Category: USWNT

Alex Morgan to miss at least one San Diego Wave game due to ankle injury

Alex Morgan’s status is unclear, but Casey Stoney says she will miss at least one game with an ankle injury

Alex Morgan will miss at least one game with an ankle injury sustained in NWSL play.

San Diego Wave manager Casey Stoney said that the U.S. women’s national team striker will miss Saturday’s NWSL match against Bay FC.

Morgan picked up the injury last week during San Diego’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride.

According to Stoney, Morgan will be “week-to-week” going forward, an indicator that the injury may keep Morgan on the sidelines for a bit longer.

It’s a busy month for San Diego, who have five games in the next four weeks. The knock could also jeopardize Morgan’s availability for Emma Hayes’ first USWNT camp, with the team facing two matches against South Korea on June 1 and June 4.

Morgan faces something of a battle to make Hayes’ final 18-player roster for the upcoming Paris Olympics. The USWNT star has been a fixture with the team for over a decade, taking part in four World Cups and three Olympiads in her sterling career.

However, with Catarina Macario healthy again and Sophia Smith recovering her confidence after a post-World Cup dip, there is a very real chance that Morgan could end up watching the Paris games from home.

More to follow…

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USWNT star Horan named player of the season finalist in France

The USWNT captain is one of three finalists for the prestigious award

Lindsey Horan has been rewarded for a standout season with Lyon, as the midfielder was named one of three finalists for the Division 1 Féminine player of the season award.

The U.S. women’s national team captain has netted six league goals for Lyon, which sits atop the table with an incredible record of 19 wins and one draw in 20 matches.

Lyon would have already locked up the title in previous seasons, but the French top flight will decide its champion this season in a knockout-style competition between the top four finishers in the league.

PSG, which is currently in second place, is the home to Horan’s two competitors for the individual prize. Tabitha Chawinga has a league-best 18 goals this term, while her teammate Grace Geyoro has chipped in with 11 goals of her own.

Coincidentally, PSG and Lyon are also battling it out for continental honors as the two French teams face off in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal.

Lyon secured a 3-2 home win in the first leg last weekend, with the second leg set for Sunday at Parc des Princes.

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USWNT to face Costa Rica in Olympic send-off match in Washington, D.C.

The USWNT will play at Audi Field for the second time in its history

The U.S. women’s national team has announced that it will face Costa Rica in Washington, D.C. in its Olympic send-off match.

The match is set for July 16 at Audi Field, just nine days before the USWNT faces Zambia in its 2024 Olympics opener in Nice, France.

It will be the team’s fourth match under Emma Hayes, who is set to take over as head coach starting next month. Prior to the Costa Rica friendly, the USWNT will face South Korea in two June matches and will then take on Mexico on July 13 at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.

The matches in Washington and New Jersey will feature the 18-player Olympic roster.

The USWNT and Costa Rica have faced off 17 times in their history, with the U.S. winning all 17 games. Most recently, the USWNT defeated the Ticas 3-0 in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship quarterfinal.

The USWNT has played one other match at Audi Field, defeating Nigeria 2-1 in a friendly in September 2022.

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USWNT 2024 schedule: Results, fixtures, TV channel and streaming

All of the USWNT’s fixtures in 2024, including the Olympics and W Gold Cup

The U.S. women’s national team is looking at a busy 2024.

Two significant tournaments await. The first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup will come up quickly in February and March, while the 2024 Summer Olympics will be the biggest priority.

New USWNT head coach Emma Hayes will join up in time for a pre-Olympics FIFA window, a short run-up before leading the team to Paris in pursuit of an improved showing after a disappointing 2023 World Cup.

Between those two events, the USWNT will face a revamped SheBelieves Cup in April, while there are multiple friendly windows after the Olympics finish up.

Here is a list of all of the USWNT’s fixtures for 2024.

USWNT’s Tierna Davidson injured during Gotham FC match

Davidson’s status could become another injury worry for Emma Hayes

The U.S. women’s national team’s potential list of injuries is growing at an alarming rate.

Tierna Davidson exited NJ/NY Gotham FC’s NWSL clash on Saturday with the Washington Spirit after just 21 minutes with a potential hamstring strain.

“She had to come off, which is never a good sign,” Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós told reporters after the match. “We will have to evaluate, wait for the testing and whatever medical tests we have to do, and go from there.”

