The NWSL returned to regular season play after its first dalliance with the new Challenge Cup format, and gave fans plenty to think about.
Julie Ertz made her first appearance in the league in over two years, and the early signs are that her presence will change a lot about how Angel City FC executes. That follows some positive changes that came in part from Lynn Williams arriving with NJ/NY Gotham FC this winter, while Cece Kizer’s return to fitness has opened up missing elements for the Kansas City Current.
Unless you’re the Portland Thorns, change is good at this part of the season. For some teams, that means staying the course in anticipation of changes for the better coming to fruition. In other cases, we may have a couple of teams who need to consider more marked changes to avoid being left in the dust.
Here’s your look back at another eventful weekend in the NWSL:
Once fans could watch last weekend’s games, they got plenty of drama
The international window is over, and NWSL came back with its customary mix of thrills and drama on the field.
Two stoppage-time winners, a two-goal comeback in LA, two teams hanging onto road results under intense late pressure, a league record broken, a team people wrote off putting four goals past a projected contender, and some spectacular goals? That sounds like the NWSL.
Unfortunately, so does a broadcasting own goal that is arguably the major story from this weekend’s games. The NWSL giveth, and the NWSL taketh away.
Pro Soccer Wire‘s NWSL Weekend Take-Off is here to cover all of the highs and lows:
The 31-year-old is looking to make an unlikely late charge for a World Cup spot
Angel City FC has signed U.S. women’s national team midfielder Julie Ertz to a one-year contract, the club has announced.
After not playing for club or country since the Olympics in 2021, Ertz made a surprise return to the USWNT and played in both of the team’s friendlies against Ireland earlier this month.
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made it clear that Ertz needed to find a club immediately in order to be considered for the World Cup roster, and the 31-year-old has now done so with the team that initially acquired her rights from Chicago in 2021.
“I am so thrilled to be joining one of the most exciting clubs in the world in Angel City FC,” Ertz said in a club release. “From the moment they traded for my rights up until now, they have been unwavering in their support of my journey. I cannot wait to get to work with the team and finally experience the amazing game day atmosphere.”
“Having Angel City want me from the beginning is motivating,” Ertz added, “because someone respects the way you play, and that goes a long way. They wanted me on the team before and now.”
After never agreeing to a contract with Angel City, Ertz became a free agent this past offseason.
“Julie is a world-class player who has proven herself time and again at both club and national team levels,” said head coach Freya Coombe. “In addition to her quality on the ball, she will help us defend higher up the field and against opponent transition. Her leadership and World Cup and Olympic medal-winning experience will undoubtedly help us on our quest for a championship.”
With three months to go until the tournament kicks off in Australia and New Zealand, Ertz could make her Angel City debut in Sunday’s game against San Diego. It would be the midfielder’s first NWSL appearance in nearly two years.
A big moment, two teams in top form, and lots of wind in the NWSL weekend that was
It’s only week two in the NWSL, but we’re already getting mid-season levels of intensity and weirdness.
One long weather front extending from the Atlantic coast to deep into the Midwest resulted in a lightning delay in New Jersey and a goal scored by a gust of wind in Chicago. We had a two-goal comeback, a remarkable return to the field for Sinead Farrelly, and a month’s worth of league drama packed into one game between Angel City FC and the Orlando Pride.
If you’re the Portland Thorns or San Diego Wave, another thing at mid-season levels is the performance quality. These two seem, at least right now, head, shoulders, and arguably whole torsos ahead of the rest of the pack. It’ll come around for at least a few other teams, but for now, two of the preseason favorites seem to be meeting any expectation fans might have placed on them.
Community engagement? Check. Celebrity owners? Check. Winning? Not quite yet
LOS ANGELES — As the setting sun spilled a sherbet palette across the Los Angeles sky on Saturday, a group of Latinx artists and activists took the stage in the garden of the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes museum to discuss how they channeled their queerness into their superpowers.
The panel discussion was one of the banner events during a day that featured DJ sets and musical performances, arts and craft stations, and long, curling lines for Salvadoran hotdogs. Eight miles west, soccer players covered in thigh tattoos strutted around Brick House Studios to reggaeton and mumble rap. When they weren’t competing in a tournament of small-sided indoor games, they were hunched over controllers playing FIFA 23, perusing merch that looked like it came straight off of Fairfax Avenue, or grubbing on tacos from the truck parked outside.
