This week, we present part 2 of our annual 2022 NWSL regular season wrap-up, in which we look at the six teams who missed the playoffs. Last week we reviewed the six teams who qualified for the 2022 playoffs. We also look at summer international friendlies involving NWSL teams and briefly at the new Mexican Women's National Team coach, who won a FIFA U-20 world title this summer in Costa Rica with Spain.
NWSL Regular Season Standings (as of October 3, 2022)—Part 2
This week we look at: North Carolina, Angel City FC, Orlando, Racing Louisville, Washington and NJ/NY Gotham FC, who all missed the playoffs this season.
Last week we reviewed Portland, OL Reign, Kansas City Current, San Diego Wave, Houston Dash and the Chicago Red Stars ( The Week in Women's Football: NWSL top 6 review; Wolfsburg alliance; ex-Man Utd coach Stoney outstanding - Tribal Football).
North Carolina Courage (9-5-8, 32 points, Seventh)
North Carolina had a tremendous end of season run of 5 wins in 6 games (7 wins in their last 9) to move from last place two months ago to actually being in sixth place prior to their final game in San Diego. On September 30, the Wave shut down the Courage's high-octane offense and the game ended as a scoreless deadlock, but the Courage did gain another point and if Chicago didn't beat Angel City in their last game, North Carolina had pulled off a minor miracle to qualify for the playoffs. Their recent success has all been about their scoring ability and Brazilian international midfielder Debinha has been on fire, leading the team with 12 goals in 18 games for third in the league, while Mexican international rookie Diane Ordonez had 11 goals in 19 games for a tie for fourth with Chicago's Mal Pugh. Brazilian international and another rookie Kerolin chipped in 6 goals in 13 matches, including two in a 3-2 loss in Kansas City on August 28—one of only three losses in their final fourteen games of the season, with four ties.
The Courage finished second in the league in team scoring on 46 goals, three behind Portland's 49, though the teams were tied entering the last game of the season. North Carolina won the 2022 Challenge Cup, held just before the regular season began, but sank afterwards until their late push for the playoffs. Amazingly they had to play their last 9 games in 38 days to finish the regular season, with make-up matches for a number of reasons.
Should head coach Sean Nahas stay? My answer would be 'eh!' He probably deserves another year for the Challenge Cup win and the last playoff push but he has his position largely because the organization appreciates his many years with their youth organization, but there is always a lingering feeling that the club needs to fully purge the coaching staff of any association with disgraced former coach Paul Riley, who Nahas assisted. If they decide to let Nahas go, which is unlikely a least to start 2023, there would be a good base for a new coach to come in and build off of a strong close to the 2022 season.
Before their 4-0 win over Chicago on August 20, NC blew three different leads in a 4-3 loss at home on August 13, which Sean Nahas referred to as "Bleeding goals." The Courage played a pair of 3-3 draws against the Spirit and Thorns in consecutive matches in late July/early August—they were an extremely entertaining side to watch this season with their attacking focus. Kerolin and Debinha will be crucial to Brazil's hopes in next year's WWC and N.C. will definitely want to hang on to them both.
The North Carolina Courage traded French international forward Valérie Gauvin to the Houston Dash in exchange for $25,000 in allocation money and a conditional second-round pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft on August 23 (see more on Gauvin in The Week in Women's Football: NWSL Season Preview - Part 1; Champions League quarter-final review; - Tribal Football and The Week in Women's Football: NWSL Review Part 2 - Tribal Football). Gauvin joined the Courage in late March, but never made an appearance for the club.
In late August, the North Carolina Courage made a very significant international signing in Danish forward Rikke Madsen through 2023. Madsen joins the Courage from Madrid CFF, where she made 12 appearances and scored one goal for the Spanish club. Madsen has recorded 18 appearances and a goal for the Denmark women's national team. Most recently, Madsen appeared in two matches for the Danish side in the 2022 UEFA Women's EURO. Prior to her time in Spain, the attacker played three seasons with Vålerenga, a Norwegian club that competes in the Toppserien league.
Head coach Nahas said, "To add someone with the experience that Rikke has had in her career will only help strengthen our roster. Fresh out of the EUROS this summer, we are fortunate to have her join our club. We look forward to having her here and helping us build towards the future. We want to continue to build something special here and this is yet another piece of that puzzle."
