Category: NWSL

Jaelene Daniels isn’t helping the NC Courage, on or off the field

This goes beyond any personal disagreement with an individual’s beliefs

Not many clubs would make a signing for which they are forced to immediately beg for forgiveness. Even fewer would actually keep that player around anyway.

But that’s what the North Carolina Courage did in December when they brought Jaelene Daniels back into the fold after the defender returned from a brief retirement. 

“We are very sorry to all those we have hurt, especially those within the LGBTQIA+ community,” the Courage said, acknowledging the impact of signing a player who had refused to play for the U.S. women’s national team when it featured rainbow numbers for Pride Month.

Daniels repeated that act on Friday when she opted out of the Courage’s Pride Night game against the Washington Spirit.

Suffice it to say, not every fan will agree with the beliefs of all of their players. But Daniels is a unique case: a player who appears to be actively harming her team’s business outlook and locker-room chemistry, while simultaneously failing to boost its on-field performance.

Many of the club’s fans felt Daniels’ return was an affront to them personally. Some of them have decided to stop giving the club their money.

According to Soccer Stadium Digest, the Courage currently rank 10th out of 12 NWSL teams in attendance. Their average of 4,621 is down eight percent from last year and, according to WUNC, that is down from an average of 5,875 in 2019, which was good for fourth out of nine teams.

There is, of course, no single explanation for this phenomenon. But it is a notable outlier in a league that has seen a 20 percent growth overall in attendance from last season to this season.

Daniels’ return immediately led to a condemnation by the club’s official supporters’ group, The Uproar, who said that the signing was “unacceptable.”

And at least anecdotally, some of the club’s biggest fans said the organization’s decision to bring Daniels back made them question whether they wanted to support the club financially.

“For me, the biggest sticking point [for renewing season tickets] was the re-signing of Jaelene Daniels,” Courage fan Jessica Turner told WUNC. “They knew that there had been issues in the past with this player, very publicly… And they decided to go with that knowing that there is going to be backlash, knowing that there is going to be a whole section of our fanbase that are going to feel harmed by this and are going to feel like the club doesn’t support them.”

Merritt Mathias, one of the Courage’s veteran leaders, openly questioned the club’s decisions and hinted that she understood – and agreed with – fans who opted to stay away because of Daniels.

“There are reasons why people aren’t here and haven’t wanted to spend their money or beliefs and that is up to them,” Mathias said in May. “If this gets out there, I am a part of the community that has struggled with some of the choices that this club has made.”

Speaking to fans directly, she added: “If you don’t like one player, then there are 25, 26 other ones to choose from. Find someone you love.”

Andy Mead-USA TODAY Sports

This all seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through to keep one player on the roster. One would hope, at the very least, that Daniels was exceptionally helpful for the Courage on the field.

Not really.

Daniels has been a regular contributor, having appeared in all of the Courage’s games this season before Friday. But according to American Soccer Analysts’ Goals Added metric, which measures the overall impact a player has, Daniels ranks 252nd out of 267 NWSL players for the 2022 regular season.

Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

The Courage struggled to explain Daniels’ actions after Friday’s game. Head coach Sean Nahas admitted it had been a “distraction.” 

“I don’t necessarily have to agree with what people think and what they choose to believe,” Nahas said.

Club captain Abby Erceg said she understood fans deciding to stay away, but lamented how that decision ultimately hurts every Courage player.

“I think the offseason in particular gave us a lot to think about,” Erceg said. “I’m kind of with Merritt. We’re desperate to have our fans back. The fans, the stadium, the community that we’ve created here over the past five or six years has been really really special to the girls.

“I understand that the fans want to take a stand for the players and the fans want to have their voice heard as well. And we appreciate that, but when we can’t get fans into the stadium it hurts them, it hurts the players, it hurts the club and at the end of the day, it’s the players that suffer.”

When she opted out of playing for the USWNT, Daniels was really only harming her own personal on-field prospects. After all, these were just friendlies and this is the USWNT we’re talking about: there will always be high-quality players eager to step in and fill any on-field void.

But Friday was something different. This was a player, already at odds with so many teammates and fans, opting out of a crucial regular-season game when she was fully capable of playing physically. 

Daniels, of course, is entitled to her beliefs. She said at the time of her signing that “my love runs deep for all.” 

