Tag: Midge Purce

Support from Patrick Mahomes, NFL players welcomed by NWSL

Chiefs Wire’s @EdEastonJr spoke to NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Midge Purce about the support that the NWSL has received from NFL players

The ongoing growth in attention for women’s sports in recent years has been long overdue as support comes in from luminaries across the sports business world.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany Mahomes serve as co-owners of the NWSL’s K.C. Current and are among the many vocal ownership groups pushing for financial growth and expansion.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to defending NWSL champion NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Midge Purce after her panel at the Bloomberg Power Players New York event featured industry leaders at the intersection of sports, business, and technology.

She opened up about having a legendary NFL quarterback as part of the team’s ownership and the power of celebrity investment in the league.

“Eli (Manning) is the best, and I don’t know how else to describe him. He’s been absolutely fantastic,” Purce explained. “I think there is a demand for women’s sports because people recognize there is something to gain by investing in them. That’s always a good thing. It is great that celebrity owners are trying to get in on the deals. I want to see more.”

Purce is sidelined for the rest of this year due to an ACL injury. Purce explained what is needed to propel the league and women’s sports in the United States.

“I think it’s bigger brand deals, sponsorship deals, and media rights contracts,” Purce said.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman joined Purce on the Bloomberg panel that day to announce Basketball legend Magic Johnson’s investment in the league with the Washington Spirit.

The Mahomes family made a big splash earlier this season when they opened the first stadium purpose-built exclusively for an NWSL team. The Kansas City community and Chiefs have rallied around the Current, making them a permanent fixture in the sports landscape.

Bloomberg Power Players New York featured guests Steph Curry, Grant Hill, WWE’s Roman Reigns, and other sports business leaders engaging in forward-thinking conversations, forging strategic partnerships, and providing insights to empower you to stay ahead of the game.

‘Cheat better!’ – USWNT forward Purce responds to Canada spying scandal

“Did you think they weren’t gonna see the drone?”

U.S. women’s national team forward Midge Purce has expressed her disbelief at the expanding spying scandal involving Canadian soccer.

On Thursday, Canada women’s national team head coach Bev Priestman was sent home from the Olympics after two of her staffers were caught using drones to spy on New Zealand’s training.

But the issue is far more widespread than just the 2024 Olympics. On a call with media on Friday, Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue said that using drones to illegally spy on opponents has been “systemic” within the federation’s teams.

“The more I learn about this specific matter, the more concerned I get about a potential long-term, deeply embedded systemic culture of this type of thing occurring, which is obviously completely unacceptable,” Blue said.

On The Women’s Game podcast, Purce appeared as a guest alongside Sam Mewis, her former USWNT teammate. For Purce, the hardest part of the scandal to understand is how Canada could have allegedly cheated in a way that was so simple to catch.

“Let’s say it was in fact, intentionally cheating,” Purce posited. “Did you think they weren’t gonna see the drone? Like I’m just confused. Drones are loud. Like, cheat better! Call the Patriots — call Bill Belichick!”

Purce’s last comment — a reference to the notorious Spygate scandal in the NFL — obviously struck a nerve with Mewis, a diehard New England Patriots fan.

“Enough, this is going off the rails now. You’ve gone too far Midge!” Mewis retorted with a laugh.

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USWNT, Gotham FC winger Midge Purce confirms torn ACL

Purce will likely miss the rest of the 2024 season, including the Olympics

USWNT and NJ/NY Gotham FC winger Midge Purce has suffered a torn ACL, ending her hopes of participating in this summer’s Olympics.

Purce suffered the injury in Gotham’s 1-0 win over the Portland Thorns on Sunday. The 28-year-old was not named to the USWNT roster for the SheBelieves Cup, which was announced two days after she suffered the injury.

Purce departed the match in first-half stoppage time, moments after falling awkwardly after trying to dribble away from Sophia Smith.

However, an 11th minute collision with Sam Coffey may also be involved, with Purce showing clear signs of pain and being consoled by members of both teams. Purce returned after three minutes of treatment from that incident, but after the second incident could be heard on ESPN2’s broadcast telling the Gotham bench “I’m out, I’m out” before being substituted.