Another new signing late in the season was English forward Millie Farrow (26), for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Farrow joins the Courage from the London City Lionesses, who she joined for the 2022-23 season but had not appeared in a game yet. Last season she scored 5 goals in 19 matches for Crystal Palace of the English Championship (second tier). She scored 4 goals in 17 matches for Leicester City WFC in 2020-21. She also played six seasons in the WSL with Chelsea, Reading and Bristol City. Farrow said, "I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity that the North Carolina Courage have offered me. It's always been a dream of mine to play in the NWSL, and I'm thrilled to be playing in North Carolina. I can't wait to get started on our journey together."
The Courage also released Jorian Baucom in order for the forward to pursue a playing opportunity overseas. Baucom joined the Courage roster as a waiver wire pickup in December, making six appearances. Prior to her time with the Courage, Baucom spent time with Racing Louisville FC as well as in the Czech First Division and the Frauen-Bundesliga in Germany. As of press time, she had yet to sign with another side.
The Courage also re-upped the contract for their Republic of Ireland international Denise O'Sullivan through 2024, who has been instrumental in her country's advancement to the 2023 WWC UEFA Playoffs (see: The Week in Women's Football: UEFA 2023 Women's World Cup Qualifying; Intercontinental Playoffs - Tribal Football). This is a good move by the NWSL as there have been reports of interest in O'Sullivan from clubs in England. The Cork, Ireland native had recorded 122 career NWSL appearances as of her resigning, 93 of those being with the Courage. This season, O'Sullivan played in 19 regular season matches for the Courage, scoring one goal.
The club also extended the contract for their captain and New Zealand international defender Abby Ercig (32) for two years with an option for a third year in 2024.
Nahas said, "The re-signing of Abby is very well-deserved and is great for our club. She has been a staple for us and someone who has always held the standards of what it takes to be a Courage player. As a club, we wanted to make sure we were able to have her here long-term to continue to build on the foundation she has already helped to create. I couldn't be more thrilled to continue to work with her and have her be a part of something bigger moving forward."
Ercig had started 133 of the 136 games she's appeared in during her NWSL career, recording eight goals and five assists in that span—mostly from free kicks or corner kicks. Ercig has won league titles in 2016 with the Western New York Flash, who moved to North Carolina for the 2017 season, again winning league titles in 2018 and 2019, three NWSL Shields (regular season title), the 2018 Women's ICC Championship, and most recently, the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship.
Ercig was named the 2018 NWSL Defender of the Year as well as part of the 2018 NWSL Best XI. On the international stage, Ercig has represented New Zealand at four Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020) and four Women's World Cups (China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015, France 2019), Ercig is expected to lead the back line next summer as her nation co-hosts the ninth edition of the championships.
Angel City FC (8-5-9, 29 points; Eighth)
Despite missing the playoffs, the first year club has tipped the ownership of women's football and arguably all women's sports upside down, with their large ownership group including Hollywood acting and recording stars such as Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner, Christina Aguilera, Sophia Bush, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and Gabriel Union, as well as 13 former USWNT stars (including Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach) who have brought an important layer of experience and credibility to the sporting side of the operation. One of the owners, Canadian-born entertainer and social media entrepreneur Lilly Singh, has 12 million Instagram followers while Alex Morgan (with San Diego this season) leads all the active players with just under 10 million followers on Instagram.
Actress and investor America Ferrera waves to fans before an Angel City home game at Banc of California Stadium.
Photo courtesy Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
ACFC has become a touchstone for the NWSL and women's sports in marketing and audience outreach. Their veteran New Zealand international defender and team captain Al Riley—who grew up in California—said, "I think [ACFC] is making a statement about what is possible in women's sports, not just in LA, not just in the United States, but globally and I really do have so much optimism that there will be a domino effect for years to come—whether it's new investors coming into NWSL—and you're already hearing a lot of excitement about that—or other big clubs shifting their marketing and strategy to show there is space for women in this sport."
Last fall, the club announced that 1% of revenue generated by ticket sales would be divided among players who opt into a program in which they support marketing initiatives on their social media channels. That support extends to the community as well. In any commercial partnership the club enters, it allocates 10% of the revenue to a philanthropic cause. Owner and Hollywood star and Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, who was born in football-mad Israel, said, "I'm also so proud that this team has already re-allocated nearly $1 million into the community in so many ways and continues to do so nearly every single day. In fact, based on the sponsors that have joined ACFC, we will be reallocating over $4 million into the local economy in the next few years. The impact we are committed to within our own community is at the core of what we do."