But the Courage, as a private entity, are under no obligation to maintain the status quo. Regardless of what metric you use, it’s difficult to argue that Daniels is making a positive impact.

“Of course we want the fans back,” Erceg said. “But at the same time we need the club to hear what the fans are saying as well, because they’re the ones that are paying the ticket prices.”

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USYNT star Jaedyn Shaw scores for San Diego Wave on NWSL debut

Shaw wasted no time before scoring her first pro goal

Jaedyn Shaw heard the hype, and was ready to deliver, bagging a goal on her NWSL debut for San Diego Wave FC.

Given her first start, Shaw finished off amid some chaos in the box to give the Wave a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Katie Johnson broke into the box but, after drawing Alyssa Naeher and two Chicago Red Stars defenders, laid the ball over to the right for Shaw.

There was still work to do. Shaw showed the composure to take a touch and shake a defender, giving her an open net to shoot at, before calmly guiding the ball into the empty net before Naeher could recover.

Shaw’s path to this point has been a winding one. The 17-year-old Texan spent most of 2022 training with the Washington Spirit, who spent a good while trying to find a way to sign her. However, NWSL rules left no avenue to do so, and Shaw was placed in the league’s discovery process.

San Diego were atop the discovery list, and selected Shaw. Washington began negotiations, and Pro Soccer Wire was told that the Wave’s asking prices included $250,000 in allocation money, or $150,000 and a first round pick in the NWSL College Draft. In the end, the talks never progressed, and Shaw signed with San Diego.

Shaw will not be able to immediately build on her first goal, at least in NWSL play. After Saturday’s game, she will be off to join the U.S. under-20 national team at the U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica. Tracey Kevins’ side will play Ghana, the Netherland, and Japan between August 11-17, and a run to the final would see their tournament go on until August 28.

Check out Jaedyn Shaw’s first NWSL goal

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Sue Bird joins Gotham FC’s investment group

Gotham’s investment group adds one of the biggest names in women’s sports

NJ/NY Gotham FC has added WNBA legend Sue Bird as a new minority investor.

Gotham announced the move Friday, just one day after a Sportico report said the club would bring Bird and former NFL quarterback Eli Manning aboard as investors, and that the transactions placed a $40 million valuation on the club. Manning’s status was not addressed by the team at this time.

“As the NWSL franchise in New York, investing in Gotham FC was an easy decision,” said Bird in a club press release announcing the move. “The club has demonstrated sustained business growth and is established as a critical pillar in the community. There is a lot of talk about the power of investing in women’s sports. As an athlete in a position to invest, I’m excited to now lead by example. I am honored to join such a strong ownership group and look forward to the continued business growth and brand recognition for both Gotham FC and the NWSL.”

Bird, whose longtime partner Megan Rapinoe plays for OL Reign, joins team investors that include ex-USWNT great (and former Gotham player) Carli Lloyd, along with Karen Bryant, Kristin Bernert, Ed Nalbandian, and Thirty Five Ventures, a venture capital firm run by NBA star Kevin Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman. Gotham’s principle owners remain Tammy Murphy, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, and Steven Temares.

“Sue has played such a big role in shaping today’s WNBA and bringing it to the forefront in so many important cultural conversations,” said Tammy Murphy, who remains Gotham’s Club Chair. “She’s shown tremendous leadership, passion, and work ethic throughout her legendary career, and I cannot wait for her to bring those qualities to Gotham FC.”

Gotham described Bird’s role within the investor group as that of a “consultant and advisor to boost the club’s profile in local, national, and international markets.”

Bird is the latest big name from outside the soccer world to invest in an NWSL club. After Angel City FC’s initial ownership group included actress Natalie Portman and tennis icon Serena Williams, NWSL has seen big names from a wide range of fields invest in its teams, including Dominique Dawes, Chelsea Clinton, and Jenna Bush Hager (Washington Spirit), Naomi Osaka (North Carolina Courage), and ESPN personality Sarah Spain (Chicago Red Stars).

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Jaelene Daniels opts out of playing for NC Courage on Pride Night

Daniels won’t be in uniform for North Carolina’s Pride Night

North Carolina Courage player Jaelene Daniels will not be in uniform as her team celebrates Pride Night at Sahlen’s Stadium Friday night against the Washington Spirit.

