Swanson marks return from injury that changed ‘whole perspective on life’

Swanson said that her knee injury has given her a new perspective on life

Mallory Swanson is back on the field, and the Chicago Red Stars forward has returned with a new appreciation for being able to play the sport she loves.

Swanson missed nearly a full year after suffering a torn patella tendon in April with the U.S. women’s national team, knocking her out of the 2023 World Cup.

The forward’s recovery was complicated by an infection that required a second surgery less than two weeks after her first operation.

After returning for Chicago’s preseason, Swanson was back on the field in the Red Stars’ 2024 opener on Saturday as her side defeated the Utah Royals 2-0.

Swanson played 80 minutes in the win, looking like she is on her way to regaining the form that saw her lead the USWNT in goals last year despite not playing a game after April.

Following the match in Utah, Swanson posted her gratitude for the moment on Instagram.

“After 343 days, 3 surgeries, and an infection that changed my whole perspective on life I realized many things,” she said. “Life is a beautiful blessing. Health is a blessing. This game that I love is a blessing. And at the end of it all I am more than thankful to be able to do what I love again.”

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Hayes walks back ‘clickbait’ comments on teammates dating

The coach backtracked on comments saying that players dating was “inappropriate”

Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes has admitted she made a mistake when she said that teammates dating was “inappropriate.”

The incoming U.S. women’s national team coach was asked Thursday about Leicester City Women manager Willie Kirk, who is currently suspended amid an investigation into a reported relationship with one of his players.

Hayes responded by saying that not only is coaches dating players wrong, but also teammates dating one another.

“We have to have safeguarding, make sure that’s it’s accessible for each and every club to protect players,” Hayes said. “Player-coach relationships, they’re inappropriate, player-to-player relationships are inappropriate.”

Expanding on her reasoning, Hayes added: “One player’s in the team, one’s not in the team, one might be in the last year of their contract, one might not be. We all know, those of us that have been in the women’s game for a long period of time, those things have been happening in dressing rooms. Longer term, it would be ideal … where you don’t have to deal with that.”

After her side’s 3-1 win over Arsenal in the WSL on Friday, Hayes admitted she had made a mistake with her comments.

“I want to be clear to everybody in the room, I don’t want to create any more clickbait headlines for you guys. I think sometimes that becomes the case when we have honest conversations about things,” Hayes said at a press conference.

Chelsea defender Jess Carter is currently in a relationship with her teammate Ann-Katrin Berger, and liked a post on X saying that the comments from Hayes were “beyond bonkers.”

Amid a potentially awkward situation in her locker room, Hayes said she had spoken with Carter in the aftermath of her comments.

“Of course, I’m disappointed about that, of course Jess and I have had a conversation today as I have with other players in the team,” Hayes said.

“They know exactly who I am and what my intentions were. But I have to expect that — I’m supposed to be the most well-trained, non-clickbait coach and I let myself down yesterday. I didn’t think it was right for me to use the term ‘inappropriate’ for the players.

“I don’t take those things back, but I have zero criticism for any player in my dressing room for anything — their professionalism regardless of their status, regardless of who they are in a relationship. I’ve been unbelievably supportive of all of the players, I’ve been a champion for equality and equity.”

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Rapinoe backs Hayes to take her place as USWNT media spokesperson

“Alex and I are very talented with the media …. that’s sort of a tough act to follow”

Megan Rapinoe has backed incoming U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes to pick up the slack from her and Alex Morgan as the team’s main representative with the media.

Rapinoe took on the mantle as the USWNT’s de facto spokesperson prior to her retirement last year. Along with other stars like Alex Morgan, Rapinoe championed the team’s favored social causes, served as an advocate for the team during its lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, and also acted as a shield for its many critics.

Speaking to Sam Mewis on her podcast on The Women’s Game, Rapinoe said that Hayes could help ease the burden on a new generation of USWNT stars who may not be as keen to be in the media spotlight as their predecessors.

“I think she’s really talented at [dealing with the media],” Rapinoe said of Hayes, who will take over as USWNT head coach in May following the conclusion of Chelsea’s season.