Also uniquely, the club announced it will not waive players during the season, which was appealing to players on league rosters (largely former American college players) who have minimum salaries and typically fear being released or traded at any time.
Angel City averaged 19,105 fans in their first season (with Portland Thorns second at 15,543 with the league average at 7,894—the latter was an increase of 1,100 on average for just the last weekend) and, using 2021/2022 attendance figures from men's leagues around the world, one analyst found that ACFC was on pace to outdraw 46 of the 98 teams in Europe's top-five men's leagues on a per-game basis and would rank in the top half in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. They also reportedly had more season ticket holders than the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS. The MLS average this season as of September 25 was 21,019 and Angel City would be 15th with their average per game attendance in the 28-team league while Portland would be 26th.
Angel City has been a guiding light in terms of marketing and organization but, off the field, their eighth-place finish could be considered a disappointment given the high expectations set in some many ways off the field. England native head coach Freya Coombes will be under incredible pressure to make the playoffs next season but she has the core of a team to do that if they can add more goal scorers. American forward Savannah McCaskill (7) and midfielder Cari Roccaro, who didn't score a goal in her six previous NWSL seasons, had four by the end of July. Scottish international Claire Emslie joined mid-summer and contributed 3 goals in 10 matches. Emslie, in her first game with the club, scored the game winner nine minutes from full time on July 9 against San Diego, two minutes after her team was down to 10 players in front of 22,000 fans at home. Japan international Jun Endo was a great signing as well. Christian Press (2 goals in 8 matches) was lost for the season with injury which hurt the club's offense greatly. Her replacement, 2015 WWC winner Sydney Leroux from Orlando, only played in 3 matches as she also was lost for the season due to an injury. ACFC's 23 team goals were tied for ninth best in the league (with Racing Louisville).
One key factor was that Angel City was unable to string together a run of wins, with only one winning streak this season of two consecutive wins in May (1-0 away versus the Washington Spirit and 1-0 against Kansas City Current) and one streak of five in a row unbeaten in the league in August/early September (including three ties) but four losses in their final five games in September/early October was the killer to their playoff hopes.
On September 19, Angel City sent their Canadian international and 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Vanessa Gilles on loan to Olympique Lyonnaise in France through June 2023, after extending her contract through December 2023. She scored the club-first ever-regular season goal on April 29th in front of a sold-out home crowd.
Angel City Football Club late in the season promoted their current Vice President of Player Development and Operations, Angela Hucles Mangano, to General Manager. In the evolved role, she will drive the sporting vision of the club, overseeing coaching and the first team, player care, medical and performance, sports science, soccer operations, all wellness programs and resources, and the development and management of the team's to-be-announced bespoke practice facility in Los Angeles.
Eniola Aluko will evolve into the new role of Director of Recruitment, a key role she has played since joining the team last year. Further, she will continue to champion the Angel City Player 22 Future Program, a program she founded based on her experience as a player, executive, and leader on and off the pitch. The Player 22 Fund is an application-based program, first introduced in October of last year, that will provide study grants to former NWSL players interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry. The initiative has cleared its initial funding goal well ahead of schedule and the application window will open in the coming weeks. Angela Hucles Mangano is a retired USWNT Player and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist. A longstanding member of the US Women's National Team, Hucles' international career included 109 appearances and two Olympic gold medals.
Racing Louisville FC (5-8-9 23 points, Ninth)
The second-year franchise made a late push and won three of their last four games but ended up with a nearly identical point total as last season (23 vs 22 points). Danish international forward Nadia Nadim had 6 goals in 11 games after coming back from a torn right ACL in September of last season, but then tore an ACL in her left knee this September. A year ago, she vowed to rehabilitate her injury and return in time to represent Denmark in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament, which she did. Now she has goals to aim for such as the WWC next summer and a crucial 2023 season for the club to be a serious playoff contender—Racing needs her to make a concerted playoff push.