Daniels had in 2018 declined a U.S. women’s national team call-up over her refusal to wear Pride-themed rainbow numbers, citing her Christian faith. According to the club, she has opted to sit out a critical game against the Washington Spirit over the same issue, a development first reported by WRAL.

“Jaelene will not be rostered tonight as she has made the decision to not wear our Pride jersey,” said the Courage in a team statement supplied to Pro Soccer Wire. “While we’re disappointed with her choice, we respect her right to make that decision for herself. We’re excited to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with our fans, players and staff tonight and look forward to hosting our first ever Pride Festival before kickoff.”

Daniels is eighth on the team in minutes played in the 2022 regular season, and had appeared in all nine of the Courage’s games coming into Friday’s match.

North Carolina had originally scheduled its Pride Night match for earlier in July, but that match against Angel City FC was postponed due to a Covid-19 protocol breach that also saw the club fined by NWSL.

Daniels had come out of retirement to re-sign with North Carolina this offseason, causing an intense backlash among supporters of the team and from around the NWSL. That outcry resulted in a team statement on the matter, with the Courage saying that the decision to bring Daniels back to the team “was not made lightly and included significant conversations between organization leadership and Jaelene. The priority expressed in those conversations is the safety of our players and maintaining an inclusive, respectful space for the entire team.”

Attendance at North Carolina games has drawn scrutiny, with North Carolina veteran Merritt Mathias drawing a connection between Daniels’ return and what she felt was fading support.

“Personally, I don’t think we’ve done a great job of that in the past years. And that is fair. I don’t think that has been any secret,” said Mathias back in May. “We didn’t have a Pride Night for three years, we didn’t wear a jersey. Everyone knows all these things and I think bringing back Jaelene was a decision made by the club and as a player who is part of the community, you have to work through those struggles but that is what a team is about. You have to be able to embrace people of all different religions, of all different views, of all different backgrounds.

“For me, I think it is really important that we have a voice as much as the club. That there is a group here that truly, truly loves and supports and is here for the LGBTQ community. I think that is a really important message to get out there, because we definitely miss you guys. We definitely miss our fans. They are a huge, huge reason why we were so successful for so many years. The way they had our back and the support we had day-in and day-out. I hope putting a good product on the field gets people back, but also knowing that you’re loved and believed in.

“From a team standpoint, we love and believe in our fans. For sure. We know how important they are and we definitely miss them. It is still a long season. Hopefully we can get a product out there that is winning and we are proud of. But I think this is a group that fans can be really proud of. For what they stand for and just the entertainment factor that they have and the beliefs that they have and the people that they are. If you don’t like one player, then there are 25, 26 other ones to choose from. Find someone you love.”

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Spirit miss out as teenage star Jaedyn Shaw signs with San Diego Wave

The U.S. youth national team star will begin her pro career in California

The San Diego Wave have announced the signing of teenage star Jaedyn Shaw to a contract through 2023, ending a saga that saw the Washington Spirit miss out on a player they wished to sign and who has been training with them for months.

The 17-year-old from Texas joined the Spirit in the preseason and has been training with the team starting in February.

The Spirit wished to sign Shaw directly, but the NWSL decided that the teenager would have to go through the league’s discovery process – with San Diego sitting first in the discovery order.

The Spirit aimed to trade with San Diego for Shaw’s rights, but a source has told Pro Soccer Wire that the Wave asked for up to $250,000, or $150,000 plus a first-round pick. However, a deal was unable to be completed before the California club announced the signing.

“First, I want to thank the Washington Spirit for providing me a professional training environment for the past six months,” the U.S. Under-20 star said in a statement. “I am very grateful for their support. I also want to thank the NWSL for facilitating a pathway for me to join the league and start my childhood dream of becoming a professional soccer player.”

As an under-18 player, Shaw was technically not allowed to enter the league until she turned 18. However, the league, as it did for Portland Thorns teenager Olivia Moultrie, granted an exemption last month.

“For a variety of reasons, including the fact that Shaw will turn 18 in November 2022 and has already taken the necessary steps to turn professional and forgo her NCAA eligibility, the NWSL has exercised its authority and amended its entry process to allow NWSL teams to select Shaw through the discovery process,” read the league’s statement on the matter.