Davidson is a strong contender to emerge as Naomi Girma’s partner at center back for Emma Hayes at this summer’s Olympics. However, after losing 2022 to a torn ACL and then suffering a facial fracture at the end of last season, the 25-year-old’s USWNT resume in recent times is not as long as some of her competitors.

Davidson appeared to pick up her injury in an attempt to race back and prevent a Trinity Rodman shot from getting over the line midway through the first half at Audi Field. Davidson stayed down, and after receiving brief treatment, slowly walked back to the Gotham bench. The Bats replaced her with Sam Hiatt in the 21st minute.

The injury comes less than 24 hours after Alex Morgan left the San Diego Wave’s loss to the Orlando Pride after suffering an ankle injury. Another potential USWNT starter, Rose Lavelle, has been out for weeks with a lower-leg injury.

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USWNT striker Morgan limps off for San Diego with ankle injury

The Wave and USWNT will face a nervous wait on the striker’s injury

Alex Morgan limped out of the San Diego Wave’s match at the Orlando Pride on Friday after suffering an apparent ankle injury.

The forward was involved in a goal-mouth scramble late in the match, and appeared to roll her left ankle while fighting for the ball with Pride defender Emily Sams and goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.

Morgan was down for several minutes and recieved treatment on the pitch before slowly limping off. The Wave were out of substitutions at the time of the injury, and were forced to play out the final minutes of the match with 10 players.

Orlando would win the game 1-0 at Inter&Co Stadium thanks to a 26th-minute goal from Summer Yates.

After the game, Wave head coach Casey Stoney said that she didn’t have much information other than the location of the injury.

“Just briefed on it, something to do with her ankle,” Stoney said in her press conference. “I’ve not heard anything more than that at the moment.”

The Wave and the U.S. women’s national team will now face a nervous wait to learn the extent of Morgan’s injury.

The 2024 Olympics kick off in three months, with Morgan recently playing her way back into a prominent role for the USWNT after being initially left off the roster for the W Gold Cup.

Morgan played in all six Gold Cup games, scoring two goals, before she started both SheBelieves Cup matches for the U.S. earlier this month.

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Gaetino anticipates ‘incredible’ challenge from Horan, Lyon in Women’s Champions League

Eva Gaetino highlighted USWNT captain Lindsey Horan as Lyon’s most important player ahead of Saturday’s semifinal

Eva Gaetino hasn’t gone up against Lindsey Horan all that often in her young career, but she’s seen enough of the U.S. women’s national team captain to be impressed.

Ahead of a UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal between Gaetino’s Paris Saint-Germain and Horan’s Lyon, the 21-year-old highlighted the USWNT veteran as possibly the most important player in the tie.

In quotes published by Goal, Gaetino made it clear that she spent some of her first USWNT camp paying close attention to Horan, and praised the 29-year-old’s all-around game.

“I think even just being in camp with her and being on her team and seeing her strengths, she’s incredible on both sides of the ball,” explained Gaetino. “She’s very dynamic in the attack, very creative, and is also a very good defender. Having to face her higher up the field is exciting for me because I look up to her so much.”

Gaetino ‘excited’ to face Horan, Lyon

Despite going pro before finishing her collegiate eligibility and the big names on the PSG roster, the 5-foot-11 Gaetino has pushed her way into regular starts already. The former Notre Dame captain has started seven games for manager Jocelyn Prêcheur since arriving in the French capital.

That puts her in line to face Lyon in the biggest pair of games in PSG’s season. The Parisians will play the first leg at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium on Saturday, before hosting the second leg at the Parc des Princes on April 28.

Gaetino — who only signed with PSG earlier this year —  indicated that she knows full well that PSG faces a really difficult task against Lyon, a perennial Champions League finalist and a side that has more often than not bested PSG in domestic play.

“They have world-class players and even in my [30] minutes against them previously, just the types of crosses that they were hitting and the runners and the timing of their headers, it’s a huge threat,” said Gaetino, whose professional debut came in Division 1 Féminine play against Lyon in February. “I think that’s going to be a huge challenge and I’m excited for it.”

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USWNT star Macario gets assist in first Chelsea start

It’s been 686 days, but Macario is back starting games again

Making a big step after her injury nightmare, Catarina Macario started a match for the first time in 686 days.