On September 16, Racing played well in a 2-0 win over the Orlando Pride on Friday night at Lynn Family Stadium in front of 5,397 fans, which snapped a 13-game winless streak. Nadia Nadim opened the scoring in the 10th minute and Savannah DeMelo added the second in the 50th, while goalkeeper Katie Lund made seven saves for her fifth clean sheet of the season. Lund finished with 6 shutouts and set the NWSL single season saves record with 112, breaking the previous record of 108 saves held jointly by Aubrey Bledsoe (Washington Spirit) and Kaelin Sheridan (Sky Blue FC) from the 2018 season. Lund also tied the NWSL's single game save record of 12, on August 2 in a 1-1 tie at home with OL Reign. On multiple occasions, she turned away the visitors twice in the same attacking sequence as the Reign controlled 60% of possession while firing 25 total shots—20 of them from inside the box.
Louisville finished sixth in the league in attendance with an average of 6,048, down from 6,610 in 2021—when they finished second. This year they trailed Angel City (19,105), Portland (15,543), San Diego (8,729), Kansas City (7,657) and Seattle's OL Reign (6,844). If they put together a playoff spot run next year, we would expect their attendances to increase sharply.
Head Coach Kim Björkegren has some top international talent in Nadia Nadim and Australia's Alex Chidiac (see our featured interview with Alex last week: Alex Chidiac exclusive: Atletico Madrid, Matildas and success with Racing Louisville - Tribal Football) but trading English international Ebony Salmon mid-season to Houston was puzzling, particularly she has been a house on fire in Houston with her goalscoring exploits, much like she was last year with Racing when she first joined the NWSL (see: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL top 6 review; Wolfsburg alliance; ex-Man Utd coach Stoney outstanding - Tribal Football). Bjorkegren needs to make the playoffs next season or the seemingly too patient front office could finally make a change after their on-field performances and likely ditch the entire coaching staff.
Another significant player loss late in the season for the team and the league—as with Rachel Daly leaving Houston for Aston Villa (see last week's column)—was when the club transferred Swedish youth international midfielder Freja Olofsson (24) to Real Madrid of Spain in exchange for a transfer fee. Olofsson appeared in 46 matches for Racing over two seasons, starting 37 times. Olofsson explained her move, "This is a great opportunity for me as a player and I'm very excited to play for such a big club and well-known brand. I feel very happy, very glad and very honored to have been a part of Racing Louisville, such a special place. Coming here [from KIF Orebro or Sweden] was the first time I really felt like a professional athlete. The facility and the environment are top class. As a women's soccer player, it's hard to find that. I've had a great relationship with everyone."
Racing coach Kim Björkegren, said about his fellow Swede: "Freja is a hardworking player that has been very popular in the group, and we will miss her a lot. But as a European, I also understand how momentous it is to get an offer from one of the largest clubs in the world, Real Madrid. So, for us it's fantastic to see how a player can grow here, and when she leaves, she leaves for Real. I wish Freja all the best in the future, and she is always welcome back [in] Louisville."
Racing Louisville FC added a fourth goalkeeper late in the season, even though Katie Lund (25) played every minute during the regular season, by signing Kelsey Daugherty (25) for an agreed upon transfer fee from Sweden's Djurgårdens IF. Daugherty agreed to a contract with Racing through the 2023 season. She made 35 appearances for Djurgårdens in Sweden's Damallsvenskan while accumulating 54 saves and 12 clean sheets since early 2021. She's joins rookies Jordyn Bloomer (24) and Hillary Beall (23) on the roster. Racing coach Kim Björkegren explained the move, "I've followed Kelsey for a couple of years. She has been one of the best goalkeepers in [the] Damallsvenskan this season, and we are happy to have her here. This move will also us to give our rookie goalkeepers the opportunity to go on loan in the offseason. We believe a lot in both Hillary Beall and Jordyn Bloomer and want to see them continue to develop thanks to some game minutes." Having previously played for Danish side Fortuna Hjørring in 2019, this will mark Daugherty's second stint for an NWSL team after spending the 2020 Fall Series with the Chicago Red Stars. She played college at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Racing then sent Beall (23), who played in no regular season games, to Western United in Australia. She will return to Racing after the A-League Women season ends in April of 2023, though they retain the right to recall her at any time. She played at the University of Michigan.