“I don’t think we often think of interactions — whether it’s players or coaches — as an actual talent with the media. I think Emma is very talented. She’s charismatic, she speaks very well. She’s cheeky. She’s going to have a sense of humor in there. It seems like she handles herself really well in England, which is traditionally a very tough media.”

“I think the team has also come off a period that had me and Alex. I think Alex and I are very talented with the media. I really don’t want to toot my own horn here, but that’s sort of a tough act to follow when the media is maybe looking for someone just like that, and that’s not how all players are. And I feel like this might be a time to let the coach take some of the heat for all of this.”

Rapinoe added that she welcomed the increased media scrutiny the USWNT has been dealing with in recent years, saying that has to come with the territory in a growing women’s sports landscape.

“I always say if we are going to say we want the sport to grow, you have to take the smoke,” Rapinoe said. “And I think that Emma’s going to be really good at doing that. And I always say the media is not the enemy. I feel like you can always weaponize media and always use them to your advantage and I think she’s going to be really good at that. And I think it might take a little bit of the pressure off the players, so they can just go do their thing.”

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Morgan snaps career-long scoring drought in Wave win over Thorns

The USWNT striker had gone 15 games overall without a goal

Alex Morgan is once again among the goals.

The San Diego Wave striker broke a drought for club and country that spanned more than four months, scoring her side’s second in a 2-0 win over the Portland Thorns on Saturday night.

After Kyra Carusa had given the Wave a 20th-minute lead, Morgan got on the end of Christen Westphal’s long cross and saw her header barely trickle past the outstretched Bella Bixby in Portland’s goal.

Morgan’s 38th-minute header would be the final goal on the night, as the Wave earned a 2-0 away win that saw them become the first NWSL team this season to clinch a playoff berth.

Prior to Saturday night, the last time Morgan scored came all the way back on May 20, as San Diego beat the Houston Dash 3-0. The eight-game NWSL drought marked the longest streak of the striker’s NWSL career.

When factoring in U.S. women’s national team matches, Morgan’s header at Portland snapped a run of 15 games overall without a goal.

Morgan has gone nine games in a row without a goal for the USWNT, last scoring in February’s 2-1 SheBelieves Cup win over Brazil. Since then, she’s gone scoreless in two friendlies against Ireland, five World Cup games, and then two more friendlies against South Africa last month.

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USWNT forward Fishel scores on dream Chelsea debut

The 22-year-old looks right at home in London after her offseason move from Tigres

Mia Fishel has had quite the week.

Exactly seven days after earning her first U.S. women’s national team cap, Fishel scored on her Chelsea debut as her new side defeated Tottenham 2-1 in Sunday’s Women’s Super League opener.

With the game scoreless in the 28th minute, Niamh Charles beat her marker on the left flank before whipping in a cross that Fishel did well to head away from her body and into the far corner.

Lauren James would go on to score early in the second half, with Spurs pulling a goal back in the 76th minute through Martha Thomas.

Fishel, who completed a move to Chelsea from Tigres in the offseason, said her goal was a “dream come true,” adding that playing in England was a step up from her time in Liga MX Femenil.

“I’m playing for my dream club with these players. I’ve been here a month and I’m excited,” Fishel told Sky Sports.

“I had no doubts about starting and that’s kudos to Emma [Hayes, Chelsea head coach] and the team for making me feel welcome.

“The intensity is different from the Mexican league. We don’t get a lot of time on the field. Take more than two touches here and you’re going to get smashed, that’s the major difference.”

Hayes added that she was happy with the partnership that was developing between Fishel and England star James.

“A brilliant debut from Mia and the connection with Lauren was there to see throughout,” Hayes said.

“She was a bit out of the game for the first 15-20 minutes but when she did feel her way into it, her connection with Lauren was excellent.”

Watch Fishel’s goal on Chelsea debut

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USWNT star Morgan invests in new Woods-McIlroy golf league

Morgan and her husband Servando Carrasco have joined the ownership group of Los Angeles Golf Club

Alex Morgan has announced she and her husband Servando Carrasco have joined the ownership group of Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC), a franchise in TGL, the new golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Billed as a “tech-infused golf league,” TGL will begin in January 2024 in conjunction with the PGA Tour, with matches to take place in prime time on Monday nights.