In a statement posted on her social media channels, Purce announced the news herself.

“I’ve torn my ACL. It’s a reality I’m still struggling with and has left me with not too much to say,” wrote the Maryland native. “I’m heartbroken to no longer be available for my season with Gotham FC or for Olympic selection with the USWNT — know I’m rooting for you both all year long.

“Though you may not see it, I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field. Like my Dad always says, ‘You gotta put a little grind behind that prayer.'”

Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós expressed his dismay over the timing of the recent Concacaf W Gold Cup, which Purce participated in, linking the competition to injuries on his own squad as well as elsewhere in the NWSL.

“We’re talking about protecting the players, [who shouldn’t] go to play an international competition after one week of preseason,” Amorós said after the match. “We’ve seen the consequences now. We’ve got Rose [Lavelle], Lynn [Williams], last week it was Debinha in Kansas [City], and now we have Midge.”

Lavelle and Williams both participated in the W Gold Cup final on March 10, but have not played since. Lavelle’s prognosis is unknown beyond being a lower-leg issue, while on the Good Vibes FC podcast she co-hosts with former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis, Williams said she won’t be out for very long with what she called a hamstring strain.

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Gotham FC coach Amoros fumes at Gold Cup timing after Purce injury

Three of Gotham’s USWNT contingent are now injured after playing at the Gold Cup

NJ/NY Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós expressed his frustration with the timing of the 2024 W Gold Cup after he lost yet another U.S. women’s national team player to injury.

Gotham forward Midge Purce left Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Portland Thorns with a knee injury, joining her USWNT and Gotham teammates Rose Lavelle and Lynn Williams on the injured list.

All three played for the USWNT as it won the inaugural W Gold Cup, which ran from February 20 to March 10. At issue for Amorós is the tournament’s placement right in the middle of the NWSL’s preseason, when players are not yet fully up to speed fitness-wise.

“We lost Midge during the game which for me is a bittersweet flavor,” Amorós told reporters after Sunday’s game. “By the way, it’s another player that came from the Gold Cup. Last week, it was Debinha. We are paying the consequences of a tournament that shouldn’t have happened.”

Last week, the Kansas City Current confirmed that Debinha would miss a handful of games with a hamstring problem, having suffered the injury after returning from Gold Cup duty with Brazil.

Amorós said he was unsure of the severity of Purce’s injury, with the 28-year-old forward set to undergo tests. While he doesn’t know the extent of the injury, Amorós had no doubt as to its cause.

“We’re talking about protecting the players, [who shouldn’t] go to play an international competition after one week of preseason,” Amorós said. “We’ve seen the consequences now. We’ve got Rose, Lynn, last week it was Debinha in Kansas [City] and now we have Midge. From my experience, the clubs are going to keep paying for that competition. Unfortunately, in this case, it was Midge and I hope it’s not too serious.”

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USWNT roster: Lavelle and O’Hara out, Purce and Vignola in

Angel City left back Vignola becomes the third uncapped player on the USWNT roster

The U.S. women’s national team has announced two roster changes ahead of next week’s friendlies against South Africa.

NY/NJ Gotham FC forward Midge Purce and Angel City FC defender M.A. Vignola have been called into the USWNT, replacing Rose Lavelle and Kelley O’Hara.

Per U.S. Soccer, Lavelle is “still recovering” from a knock suffered playing for OL Reign, but will come to Cincinnati for what the federation says will be “evaluation.” While O’Hara is similarly not fully fit, the federation says she will “remain with her club to continue her progression to full fitness.”

Coming in will be one player with plenty of USWNT experience, and one with absolutely none. Purce has 23 caps, and while she missed out on a World Cup place, she did participate in the SheBelieves Cup this spring. As a wide forward Purce is not an obvious replacement for Lavelle, but interim coach Twila Kilgore’s squad has two other No. 10s in Savannah DeMelo and Ashley Sanchez.

Potential debut for Angel City’s Vignola

Vignola, on the other hand, hasn’t represented her country since playing at the Under-17 level. The 25-year-old, a Cincinnati native, has broken through as Angel City’s starting left back this season after injuries largely kept her off the field in 2022.