Lauren Milliet (25) signed a new three-year contract running through the 2025 season; she was is the second-longest-tenured player with Racing and during the season became the club's first to hit 50 NWSL appearances. The Colorado native has played in every Racing match to date. An expansion draft selection, Milliet joined Racing from the North Carolina Courage.
Racing Louisville FC made a nice late season addition in Chinese national team star Wang Shuang, who played in four regular season games late in the year, after the club acquired Shuang's NWSL playing rights via a trade with OL Reign. Shuang signed through the 2023 season. She was the 2018 Asian Women's Footballer of the Year and three-time Chinese player of the year. Shuang (27) moved to Racing from her hometown club, Wuhan Jianghan University FC, where she won back-to-back Chinese Women's Super League titles in 2020 and 2021.
Shuang, also previously played for French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain, scoring seven goals in 18 appearances across all competitions, where she was a teammate of Racing star Nadia Nadim. She also played with Deajeon of the Korea Republic about a decade ago, scoring 7 goals in 14 games. Shuang has tallied 39 goals in 117 appearances for China's national team after making her debut at 17 years old. China won the 2022 Asian Cup earlier this year as Shuang tied for second in the tournament by scoring with five goals, trailing only Australia's Sam Kerr, who had seven. She played in the last two WWC Finals and is expected to be on China's Finals squad in Australia/New Zealand.
Chinese international Wang Shuang joined Racing Louisville late in the 2022 season.
Photo courtesy: USA Today Sports Images/ Racing Louisville FC
Rookie midfielder Savannah DeMelo added two more years to her contract with Racing Louisville FC, extending her deal through the 2025 season. She had a breakout rookie campaign in 2022 with four goals and one assist. Her standout play earned her a first call-up to the U.S. Women's National Team as an injury replacement, training with the senior team and being included on the substitutes bench. DeMelo came to Louisville by way of USC, where she was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection and an All-American. DeMelo has also been a longtime fixture in the U.S. Youth National Team setup, featuring for the Americans at two U-20 World Cups and also playing for the U-14, U-15 and U-18 teams. Already a graduate of USC with her bachelor's degree, DeMelo recently completed her master's degree in public health while completing an internship with Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training, the namesake of Racing's practice facility and stadium.
As a side note, Racing has a player from their academy—goalkeeper Ameerah Maamry—playing for Morocco at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India this month. Another academy teammate—midfielder Ella Sanchez—will represent the United States. The U.S. and Morocco both drew into the tournament's Group A, meaning the two academy players would meet on October 17. Maamry has received multiple call-ups to Morocco's U-17 team. She also made her USL W-League debut July 9 in a 3-0 victory over Flint City AFC. This marks Morocco's first U-17 World Cup which they qualified for by defeating Ghana, 4-2, in a penalty kick shootout during the 2022 African U-17 Championships in June. Morocco's senior team hosted a fantastic WAFCON this summer finishing second and qualified for their first WWC next summer (see our review in August: The Week on Women's Football: Africa Cup of Nations Finals review - Tribal Football).
Maamry praised her training with Racing which allowed her to have this international FIFA Finals opportunity, "This is an amazing opportunity to have. I feel really blessed to have it and get to play at such a high level with such a great team. My development path wouldn't have been the same if I wasn't here. It brought me to the level where I am playing today. Without the training and the coaching staff I had, I don't think I'd be the player I am today."
Orlando Pride (5-7-10, 22 points, Tenth)
Orlando Pride's big issue this season was a lack of scoring; they finished with 22 goals—second worst in the league and ahead of only Gotham FC (16 goals). Starting on July 3, the Pride went seven consecutive games undefeated (with 4 ties) but then lost four in a row at the end of August/early September to effectively end their playoff ambitions. The Pride's season was acceptable after dispensing with U.S. Women's World Cup former winning forwards Alex Morgan, Syd Leroux, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Ali Kreger since last season. In addition, Brazil's Marta was lost early in the season to a knee ligament injury. The club also had to overcome coaching turmoil as Amanda Cromwell and her assistant coach Sam Greene received an initial written warning over charges of verbal abuse and improper favoritism towards players.