Both events took place on the eve of Angel City FC’s home opener against its bicoastal rival, NJ/NY Gotham FC; the California club made its presence known with strategically placed tents piled with stickers, color-changing sunglasses, and game schedules for attendees in both places.
Those crowds were reflected at Angel City’s pregame fan fest Sunday afternoon, where supporters across the spectrum of age, race, and gender wove in and out of drum circles, dance performances, tailgates, and more food trucks, decked out in stylish variations of the team’s millennial pink and black.
And when the inside of the newly minted BMO Stadium wasn’t filled with the rosy haze of smoke bombs emanating from the supporter section, it glittered with appearances by Natalie Portman, America Ferrera, Christina Aguilera, Tia and Tahj Mowry, Shannon Boxx, Cobi Jones, Mia Hamm, and a laundry list of other celebrities — many of whom are investors in the club that has been resoundingly clear about its intention to change the landscape of women’s soccer.
Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images
But no amount of community immersion, pink smoke, or jumbotron shots of celebrity investors can guarantee a dub. Despite emphatic goals from 18-year-old No. 1 draft pick Alyssa Thompson and Japanese international Jun Endo (though the latter was called back after a VAR check), Gotham was better primed to absorb the game’s dramatic fluctuations and wound up scoring two goals to top Angel City 2-1 in their own house.
Premature prophesying in a league like the NWSL is ill-advised, especially when there’s only one season plus one game’s worth of tea leaves to read about Angel City, but it’s hard to ignore the gap between the club’s careful cultivation of a place in Los Angeles’ vibrant soccer community — and in the world as a progressive trailblazer in women’s sports — and the lingering questions about whether the team can actually deliver on the pitch.
Speaking to the media after the game, Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said the team has embraced the weight of those expectations.
“I think with that pressure comes a lot of opportunity which is really important for us, and I think that we are happy that the world is taking notice because that’s the way the game is going to grow, that’s the way the audiences are going to grow, that’s the way these women and these athletes’ brands [are] going to grow, and you can get them the respect that they deserve,” she said.
“Now it’s about us playing a brand of soccer that is going to excite people and be successful, and that’s going to take some time, but I think we’re making good strides forward with that.”
Dazzling performances from Thompson and Endo, plus the welcome return of defensive powerhouse Sarah Gorden after being sidelined last season with injury, certainly indicated progress. There were plenty of sustained moments of cohesion to comfort Angel City fans throughout the first half of the game. It was harder to withstand the possibility of onset déjà vu, however, when Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haračić attempted a save in the box that sent Gotham striker Svava Guðmundsdóttir to ground. Again, a VAR check ruled against Angel City, and Gotham forward Midge Purce was the epitome of cool when she converted her penalty kick in the second half.
Ten minutes later, Purce sent a perfectly weighted pass to teammate Lynn Williams to run onto and score, which ultimately sealed Gotham’s victory.
Gorden was transparent in her disappointment with the result, admitting that it was difficult to answer some of the media’s questions because it was “really frustrating to lose like that.” The center back said the team needed to do a better job pushing for a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game, and that she wanted to improve her leadership from the back in those efforts.
“Honestly, it’s good for that to happen [in] the first game because now we know exactly where we need to build and be better,” she maintained.
Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Angel City captain Ali Riley counted the crowd’s energy as a win in addition to Thompson’s smashing goal. “Seeing the crowd, the representation in the crowd, the diversity, just what this club stands for — there are always going to be bright moments when Angel City plays,” she said. Echoing Coombe, Riley added that all the team needed to do was develop a winning soccer program to match the energy their fans gave them.
Barely a year into their NWSL journeys, Angel City and in-state rival San Diego Wave (who made the playoffs last year while Angel City missed out) have tapped the vein of California’s rich soccer culture to fill their stands with record-breaking crowds. Both clubs hosted home openers to sold-out crowds last weekend, and while Gotham players boarded their flight back to the east coast with a win in hand, they also had high praise for Angel City’s emergence.
“What Angel City has built here is incredible. The atmosphere is unreal. This is what we as professional soccer players want to play in every single week,” said Williams. “It’s hard to win here, it’s hard to play. You can’t hear what your teammates are saying. You’re relying on gestures half the time.”