She is more or less a like-for-like replacement for O’Hara, but pushing into the mix for playing time will still be difficult. Kilgore has four other fullbacks (Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Sofia Huerta, and Casey Krueger) in camp, and three of them can play left back.

Vignola is not the only uncapped player to get a call for this international window. She’s joined by forwards Mia Fishel and Jaedyn Shaw, with the USWNT looking towards the future after a World Cup that ended in disappointing fashion.

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Purce slams Lloyd’s ‘absolutely ludicrous’ criticism of USWNT passion

“I’ve seen these players fall to pieces about this team, about this dream of going to the World Cup”

Midge Purce has said she was “baffled” to hear Carli Lloyd questioning the U.S. women’s national team’s mentality, calling her former teammate’s criticism “ludicrous.”

After a 0-0 draw against Portugal in Tuesday’s World Cup Group E finale, USWNT legend Lloyd laid into her former teammates.

“I’m just not seeing that passion,” Lloyd said on Fox. “I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”

Lloyd’s comments have not gone down well with her former USWNT and NJ/NY Gotham FC teammate, who vehemently defended her teammates’ desire and commitment to the cause.

“I was baffled by the comments,” Purce said on “The 91st” show from Just Women’s Sports.

“I’m all for critiquing the players’ performances, their tactical awareness, their positioning, their quality on the ball, but to diminish their commitment and their discipline, their character — that’s absolutely ludicrous to me,” Purce said.

“These are players who when they got the call that they were going to the World Cup, they were trembling. Their phones were shaking, they couldn’t even hold the cameras straight.

“I’ve seen these players fall to pieces about this team, about this dream of going to the World Cup, and then pick themselves back up and put it all together. They tear their bodies apart so that they can get to this stage, get to this level, and then their passion is questioned.”

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski was similarly incredulous when asked about Lloyd’s comments, which he called “insane.”

Purce narrowly missed the USWNT World Cup roster, with a torn quad suffered in April damaging her hopes of making the team.

Watch Purce respond to Lloyd comments

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Alana Cook sent Midge Purce $10 for helping OL Reign win the NWSL Shield

Cook surely felt winning the Shield was well worth her $10 payment

OL Reign won the NWSL Shield on Saturday, but not without a little help from Gotham FC.

The Portland Thorns were looking good to clinch the Shield, awarded for the best NWSL regular-season record, when last-place Gotham came up with an unlikely late comeback to turn a two-goal deficit into a 3-3 draw on the season’s final day.

The draw snapped a league-record 12-game losing streak and handed OL Reign a chance to swipe the Shield away from their Northwest rivals if they could defeat the Orlando Pride later in the evening.

The Reign emphatically did just that, winning 3-0 to clinch the third NWSL Shield in club history and first since 2015.

Seeing that OL Reign would not have clinched the Shield without some help from her team, Gotham star Midge Purce felt the least she could do is request a $10 payment from her USWNT teammate and Reign defender Alana Cook for “facilitating championship win.”

Cook duly obliged.

By clinching the Shield and the top overall seed in the playoffs, OL Reign locked down a NWSL semifinal at Lumen Field on October 23. They will face the winner of the quarterfinal between the Houston Dash and Kansas City Current match, which takes place on October 16.

On the other side of the bracket, the Thorns clinched a first-round bye by finishing second, and will host the winner of the quarterfinal between the San Diego Wave and Chicago Red Stars.

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PRO admits ‘egregious officiating error’ in Gotham FC vs. Angel City match

When one mistake is actually three mistakes

The Professional Referees Association (PRO) isn’t mincing words after a major mistake over the weekend.

PRO on Monday released a statement admitting to what it called “an egregious officiating error” in Angel City’s 3-1 win at NJ/NY Gotham FC, a call that deprived Gotham of a clear goal early in a match that was effectively a must-win for them to keep slim playoff hopes alive.

In the 12th minute, Taylor Smith played a ball down the right flank, where both Midge Purce and Ifeoma Onumonu were making runs. Purce got to the pass first, cutting the ball back to Onumonu. Onumonu tried to sweep the ball home first-time, but her shot appeared to take a hefty deflection off of Angel City captain Ali Riley.