In May, they were suspended (with pay) after allegations of retaliation and retribution towards those players who they suspected of raising complaints. Many thought that they wouldn't return and indeed, a week after the regular season concluded [on October 10], the NWSL confirmed that Cromwell's and Greene's contracts were terminated and they are not eligible to work in the league again without approval from the Commissioner, as well as taking mandatory training in retaliation, discrimination, harassment and bullying. The entire Pride organization was ordered to take training on these issues. Cromwell has essentially threatened league action against the club and league, saying in a statement that the investigation was "biased and incomplete" and she will consider 'all legal options.'
Cromwell had been part of the ownership group of Angel City when she was still coaching at UCLA but had to give that up when she took the Orlando job. Interim head coach Seb Hines (34), who played in England and MLS (see: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL Review Part 2 - Tribal Football) has some good core pieces to build on for next year and has helped to settle the squad. The return of Marta plus another couple of solid scorers will help the Pride to compete from the outset of the 2023 season.
Meggie Dougherty-Howard (27), a seven-year veteran of the league who joined Orlando in 2021 after 5 seasons in Washington, had 3 goals to lead the club in scoring. Darian Jenkins (27), who joined from KC last season and has played in the league since 2019 and spent time with Melbourne Victory in Australia and with Bordeaux in France, had two goals as did rookie midfielder Mikayla Cluff (23—ex-Brigham Young University) along with Iceland international Gunny Jonsdottir, rookie Julie Doyle (24—ex-Santa Clara University) and Spanish international midfielder and 2019 WWC team member Celia Jimenez (27), who won a national junior college national championship with Iowa Western in 2013 and a WPSL title with the Seattle Sounders in 2018.
During the season, the Pride waived forward Abi Kim (24), the team's third-round pick (No. 26) overall in the 2020 NWSL Draft. Kim played at the University of California-Berkeley and made 11 NWSL regular-season appearances this season (with three starts). She was born in Liberia and could play for their national team but grew up in Washington State. During the pandemic, Kim went to Europe, where she played in six matches with Fiorentina in Italy, scoring one goal. She also scored a goal in an Italian Women's Super Cup match. As of press time, she had not yet signed for another team.
The Pride did acquire forward Ally Watt from OL Reign in mid-August for $125,000 in Allocation Money. She played at Texas A&M and is with her third NWSL team since 2020. She has played for the U.S. at the U-20 and U-23 level.
Washington Spirit (3-10-9, 19 points, Eleventh)
Ashley Hatch was stellar with 9 goals while Trinity Rodman had 4 tallies and Ashley Sanchez had 3 versus last year's totals of 11, 7 and 5 goals, respectively, when they won the league championship. They went 16 straight games without a win in 2022 (though they had 10 ties during that stretch and finished with 10 deadlocks to lead the league). In 2018, Sky Blue FC went 23 games without a win until it beat the Orlando Pride, 1-0, on the final day of the season.
Washington's struggles weren't because of a lack of talent as seven players were called up to the U.S. national team for the CONACAF W Championship and five were in the team to face England and Spain in October: forward Hatch, goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury, forward Trinity Rodman, midfielder Ashley Sanchez and midfielder Andi Sullivan, with the Spirit represented by more than 20% of the 24 player U.S. roster. Defenders Kelly O'Hara and Emily Sonnett, who played in Monterrey this summer, were injured or might have also been on the team again for the European friendlies.
Head coach was dismissed Kris Ward in late August—he had yelled at a player during practice and told her to get off the field, which was interpreted as abusive and the league has zero tolerance for any complaints of abuse—rightly so. According to multiple sources, he had lost the locker room—some felt that senior players were really in charge even last season—and had signed a two-year contract for 2022 and 2023 and a club option for 2024. In terms of his record this season, his termination was not a surprise. What was stunning was that Albertin Montoya, who won a WPS title in 2010 as head coach with Gold Pride FC (San Francisco Bay Area) was brought on as interim head coach to finish the season.
Montoya served as the co-head coach of the California Storm of the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) starting in 1999 before becoming an assistant coach at Santa Clara University, his alma mater, and Stanford University. In addition to his college and professional coaching experience, Montoya has also coached the U.S. Women's U-17 youth national team. After playing for the North Carolina State Wolfpack and Santa Clara Broncos at the collegiate level, Montoya played professionally in MLS and the A-League before beginning his coaching career in 1999.