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Jessica Berman calls VAR ‘most important thing’ NWSL can do to improve officiating

Nine months of research prepared NWSL to commit to VAR next year

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman spoke to media on Thursday, covering a wide range of topics, and the addition of VAR was a recurring topic of discussion.

NWSL announced Wednesday that VAR would be implemented for the 2023 season, among multiple changes the league wants to bring in to improve itself as a product.

Berman referred to adding VAR as “probably the single most important thing that we could do to improve the consistency and the quality of the officiating” in NWSL in her remarks, adding that her first two months as commissioner have involved taking on a lot of data on the topic as well as having conversations with various figures around the league.

Berman couldn’t yet speak to exactly how much investment VAR would require or exactly how NWSL will implement, noting that the league is “still doing a lot of due diligence and homework on the implementation process as well as the investment,” she did make clear that the move is not hypothetical.

“We have the support from our board to do whatever is necessary to make that happen,” said Berman, referring to the NWSL board of governors, who met in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We’ve been doing due diligence on that for the last nine months. And we felt coming out of the board meeting that we’ve done enough research and scoping that we’re prepared to make the commitment.”

Berman said that the research and discussion NWSL has already had on the topic has included contact with other leagues that have brought VAR in as a feature.

“Our executive leadership team who’s been leading the process since last season to do all the research and scoping of what’s going to be necessary in order for us to implement VAR has been in collaboration with those leagues that have already made that change and improvement,” said Berman, who added that the team in charge of that research says they’ve taken a lot from the lessons those leagues have learned. “I believe will help to allow us to implement in a much more effective and successful way.”

Berman also noted that adding VAR dovetails with the league’s commitment to improve broadcasts. While this year’s moves on the broadcasting front will not include additional camera angles, Berman said that those will be required for 2023 for VAR.

“In order to implement VAR and to continue to enhance our broadcast production, we are looking at and evaluating all of the costs associated with adding more cameras for all of our production,” said Berman.

One aspect that Berman made clear was that VAR would not be a partial move, with every team and every game having to operate under the same standard.

“It’s our intention to have consistency across the board in every venue for every team,” said Berman, later clarifying that even one-off events like the recent Daytona Soccerfest that included an NWSL league match between the Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville would require VAR infrastructure to get approval.

“That’s not to say that the infrastructure exists today,” added Berman. “The point there is that we’ve done enough of our scoping and research to feel confident that we’ll be able to implement it with incremental investments for next season.”

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NWSL commissioner Berman says abortion access will factor into expansion decision

A host of markets are in play after the league confirmed two new teams will join in 2024

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has said that the status of abortion and reproductive rights in a potential NWSL market will have an impact on the league’s decision to award an expansion franchise.

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the status of abortion rights will now be left to individual states, with several already moving to enact severe restrictions – if not outright bans – on abortions.

On Wednesday, the NWSL confirmed it will add two new teams for the 2024 season, with a host of markets reported to be interested.

Speaking on a conference call on Thursday, Berman said that the league is reviewing the status not only of possible future locations, but current markets as well.

“I think we have to look at that not just from an expansion perspective, but really even our current landscape,” Berman said when asked about women’s bodily autonomy. “And 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 currently, and what are the solutions we can put in place that we feel comfortable we can commit to and execute on. So certainly in the context of expansion, that would be part of the analysis.”

Berman and the NWSL released a statement last month voicing their disagreement when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Portland Thorns and USWNT goalkeeper Bella Bixby also posted a thread on Twitter explaining why the Supreme Court’s ruling, and possible future rulings to come, would have an impact on NWSL players.

Bixby mentioned Roe v. Wade as well as Griswold v. Connecticut, a landmark Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed a right to contraceptives, after Justice Clarence Thomas argued the Court “should reconsider” its ruling in Griswold in his concurring opinion over Roe.

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NWSL announces VAR, expansion, improved broadcasts all on the way

Some popular requests of NWSL are apparently coming soon

NWSL has announced a slate of improvements and changes to come to the league, including news on expansion, the implementation of VAR, and improvements to the league’s oft-criticized broadcasts.