Between long-term plans like Angel City’s 10% sponsorship pledge to community programs and the club’s upcoming HBO docuseries that has no doubt been given the Hollywood treatment (Portman is one of the executive producers), there’s little question about the team’s intentions to build a model for women’s soccer that looks radically different from anything that came before it.
But, as prolonged injuries to stars like Christen Press and Sydney Leroux nudge the squad toward hedging their offensive bets on 18-year-old Thompson, the larger question of Angel City’s ability to secure what might be the final pieces to their puzzle — winning games — will continue to loom large.
Tactics, VAR controversy, and spicy quotes? NWSL’s not wasting any time
The NWSL is back for 2023, and immediately produced a characteristic mix of quality play (we see you, Portland Thorns), strangeness, and controversy.
Pro Soccer Wire will be bringing this look at one aspect from every game to you every Tuesday throughout the season. Great goals? Tactical nuance? Spicy quotes? It might be week one for NWSL teams, but there’s so much to tackle. We saw the return of some banter between old rivals, several glorious goals, a total change in system from one team, and VAR’s debut resulting in a pivotal call.
It took just 11 minutes for the teenager to deliver on her pro debut
The anticipation around Alyssa Thompson’s pro debut was massive and, just as she’s done at every point in her young career so far, Thompson delivered.
Thompson started for Angel City FC in their season opener against NJ/NY Gotham FC on Sunday night, with 22,000 fans packing BMO Stadium to see the teenager’s first official pro game.
The first overall pick in the draft had already shown what she could do in a preseason friendly against Club América, but Sunday was the first chance a NWSL defense had to show whether it could slow down the 18-year-old.
It took just 11 minutes for the answer: it could not.
Thompson got past her marker with a dip of her shoulder and unleashed a strike from the top of the box that goalkeeper Abby Smith could only get a palm on before it nestled into the back of the net.
“Dani [Weatherholt] got it on the side andI saw that there was space inside to get it back,” Thompson told Angel City’s website after the game. “So I got in that space, I looked up, and the goal was pretty open.”
“It felt amazing [to score],” she added. “I was super excited just to be at the home opener and score and get our team on the right foot.”
Though Thompson shined on her debut, her team would go on to demonstrate how they could struggle this season even with the standout rookie in their ranks.
Angel City had a second goal questionably chalked off after a VAR review, then watched Gotham strike back with second-half goals from Midge Purce and Lynn Williams in a 2-1 comeback win.
With Christen Press and Sydney Leroux still injured, Angel City’s attack will suffer, and will also be even more reliant on Thompson.
The teenager showed once again on Sunday that she can deliver the goods. Now it’s up to the rest of her teammates to keep the team afloat until reinforcements can arrive.
The 22-year-old has been the target of online harassment and intimidation
Club América midfielder Scarlett Camberos is set to join Angel City FC amid continuing fears for her safety in Mexico.
Camberos filed a transfer request this month after a man, only identified as “Jose Andres N,” threatened and harassed her, and also hacked into her social media accounts.
“In support of the request from our player Scarlett Camberos and in seeking to contribute to her psychological and emotional recovery, the clubs of America and Angel City FC are in the process of reaching a deal for her transfer,” Club América said in a news release on Tuesday night.
The man who harassed Camberos was only sentenced to 36 hours of house arrest, and Club América admitted it could not guarantee the player’s safety if she stayed in Mexico.
Club América called for Mexican authorities to enact tougher laws against sexual violence and harassment, as well as new laws against online harassment
“The response from [Mexican] authorities does not give the player and her family sufficient guarantees for her emotional stability, development as a person and or for a life free of violence,” the club said.
“It is unacceptable that after months of proven harassment, the aggressions continue unpunished.”
Camberos is far from the first Liga MX Femeníl player to suffer harassment or abuse. Tigres defender Greta Espinoza said last month she’d had a similar experience, only to be told by authorities that, despite providing more than 100 photos, there was not enough evidence for a case
Camberos, 22, joined Club América in 2021 after a standout college career at UC Irvine. The Los Angeles native made her debut for the Mexico national team in September 2022.
After just five minutes of her first Angel City FC game, Thompson showed what all the hype is about.