In more coaching turmoil, in a rare and weird situation but so D.C. Spirit, assistant coach Lee Nguyen (35) came out of retirement and returned as a player to his former club in Vietnam—Ho Chi Minh City FC. Nguyen had joined Ward's coaching staff with the Spirit last October before re-signing with the club in February. Prior to beginning his coaching career, Nguyen played professionally for 15 years in the Netherlands, Denmark, Vietnam and the United States, making 326 career appearances. Over Nguyen's seven seasons with the New England Revolution of MLS, he tallied 51 of his 71 career goals.
On September 10th, Hatch's penalty kick in the 10th minute of stoppage time gave the Spirit a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Wave, snapping a winless streak that had reached 18 games in all competitions and 16 in the league. Veteran Amber Brooks scored twice to give the Spirit a 3-1 lead, but the defending champions' winless streak was in a danger of being extended when the Wave's Alex Morgan scored twice to extend her league lead with her 14th and 15th goals of the season. Brooks had to sit out a game after giving an inappropriate sign with her finger to an assistant referee for awarding a corner kick that led to one of Morgan's goals. Brooks then missed two games, having to serve another suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Karina Rodriguez was called into the national team in September for two friendlies in Southern California. She was also called up in April in WWC First Round Qualifying. On Friday, September 2, Mexico lost to New Zealand (1-0) but beat Angel City FC on September 5 (2-0) (see more below). Prior to joining the Mexican national team, Rodriguez competed for several United States youth national teams and is in her second season with D.C.
On August 25, the Washington Spirit signed midfielder Marissa Sheva and forward Audrey Harding to the active roster through the end of the 2022 season. Additionally, defender Emily Sonnett was placed on the season-ending injury list as she continues to rehab from a foot injury during CONCACAF's W-Championship Finals this summer in Mexico. Sheva was previously on the Spirit active roster for seven matches this season, being classified as a COVID-19 replacement player, an injury replacement player and a national team replacement player (NTR) throughout her first stint with the club. Harding was on the active roster for the first 13 matches of the regular season as well as the Challenge Cup semifinal and final and was classified as both an injury replacement player and a NTR. Having remained in the D.C. region since the return of the Spirit's USWNT players in July, Sheva and Harding have both continued to train with the team for the past month. Prior to joining the Spirit in 2022, Sheva played for the NWSL's Utah Royals FC in 2020 after a brief tenure with Deportivo Alavés Gloriosas in Primera División, the top-tier women's league in Spain. Harding attended UNC-Wilmington from 2017 to 2021 and was drafted by the Spirit with the 38th overall pick in last December's draft.
Washington Spirit rookie forward Tinaya Alexander was transferred to Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (HSC) of French Division 1 Féminine in exchange for an agreed upon transfer fee. Spirit club president Mark Krikorian explained the reason for the move, "After speaking with Tinaya, we decided to allow opportunities for a transfer and think her move to Montpellier HSC is the best move for her career at this time. We are very appreciative of all that Tinaya brought to this club over the past seven months and are excited to watch her succeed in France."
Alexander joins the Villeneuve-lés-Maguelone-based side during the first month of its 2022-23 season. Montpellier is currently led by fourth-year manager and former Montpellier HSC (men's) defender Frédéric Mendy, who has the side off to its best start in five years this season, as the team is currently in fourth place with 7 points after 4 games. Also on the squad is former Portland Thorns midfielder Celeste Bourielle (28), who joined Montpellier this year after a season with Milan in Italy, where she had 2 goals in 7 matches and German international forward Lena Petermann, who is in her fourth season with Montpellier also played collegiately at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Also, two CONCACAF players on the team are Canadian goalkeeper Gabrielle Lambert (28), who has been playing in France since 2016-17) and Haitian international forward Nerilia Mondesir (23), who has scored 3 goals in 4 regular season games this season and is in her seventh season with the club.
After being drafted by Washington with the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, Alexander joined the Spirit for preseason camp in February. In nine appearances and one start for the Spirit during the 2022 regular season, Alexander totaled 162 minutes played. In her fifth and final season at LSU in 2021, the Reading, England native who played for Arsenal as a youth, earned First Team All-SEC honors and was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Year after tallying nine goals and six assists in 20 matches played. Alexander assisted on 22 goals in her career with Tigers, tying her for second-most in school history.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-1-17, 13 points, Twelfth)
Gotham FC finished in last place, six points behind 11th place Washington. The team is in the hunt for a permanent head coach. They jettisoned Scott Parkinson—who was formerly an assistant with the Chicago Red Stars—after about a year with the team. Parkinson was promoted mid last season after Angel City FC announced that former Gotham coach Freya Coombe was hired to lead the team as their new coach; Gotham didn't allow Coombe to finish the regular season after taking the job with expansion side Angel City FC—but who can blame them as she was joining a competitor within the league.