LAGC was confirmed as the league’s inaugural team, and features an ownership group that includes Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

That franchise has since been joined by teams in New York, Boston and Atlanta, each with high-profile owners (Steve Cohen, Fenway Sports Group and Arthur Blank, respectively). Two more franchises are set to be announced before the TGL begins.

Morgan has taken up golf in recent years, and even starred in a golf-themed Super Bowl commercial this year for Michelob Ultra.

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TGL is aiming to attract younger audiences to golf, and will feature players hitting shots into a virtual screen before moving to “a data-rich, virtual course complete with a tech-infused, short-game complex.”

The matches will take place at a custom-built venue in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

“We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you,” Woods said in a release when TGL launched. “It’s something that inherently isn’t possible in traditional golf — and an aspect of TGL that will set it apart and appeal to a new generation of fans.”

TGL will feature six teams with three-player rosters, with 12 pros already confirmed: Woods, McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The inaugural season will feature a 15-match schedule followed by semifinals and a championship game.

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Fishel: USWNT debut saw dreams become reality

The 22-year-old earned her first cap in a friendly win over South Africa on Sunday

Mia Fishel said her U.S. women’s national team debut saw her dreams become reality, with the forward promising that her first cap was “just the beginning.”

Fishel came on in the 65th minute of the USWNT’s 2-0 win over South Africa at Soldier Field, becoming the third player to earn their first USWNT cap this year after Savannah DeMelo and M.A. Vignola.

The 22-year-old also became only the third player since 2016 to debut for the USWNT while playing their club soccer in Europe, following Alana Cook (PSG) and Catarina Macario (Lyon).

After a prolific spell with Tigres in Liga MX, Fishel completed a move to Chelsea in the offseason.

The striker will look to make her Chelsea bow in its season opener against Tottenham on Sunday. After her USWNT debut, Fishel marked the occasion in a post on Instagram.

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Fishel’s call-up this month was not the first time she’d been invited to a senior USWNT camp. The striker was first called up in October 2020 when she was still at UCLA, with that camp not featuring any games.

There were plenty of calls for her first cap to come much sooner than it did, but former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski did not bring Fishel in after that 2020 camp.

After excluding Fishel from his January roster this year, Andonovski said that other players were simply ahead of her in his eyes, adding that playing in Mexico wasn’t harming her chances of a call-up.

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‘Pull it together Lindsey!’ – Watch Rapinoe’s USWNT farewell speech

Rapinoe addressed the Soldier Field crowd after earning her 203rd and final USWNT cap

Megan Rapinoe addressed the Soldier Field crowd after her final U.S. women’s national team game on Sunday, telling supporters: “I’m one of you guys now. I’ll be the biggest fan of this team.”

The American soccer legend made her 203rd and final appearance with the USWNT against South Africa, starting and playing 54 minutes before being subbed off to a standing ovation in a 2-0 win.

Rapinoe will retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season, capping off a hugely impactful career both on and off the field.

Speaking to reporters before the game, Rapinoe said that her on-field accomplishments “pale in comparison” to everything she and her generation of USWNT players have achieved off the field.

Rapinoe referenced some of those off-field achievements in her farewell address, saying: “We have fought so hard on the field, had so much fun, been so successful, doing it underneath all of your guys’ cheers. We have fought so hard off the field to continue to create more space for ourselves to be who we are, but hopefully, in turn, more space for you guys to be who you are.

“It has been such an honor to be able to wear this shirt and to play with all these amazing players and to just live out my childhood dream casually just like in front of the world.”

Later, Rapinoe turned to an emotional Lindsey Horan and joked: “Pull it together Lindsey! She’s not handling it well. It’s OK, love you too.”

Rapinoe’s career still has a few games remaining as the NWSL season nears its conclusion. OL Reign has announced that its October 6 home regular-season finale against the Washington Spirit has been dubbed “Forever Reign: A Celebration of Megan Rapinoe.”

