Tag: Sam Mewis

‘Some things are bigger than soccer’ – Mewis and Williams address Albert controversy

Williams admitted that there could be some issues in the USWNT locker room

Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams have addressed the controversy surrounding U.S. women’s national team midfielder Korbin Albert, with the pair both voicing their support for the LGBTQ+ community that Albert maligned on social media.

Albert was forced to apologize last week after fans discovered that Albert’s TikTok account had either shared or reposted a host of anti-LGBTQ+ content. The 20-year-old also appeared to like an Instagram post celebrating Megan Rapinoe’s injury in last year’s NWSL championship game.

Rapinoe quickly went on the offensive against Albert in an Instagram story, with the former USWNT star’s words of condemnation reposted by both Mewis and Williams.

The pair offered more perspective on the controversy in the latest episode of the Good Vibes FC podcast

“You and I are both supportive of the LGBTQ community. We want our teammates, we want everybody who identifies in any way to be able to express themselves freely and live a happy, safe existence,” said Mewis, who retired earlier this year.

Williams is still an active member of the USWNT, and was on the roster with Albert for the W Gold Cup in February and March. The Gotham FC forward missed the SheBelieves Cup squad this month due to injury, while Albert is a part of the group that will play a pair of upcoming matches.

Both Williams and Mewis played alongside Jaelene Daniels for club and country, and compared the current situation with Albert to that of the former North Carolina Courage and USWNT defender.

Daniels declined a USWNT call-up in 2017 over her refusal to wear Pride-themed rainbow numbers, citing her Christian faith. The defender would then refuse to play for the NC Courage on the team’s Pride Night in 2022.

“Back then we didn’t know how to approach the situation and we put soccer first,” Williams said. “I feel like if I’ve learned anything, it’s that there are some things that are just bigger than soccer. And one of them is human rights, and making sure that people feel safe in their body and just safe in this world. So I think it is a moment for us to say you know what, this topic is bigger than soccer.

“At the same time, women’s soccer has been a safe space for the LGBT community. And I think that it does affect the locker room a little bit. But again, I think this is bigger than the locker room.”

Mewis added that Albert’s apology was a good start, but said that the PSG midfielder still has plenty of work to do.

“Zooming out, making an apology is a solid first step,” Mewis said. “And I think you and I in many cases want to leave room for there to be growth and a change in behavior. But first and foremost, I don’t accept intolerance or the exclusion of people on a human level.”

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USWNT injuries: The key players who will miss the 2023 World Cup

The USWNT has admirable depth in its roster, but these are still some major losses

If the U.S. women’s national team wants to win a third straight World Cup, it will have to do so without several of its top players.

Like so many other teams at the 2023 World Cup, the USWNT has been forced to omit some big names from its roster due to injuries.

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has a team full of world-class talent to choose from, but the losses his team has suffered will undoubtedly hurt.

These aren’t depth players. They are the team’s top scorer this year, its captain and defensive anchor, and an up-and-coming global star, among others.

There was at least some good news when Andonovski revealed his squad on Wednesday, as Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle — both questionable due to injury — were named to the 23-player roster.

Here are the biggest injury absences for the USWNT at this summer’s World Cup.

KC Current: Sam Mewis not expected to play 2023 season

The midfielder continues to be out indefinitely with a knee injury

The news on Sam Mewis’s injury status continues to not be good.

On Tuesday, the Kansas City Current issued a roster update and indicated that they don’t expect to see the midfielder on the pitch at all in the upcoming 2023 season.

“Midfielders Sam Mewis and Claire Lavogez, along with defender Mallory Weber remain on the Season Ending Injury list, although Lavogez and Weber are expected to return at some point this season,” the update said.

In late January, Mewis said that she would require another operation on a troublesome knee injury that has limited her to just two appearances since the Olympics in the summer of 2021.

The midfielder’s most recent game time came in the Challenge Cup last March.

U.S. national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has already said that the 30-year-old will play no part in the World Cup this summer.

Mewis played a major role in 2019 as the USWNT won its second consecutive World Cup. The midfielder started five of the team’s seven matches in France, including the final against the Netherlands.

Mewis has earned 83 caps with the USWNT in her career, scoring 24 goals.