The league held a two-day board of governors meeting in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday, and in a statement to media today outlined the changes to come. Earlier on Wednesday, The Athletic reported that the 2022 NWSL Championship will be played at Audi Field in Washington, DC, though that was not confirmed by the league at this point.

“This week’s meetings have underscored what I have believed from my first day on the job: the NWSL will be the tip of the spear in driving transformational change in the professional sports landscape in this country,” said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a press release. “I’ve spent the first three months of my tenure with the league on a listening tour speaking with hundreds of stakeholders, from owners to partners to players to fans. The overwhelming theme was that while we have challenges to address, we have infinite opportunities to unlock our potential that will serve our players and the millions who support them around the world.”

While NWSL did not announce full details on their plans, they did announce that internally at least, the board of governors have outlined plans to boost their investment in improving officiating, a hot-button issue for fans and teams this season. Most notably, the league said VAR technology would be implemented starting with the 2023 season.

In the short term, a much-needed move to improve the quality of broadcasts will, according to NWSL, start in August of this year. Wednesday’s statement said that “the necessary resources to upgrade all Paramount+ and Twitch broadcasts” are coming, with better cameras, infrastructure, and additional staff all listed as part of the plan.

NWSL broadcasts have been intensely criticized by fans, with picture quality often falling below high-definition standards, even from venues where MLS matches do not run into the same issue.

NWSL—which confirmed that it will move its headquarters from Chicago to New York in September 2022—also reiterated plans to add two teams for the 2024 season, with investment firm Inner Circle Sports being brought aboard to “represent and advise” the league during that process.

Multiple cities reportedly have expansion bids brewing. ESPN previously reported that the rebirth of Utah Royals FC is a lock for one of those two spots. San Jose’s bid, spearheaded by four ex-U.S. women’s national team players, is well known, while groups in Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, and Toronto have all been reported to have expressed interest in bringing NWSL to town.

During this board of governors meeting, NWSL said that rules for the 2023 expansion process have been approved, and that the expansion draft rules will be announced in the future.

NWSL also announced growth in some key metrics, including a 24% year-over-year increase in streaming viewers on Paramount+ and Twitch, and an 87% increase in league sponsorship. The league says that paid attendance has doubled, though of course 2021’s numbers were impacted by concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic in a way that 2022’s have not been.

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USYNT star Jaedyn Shaw’s path to NWSL to go through the league’s discovery process

Another USYNT player wants to go pro ASAP

Jaedyn Shaw, a highly-touted member of the U.S. under-20 national team who has spent a significant portion of 2022 training with the Washington Spirit, will be allowed to sign with an NWSL club without having to go through the College Draft.

However, in a statement Thursday, the league said that Shaw will have to go through the NWSL discovery process, a mechanism that exists for the league to maintain parity, and that has been used as an exemption to its minimum age requirement in the recent past. The discovery process for Shaw will be held on July 7.

Shaw, like Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie, would normally have had to wait until the next College Draft after her 18th birthday, which comes in November. With Shaw looking to sign a professional deal quickly, the NWSL cited its ability “to amend its rules in its discretion,” instituting a one-off Discovery Process to sort out what club has league priority to sign the attacker.

“For a variety of reasons, including the fact that Shaw will turn 18 in November 2022 and has already taken the necessary steps to turn professional and forgo her NCAA eligibility, the NWSL has exercised its authority and amended its entry process to allow NWSL teams to select Shaw through the discovery process,” read the league’s statement on the matter.

The statement further said that any team that wants to be involved in the discovery process must spell out its plans in terms of “how they would comply with the safeguarding rules related to minors until Shaw turns 18” in order to participate.

“I have spent the first two months of my tenure as commissioner of the NWSL reviewing all of our policies and procedures to ensure our league is set up for success, now and in the future,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman in the statement. “This is a special circumstance that I believe requires us to show flexibility in how we execute our policies, and as a practical matter, is part of our ongoing review of our age restriction policy. In the interim, we have determined that our best course of action is to allow Jaedyn Shaw to join the NWSL as part of this discovery process.”

NWSL maintained that its age restriction policy is still intact, with requests for exemptions to it to be “reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”

Shaw, a standout from Texas youth club Solar SC, joined the Spirit in the preseason and trained with the team from early February through at least the end of March. One source with knowledge of how those sessions went told Pro Soccer Wire that she drew at least some comparisons to USWNT star and 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year Trinity Rodman.