Watch Rapinoe’s farewell speech

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The USWNT and USMNT general manager positions are likely dead

The roles, which were first filled in 2018 and 2019, won’t be returning

The general manager positions for both the U.S. men’s and women’s national team are likely no more.

In an interview with reporters on Sunday, U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker confirmed that the positions, which have both become vacant in 2023, would probably not be filled.

“I’m just still in the process of finalizing the high-level supporting structure, but if you look at the GM role, my thinking is one of the big priorities for me is to make sure the senior men’s coach and the senior women’s coach report into the sporting director,” Crocker said in quotes published by ESPN. “I was pretty insistent on that. I feel like I’ll be the one that will be recruiting those coaches.

“I’ll be the one that will be making sure they’ve got robust development plans sitting with them or outlying the strategy. So it’s my job to hold those guys accountable for what has been agreed.”

Earnie Stewart became the first USMNT general manager when he was hired in 2018. One year later, he was promoted to sporting director and replaced by Brian McBride. Stewart and McBride both departed U.S. Soccer this January.

On the women’s side, Kate Markgraf — the only person to fill the USWNT general manager role — stepped down last month after she was hired in 2019.

The women’s GM position also included overseeing youth national teams, with those responsibilities set to be “split into other roles,” according to Crocker.

Crocker’s decision streamlines the U.S. Soccer organization chart. The two general manager positions were in charge of overseeing their respective senior national teams and their operations, including making head coaching decisions.

Those decisions will now fall to Crocker, who was brought on this April to replace Stewart.

Crocker’s role oversees the entire U.S. Soccer sporting department, which includes senior and youth national teams for both men and women, as well as extended national teams.

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USWNT’s Kilgore on coaching Rapinoe: ‘It’s a monumental thing’

Kilgore on Rapinoe: “Off the field, she’s gonna champion everybody to champion others”

Megan Rapinoe’s final U.S. women’s national team head coach may not have been in charge for all that long, but she still has a “Pinoe” story.

Speaking to reporters after the USWNT icon played her final game for the national team, interim coach Twila Kilgore said that getting to coach Rapinoe and Julie Ertz (whose retirement became official on Thursday night) was an honor.

“We have a heads of department meeting in the evenings,” explained Kilgore following Sunday’s 2-0 win over South Africa. “I kind of shared a little bit and just said, ‘man, like how lucky are we that we get to be the coaches and the staff that’s here for both these players’ last games?’ Out of all the coaches in the world, I get to do that.”

“It’s because of who they are as players, but also as people, and what they’ve done for the soccer community and beyond. It’s a monumental thing. I think we’ll all be telling the next generation of kids and stuff in our families about.”

For Kilgore, the unique moment was combined with a more personal bit of gratitude, with the interim coach saying Rapinoe even got in touch to encourage her once she was handed the keys to such a vaunted program.

“Her first phone call to me when I was got this job, she said ‘Twila, coach us. Coach us, be you, and coach us,’ said Kilgore. “She does that for everybody.”

Kilgore on Rapinoe: ‘She’s gonna champion everybody’

Kilgore, who was on former head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s staff from last year through the World Cup, gave a peek into what life is like when such a huge star like Rapinoe is in your locker room.

“I joked last night in front of the group, you never know exactly what you’re gonna get with Pinoe: what music she’s gonna be playing, what outfit she’s gonna be [wearing],” said Kilgore. “She gets a phone call, it could be like a friend, Sue [Bird, Rapinoe’s fiancée and WNBA legend], or the president of the United States. Like, you just don’t know.

“But you know that consistently on the pitch, you’re gonna get somebody who’s going to be a goalscoring threat. She’s gonna provide amazing service. She’s gonna probably make some sort of tactical adjustment on her own, and she’s gonna encourage the people around her to be her, you know?”

Kilgore’s emphasis was clear: Rapinoe doesn’t want the other USWNT players to be another Megan Rapinoe, but rather to be the most iconic version of themselves.

“Off the field, she’s gonna champion everybody to champion others,” added Kilgore, alluding to Rapinoe’s embrace of social causes, particularly those pertaining to racial justice and equal rights for women and the LGBTQ+ community. “Whether that’s big, big, large-scale movements, or just protecting and helping the person next to her.”

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