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USWNT injury updates: Andonovski speaks on 10 players including Macario and Mewis

The USWNT is missing a lot of key players, and the coach provided updates on almost all of them

The U.S. women’s national team is currently dealing with a lot of injuries.

Some are long term and others are more minor, but many of the USWNT’s most important players over the past several years are presently sidelined.

On Monday after announcing his roster for November friendlies against Germany, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski offered updates on no less than 10 players who are currently out: eight who are injured and two coming back after giving birth.

Here is a list of the players Andonovski spoke about on a conference call.

Jaelin Howell replaces Taylor Kornieck on USWNT roster

It’s a big chance for Howell to boost her stock

Jaelin Howell is back in the fold for the U.S. women’s national team.

Two days after missing out on the initial roster, the Racing Louisville midfielder has been called in by USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski after an ankle injury ruled Taylor Kornieck out for games against England (Friday October 7, 3:00pm ET, Fox) and Spain (Tuesday October 11, 2:30pm ET, ESPN2). Kornieck suffered the ankle injury in the final moments of San Diego Wave’s playoff-clinching 2-2 draw against the Orlando Pride last Sunday.

Howell’s last appearance with the USWNT came back in April against Uzbekistan, and though she was called up for the team’s pre-tournament camp, she did not make the final CONCACAF W Championship roster. Still, Howell has been called up more often than not since finishing her collegiate career, and is clearly still in the mix for Andonovski as the USWNT prepares for next year’s World Cup.

Midfield picture muddled

Howell’s return to the USWNT comes with the midfield arguably in more flux than the rest of the team. Sam Mewis, a presence there for years, has barely been able to play in 2022 due to a persistent knee injury. Stalwart defensive midfielder Julie Ertz hasn’t played a game in 14 months, having become a mother after the Olympics last August, and is currently without a club. Meanwhile, Andonovski has seemed impressed by Portland Thorns rookie Sam Coffey, who has been competing of late with Andi Sullivan for the starting job as the team’s No. 6.

Howell is also a defensive midfielder, but her roving, ball-winning style of play is different from Sullivan and Coffey, who tend to hold space and set a tempo. That opens the door to Howell playing further forward in a role not unlike the one Lindsey Horan plays. Deploying Howell next to an anchor midfielder would free her up to leave space and force turnovers, a situation she thrives in.

The competition in that No. 8 spot is intense. Horan looked more mobile than she has in the last 18 months during the last USWNT window, and Kristie Mewis remains a trusted option as well. Kornieck’s form cooled somewhat after the beginning of the 2022 NWSL season, but it was not surprising to see her name on the initial camp roster.

Adding to the difficulty for Howell, Andonovski has looked at deploying two true attacking midfielders at once, pairing Rose Lavelle with Ashley Sanchez multiple times in 2022. Howell’s club teammate Savannah DeMelo is also very much in the mix as a playmaker after an outstanding rookie season.

Still, for Howell, proving that she can play at the USWNT level as both a defensive midfielder and in more of a box-to-box role would boost her chances of more caps in the near future. With the World Cup less than 10 months away, these are opportunities players have to seize if they’re going to be on the USWNT’s tournament roster.

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Kansas City Current place Sam Mewis on season-ending injury list

An ongoing knee injury has ended Mewis’ 2022 season

The Kansas City Current have announced that USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis has been added to the season-ending injury list, effectively ending her 2022 season.

Mewis has been battling a knee injury for some time, and while she had been able to travel with the Current on several road trips, the issue was apparently not improving enough for Kansas City to risk holding the roster spot open amid a tight NWSL playoff race.

“We are understandably disappointed, not just for the club, but for Sam. She has been a valuable leader for this organization since she joined us,” said Current GM Camille Levin Ashton in a team statement. “Although she won’t be able to contribute on the field for the balance of this season, she is an invaluable asset to this team and contributes daily to our success. We will continue to support her in every way possible.”

Mewis will join her USWNT teammate Lynn Williams and veteran wingback Mallory Weber on Kansas City’s season-ending injury list. Williams tore a tendon in her hamstring before the season got underway, while Weber tore her ACL back in early May.

The move allows Kansas City one more open roster spot, which may come in handy. The NWSL transfer window ends on August 24, and the Current at the moment are in the sixth and final playoff spot. With just 14 goals scored (tied for eighth-best in the 12-team league), it stands to reason that the ambitious club will move for reinforcements.

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