Washington head coach Kris Ward had spoken a handful of times throughout the spring about the club’s ambitions to work with NWSL on a pathway for them to sign Shaw directly, rather than going through a normal player acquisition mechanism.

That was a different prospect than how a situation like this played out the last time a minor pushed to join an NWSL club. Moultrie ended up bringing a suit against the NWSL on anti-trust grounds to push for the chance to play in the league, with the outcome eventually being a discovery process that saw OL Reign acquire Moultrie’s NWSL playing rights and then trade them to Portland. Moultrie has since become a regular part of Portland’s rotation, making 19 appearances in all competitions for the Thorns since signing her contract in June.

Speaking today to reporters, Ward said that even though the push for a different method in these cases didn’t succeed, the Spirit would still be interested in signing Shaw via the discovery process.

“We’ll have to, I guess not adjust the strategy, but roll with the parameters that they have played out, and see if we can work something out,” said Ward. “We obviously think that she’s talented, and we would like for something to work out, but it’s not always that simple. And so, we’re just gonna have to start to have those conversations, now that we have this news, and see what is out there to be able to accomplish.”

The Spirit and NWSL have had their conflicts in the recent past, but Ward said that while these discussions didn’t go the way he’d have preferred, he didn’t feel the league approached Washington’s position in an adversarial manner.

“I don’t think that (NWSL) were difficult, or…obtuse in any way,” said Ward. “It’s their understanding that the landscape is changing and shifting.”

Ward characterized the NWSL’s perspective as wanting “to make sure that the process was carefully thought out, and that it was fair, because American sports is all about equality, or trying to create a level playing field for teams, whether or not that actually exists. It’s not an enviable position to be in for them, to say ‘okay, we’re now having to face this new reality.'”

“I think they just needed to make sure that logistically, legally, process-wise, all that kind of stuff, that they had put together something that was reasonable and allowed for draft order and things like that,” added Ward.

While he couldn’t make direct comparisons to how things played out with Moultrie, Ward felt that the league must prepare a process for more talented youngsters to come to a point where they’re choosing between staying in the NWSL or looking to European clubs.

“Jaedyn is not alone in this situation of being a minor who is looking to play professionally. I know that there’s a handful of kids around the league with different teams,” said Ward. “The day for Jaedyn is obviously here, but the day for those people who are now coming after her, it’s not going to be a 10-year gap. It’s not going to be a 10-month gap. Those players, they’re out there. They’re nearby… How does the league go through and start to create a template for that, so they can address these other situations as they arise? Because, it’s coming.”

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Angel City adds Sydney Leroux in trade with Orlando Pride

ACFC got a much-needed boost for their attack

Angel City FC has given their attack a significant boost, as they’ve completed a trade to bring Sydney Leroux over from the Orlando Pride.

In the deal, Orlando will receive Angel City’s natural first round pick in the 2024 NWSL College Draft, $75,000 in NWSL allocation money, and a potential $10,000 allocation money bonus this year and in 2023 based on Leroux’s performance.

“I am so excited to be a part of Angel City and everything being built with this club,” said Leroux in a press release from Angel City. “The atmosphere I felt playing at the Banc [of California Stadium] on Mother’s Day was unbelievable. It really feels like I’m coming home, between going to UCLA and living in LA. Angel City is truly putting women’s soccer on the map in Los Angeles and it shows if you invest in women, great things will happen. I am excited to be a part of that.”

Leroux, 32, had two goals and an for Orlando this season, as the Pride struggled throughout the spring and suffered the added difficulty of new coach Amanda Cromwell being suspended during an investigation into alleged retaliatory conduct.

In 2019 and 2020, injuries, pregnancy, and Orlando having to miss out on the original Challenge Cup kept Leroux off the field, but she came back with a vengeance in 2021. An 8 goal/2 assist season in which she played in all but one Pride game marked her best season since 2013.

For Angel City, the rationale for the trade is straightforward. Christen Press suffered a torn ACL earlier in June, and when coach Freya Coombe has looked to rest striker Simone Charley, the alternative has often been to push attacking midfielder Savannah McCaskill up as an ad hoc forward due to a lack of attacking depth.

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