenure. Rowland returns to Kansas City after originally being selected in the 2015 NWSL Draft by then-FC Kansas City General Manager Huw Williams. Rowland was traded to the Western New York Flash midway through the 2016 season, and, like Hamilton, she was a vital member of the 2016, 2018 and 2019 NWSL Championships for Western New York/North Carolina. Along with the championships, Rowland was named to the 2017 NWSL Second XI. Mace, a standout at UCLA, was selected second overall in the 2019 NWSL Draft by Sky Blue FC. She joined clubs in Australia and Sweden instead of going to New Jersey and she returned to the NWSL prior to the 2020 Challenge Cup after her rights were traded by Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY Gotham FC) to North Carolina. Mace has made 15 appearances for the Courage while adding two goals and tallying an assist. Kristen Hamilton scored the ultimate winner in the 2-1 win over Racing Louisville on August 25.
Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, acquired from Portland in mid-August, should also be a plus for the team (see above) and she was born and grew up in Salina, Kansas. Abby Smith was sent in trade to Portland. Backup goalkeeper Carly Nelson was loaned to FC Nordsjaelland of the Danish Superliga in late August. Nelson was signed by Kansas City on December 23, 2020. Prior to that, she was a part of the OL Reign (2019-2020) and the Utah Royals (2020) rosters. Collegiately, Nelson starred at the University of Utah, where she kept 10 clean sheets as a senior.
In July, veteran NWSL and former U.S. national team goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart announced her retirement from the team. Hue Williams said, "Nicole Barnhart is one of the best players I have ever had the chance to coach. 'Barnie' has been an important leader, not only for Kansas City, but also for the NWSL as a whole. We are thankful for all that she has done and wish her nothing but the best in her next chapter." Known as 'Barnie,' the veteran goalkeeper is one of the most decorated in NWSL history. She earned 2013 Goalkeeper of the Year honors and led the Blues to back-to-back league championships in 2014 and 2015. Her 52 career shutouts are the most in league history, nearly 20 more than her next closest competitor. Adding to her accomplishments, Barnie's 149 appearances across all competitions are the most of any goalkeeper in league history. Barnhart started in seven matches (0-3-4) for Kansas City in 2021, including the final two Challenge Cup matches and five of the team's 11 regular season contests.
In July, Canadian international Diana Matheson also retired from the game and will be going to graduate school in Toronto; she wants to work on a business plan for a Canadian pro league (see: The Week in Women's Football: Ex-Arsenal coach joins Reign; Matheson retires; Iceland update - Tribal Football).
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