Nonetheless, it spun up and over DiDi Haracic, bouncing off the back post and over the goal line. Haracic grabbed it, but that’s where the confusion really kicked in.

Referee Brandon Stevis, after a moment, gave Gotham a corner kick. Which is to say, the call was that there was a deflection off of Riley, and that the ball did cross the endline, but it did not enter the goal.

While Onumonu’s shot did have plenty of spin on it, the amount of movement it would take for the ball to have looped up, gone completely over the endline somewhere above the crossbar, bend back into the field of play, and then hit the post, would seem to require the laws of physics to not actually hold.

Currently, there are no known reports that the laws of physics break down inside Red Bull Arena.

With Onumonu’s shot not doing anything impossible in our reality, that effectively means we have several different errors resulting in the play ending in a corner kick. The first is straightforward: The ball clearly goes over the line, so the call on the field should be a goal.

But, if the referee has decided that there’s no goal, why would play even stop? If it’s not a goal, Haracic is saving a shot that hit the post, so there’s no reason to stop play at all. It’s either a goal, or the game should just continue on.

And then to add onto that conundrum, the ball only ever crosses the endline once…when it enters the goal. It’s never close to going out for a corner. Of all three mistakes, this one’s the furthest from being true. At least you can understand how, on a fast-moving play, a referee or assistant referee aren’t in position to see a shot cross the line. NWSL doesn’t have VAR, this kind of missed call will happen. But…a corner? How?

These are questions PRO appears to have been asking internally, leading to the following statement:

During the National Women’s Soccer League match between NJ/NY Gotham FC and Angel City FC on August 28, an egregious officiating error was made in the 12th minute when a goal was incorrectly not awarded to NJ/NY Gotham FC after the ball had crossed the goal line between the goal posts.

The match officials misjudged where the ball had crossed the goal line, and wrongly awarded a corner kick to NJ/NY Gotham FC.

The officials involved in this error have been removed from their next PRO assignment(s).

While PRO deserves credit for addressing the mistake quickly and clearly, it won’t help a Gotham team that desperately needs to catch a break. Within five minutes of this play, Angel City took the lead, and by the 31st minute, the visitors were up by three and effectively coasting to a win that may have major consequences in the NWSL playoff chase.

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USWNT starts CONCACAF W Championship off with 3-0 win over Haiti

An Alex Morgan brace set the USWNT on its way in their CONCACAF W Championship opener, winning 3-0 over Haiti.

An Alex Morgan brace set the U.S. women’s national team on its way in their CONCACAF W Championship opener, as the tournament favorites posted a 3-0 win over Haiti Monday night.

After an early scare saw Haiti miss by inches after some poor set piece defending, the USWNT settled down and eventually took a 16th minute lead. Sophia Smith’s low cross from the right picked Morgan out at the near post, and Morgan produced a spectacular flick past goalkeeper Lara Larco.

Morgan headed home another cross from the right seven minutes later to pad the lead, with Kelley O’Hara picking her out from the touchline with a left-footed service.

Casey Murphy did well to deny Melchie Dumornay in the 36th minute, but was lucky not to see a goal conceded six minutes later. Dumornay’s clever work ended with Emily Fox chopping down Nérilia Mondésir in the box. Roselord Borgella sent Murphy the wrong way, but her penalty cracked off the post, letting the USWNT off the hook.

Borgella’s day seemingly went from bad to worse, as she was given a straight red card for a high kick that caught O’Hara in the face and then raked down her side. However, referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin, after a VAR review, stunningly withdrew the red card, replacing it with merely a yellow.

Morgan thought she had a hat trick in the 48th minute, only to be caught offside before firing past Larco. Similarly, a trio of USWNT subs thought they’d extended the lead in the 78th minute, with Ashley Sanchez and Megan Rapinoe combining to create a tap-in for Purce, but the goal was called back after a VAR check.

Purce was denied a minute later after being sent in alone by Rapinoe, but wasn’t to be denied. A cross from Kristie Mewis wasn’t adequately cleared by Haiti, and Purce blasted it home from 14 yards in the 84th minute to seal the result.

Next up for the USWNT is Jamaica, with kickoff set for 7:00pm Eastern on Thursday, July 7.

Check out the goals that gave the USWNT the win

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