In a preseason friendly against Club América on Wednesday, the 18-year-old picked up the ball 40 yards from goal with several defenders in front of her.
It didn’t matter. Thompson used her speed and close control to blow a hole right through the América defense before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home the first of what will likely be many goals with her new club.
18 Year Old Alyssa Thompson scored this solo goal 5 minutes into her first pro-game after becoming #1 draft pick 👀 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/YNEfQXBy7q
Though it likely won’t be quite so easy against NWSL defenders, Thompson still showed a breathtaking glimpse of what she’ll bring to Angel City in her rookie season.
“I feel like I’m ready,” Thompson said at the post-game press conference after Angel City won 3-0 at BMO Stadium.
Of the goal, she added: “It definitely helped relax me. I just felt like everything that I prepared for up to this moment has helped me score that goal. It definitely took some weight off my shoulders.”
Thompson has already earned two caps with the senior U.S. national team, entering the NWSL with huge expectations on her shoulders.
For one night at least, Thompson looked like she could not just meet those lofty expectations, but surpass them.
The Angel City star has suffered setbacks in her return from a torn ACL
Christen Press’ path to another World Cup is more difficult than anyone imagined.
The star U.S. women’s national team forward tore her ACL back in June 2022 during an NWSL match with Angel City FC, and has yet to return to full training. With the injury timeline for a torn ACL generally running between six months and a full year, many fans and observers were hopeful that the veteran goalscorer would be in action sooner rather than later.
Press posted an update to her Instagram account Wednesday, with photos of herself off and on crutches, and in one case a photo as she prepared to undergo surgery. Nine months is often a common time for players to return to training, but it doesn’t sound like that’s in the cards for Press at the moment.
“1 knee. 8 months. 3 surgeries,” read Press’ caption for the post. “My unique journey. Relentless optimism + enduring hope. Little wins. Letting go.”
It is not exactly news that Press might be on a longer return-to-play timeline than normal. Back in October 2022, USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski said the forward had “a slight setback” that would put her recovery timeline slightly behind that of Catarina Macario, whose own torn ACL happened 10 days before Press.
At that time, Andonovski said Macario could be doing at least some training by the end of February, a timeline that was shortened by a couple of weeks when the USWNT manager gave another update on February 1.
However, that doesn’t appear to be the case with Press. With the World Cup roster selection looming — the Washington Post reported on Tuesday that NWSL players will report to USWNT camp after the league’s slate of matches from June 23-25 — the timeline for Press to be in the conversation for a roster spot appears to be very short indeed.
Press also vital for Angel City
Angel City, meanwhile, will face a double-edged sword: a situation where Press isn’t quite ready for the World Cup, but does return to play while the tournament is going on, would undoubtedly boost her club team’s fortunes. With most of the league’s very best players on the other side of the world, there would be an opening for Press to go on a tear akin to Crystal Dunn’s MVP season with the Washington Spirit in 2015.
On the other hand, it’s currently unclear how long Press will be out. Pro Soccer Wire reached out to Angel City concerning the date of Press’ third surgical procedure, but had not received comment at the time of publication.
In a February conference call with reporters, Angel City coach Freya Coombe was asked about the timeline for Press to make her return to training. Her answer was largely positive, but notably did not commit to any sort of timeline:
“With Christen we’re really, really pleased with her progress and the way that she has been developing,” said Coombe. “We’ll continue to support her along the way. It’s about being there and celebrating her milestones as she achieves them and as part of her return-to-play [protocol]. But you know, everyone’s journey is unique, and we’ll just continue to support hers.”
If Press were to remain in the return-to-play protocol through the preseason, her return could be delayed even longer. Once a season begins, most of the team will have travel days for games, regeneration days, and other training occasions where a large enough squad for a “normal” session won’t be possible. Fewer sessions means a slower path when it comes to taking the step from being cleared to train to suiting up on gameday.
In the meantime, Angel City’s front line will largely consist of Simone Charley, Claire Emslie, and Sydney Leroux. That also comes with some injury-related concern: Charley spent much of last season working around knocks that limited her minutes. Leroux — whose 2022 was ended by injury — recently posted an update saying that she had been cleared to resume working with a ball, which is both a positive step and an indicator that she may not be 100% for the early days of the season.