The U.S. women’s national team star was on the pitch from kickoff as Chelsea hosted Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League on Wednesday, making her first start for the Blues since joining the club in June 2023.

The 24-year-old would end up logging 70 minutes in a 3-0 win, with the Blues climbing back above Manchester City at the top of the WSL standings on goal difference.

Macario had not started a game anywhere since tearing her ACL in her final appearance with Lyon, all the way back on June 1, 2022.

Since then, Macario has missed a World Cup for the USWNT, and had totaled just 169 minutes of playing time for Chelsea and the U.S. before being named to the starting 11 by Emma Hayes for Villa’s visit.

Villa goalkeeper Anna Leat was sent off after just four minutes for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity after making a save well outside her 18-yard box, helping Macario and the Blues ease into the game.

Aggie Beever-Jones’ 18th-minute volley opened the scoring, and Macario followed that strike up with a clever 38th-minute assist. The USWNT attacker’s near-post heel flick completely caught the visitors’ defense off-guard, setting Japan forward Maika Hamano up for a tap-in.

Despite her lack of playing time, this marked the third assist for Macario since her return, to go with two goals (including one in her first appearance for the club).

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Rapinoe and Bird’s production company announces first scripted series

The legendary ex-pro athletes will serve as executive producers on ‘Cleat Cute’

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s production company, A Touch More, has announced it is developing its first scripted TV series.

Bird and Rapinoe will serve as executive producers on an adaptation of the best-selling novel “Cleat Cute” from author Meryl Wilsner.

According to a press release, the novel “follows a young soccer player as she juggles being the new rookie player, her goals of making the national team, and a budding romance with her team captain.”

Bird and Rapinoe added: “We are thrilled to be working with Future Shack [Entertainment] to bring Meryl Wilsner’s wonderful book to life. Having spent most of our lives on teams, we want to celebrate the ways in which relationships, both romantic and platonic, are organically created through sports.

“‘Cleat Cute’ will not shy away from the messiness, occasional frustration, and undeniable beauty that come with loving the game and the players within it.”

“Cleat Cute” will be the first foray into scripted TV for A Touch More, which Bird and Rapinoe founded in 2022.

A Touch More was also part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast “Pink Card,” a series that followed women in Iran fighting for the right to watch soccer.

The company was founded with the aim of amplifying stories from  underrepresented communities, including LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and women.

Rapinoe retired last year at the end of a decorated career in which she became one of the all-time greats for the U.S. women’s national team. Similarly, Bird retired in 2022 after becoming one of the WNBA’s greatest ever players.

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Lavelle provides injury update as USWNT star awaits Gotham FC debut

The USWNT star has now been sidelined more than a month with a leg injury

Rose Lavelle was one of several U.S. women’s national team stars who joined Gotham FC as marquee offseason additions.

But unlike Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett and Crystal Dunn, the playmaker has not yet stepped on the field wearing the Gotham crest.

Lavelle hasn’t played since the W Gold Cup, where she featured in all six of the USWNT’s matches as it lifted the regional title.

The 28-year-old has been sidelined with what the NWSL availability report calls a lower leg injury, missing the Challenge Cup and all three of Gotham’s regular season games thus far.

As her absence stretches past a month, Lavelle gave an update on her progress during a media event in New York marking 100 days until the Olympics begin.

“I’m doing good — I’m hoping I’ll be back in the next couple weeks,” Lavelle said in quotes published on the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“It’s frustrating to start the year off with an injury, just because I feel like you come off preseason and you’re revving to go, so it’s so annoying.”

Last month, interim USWNT coach Twila Kilgore called Lavelle’s absence from the SheBelieves Cup roster “mostly a preventative measure in terms of taking care of her health.”

Kilgore has coached her final game for the USWNT, as she moves back to an assistant role ahead of Emma Hayes’ arrival next month.

With the Olympics kicking off soon and Hayes facing some tough decisions to cut her roster down to just 18 players, Lavelle knows time is of the essence.

“The strength of our team is there in so much depth, so unfortunately that means really good players are going to get left off too,” she said.  “And I think for all of us, it’s just about being ready for whatever role is given to us, embracing that, and looking to put it into a collective picture so that we can go into the Olympics ready to go.”

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