To replace Parkinson, Gotham FC brought in former Jamaican 2019 WWC head coach Hue Menzies for the last two months of the 2022 season. Menzies became the first ever African-American head coach in the NWSL and in the history of women's professional soccer leagues n the U.S. (three leagues), an important historic landmark for the team and league. It would be great if he could stay but he viewed it as short term, which Menzies discussed with the media, including this reporter, "I want to thank the Gotham organization for reaching out—it is an interim position and I do have a full-time job. I run a club, a non-profit organization in Orlando called Florida Kraze Krush with a couple of thousand kids and that keeps me busy. I want to thank them for holding up the fort while I am gone for the next six to eight weeks….It seems like a nice short stint for me."
TribalFootball.com asked coach Menzies in his introductory news conference on August 14th, why he chose to join Gotham FC and the NWSL versus the possibility of coaching a national team next summer at the Women's World Cup or a team at the Intercontinental Playoffs for three last tournament spots in February in New Zealand, who could use his vision or insight, "I am a person of adversity. I love adversity and the challenge of building… Other clubs have reached out to me and I have said no. I am happy where I am and my ill mother still lives in Orlando. I don't want to leave. But for six to eight weeks, it's like coaching a national team. You go away and come back. I do have good people to support my club…I want an opportunity to check the box and see what the NWSL is about a little bit more. Some of my former players are playing in the league. I'm just excited to be here and try to help the club to finish out the season and feel good about themselves."
Menzies won the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Coach of the Year award after helping the Jamaican Women's National Team qualify for the 2019 Women's World Cup, the country's first-ever Women's World Cup appearance [they qualified again this summer for the 2023 event under Menzies former assistant—Lorne Donaldson]. He coached Jamaica's WNT for five years. The holder of a U.S. Soccer A-License, Menzies currently serves as a member of the CONCACAF Technical Study Group and the U.S. Club Soccer Board of Directors.
Menzies brought 35-plus years of coaching experience to Gotham FC. He has served as the Executive Director of Florida Kraze Krush for the last 10 years. He was a co-founder and director for the Lonestar Soccer Association in Austin, Texas and an Olympic Development Coach at the national, state and regional level for 15 years. He also served as an assistant coach for the University of Texas's women's soccer team.
The club started to conduct an international search late in the season for a new head coach; Yael Averbuch West is an extremely competent General Manager and former player, but the owners have a say so let's hold our breaths. There is a lot of talent for a new coach to build upon, including U.S. internationals Midge Purce, Nigerian international Ifeoma Onumonu, and 2022 new additions and current or past U.S. national team members Kristie Mewis, Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris. The new coach will have high demands to take Gotham back to the playoffs, as they did in 2021 under Coombe—their first post-season since 2013.
The club signed 20-year-old Brazilian defender Bruninha through the 2023 season. Bruninha joins the club from Santos FC of the Brazilian first division league Brasileirão Feminino Neoenergia. With Santos, Bruninha won the 2021 "Bola de Prata" (Silver Ball) as the "revelation of the tournament." She has already made several appearances for the senior Brazilian Women's National Team and this summer captained her country at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup that finished in third place. Earlier this year, Bruninha and her squad won the Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino Sub-20. Brazil won all of their tournament matches without conceding a goal. GM Yael Averbuch West said, "Bruninha has a terrific understanding of the game at such a young age. She's already such a polished player and playing in the NWSL will only help make her better. The sky is the limit for her, and I'm so excited to watch her flourish at Gotham FC." She grew up in Castro in the state of Parana in the south of the country
During the season, the club acquired Canadian National Team and Kansas City Current midfielder Victoria Pickett. Gotham FC will send either OL Reign's natural first-round pick, which the club acquired in a previous trade, or its second highest first-round draft pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft and $200,000 in allocation money in exchange for Pickett's services. A 2021 Rookie of the Year finalist, Pickett (26) logged more than 1,500 minutes for the Current last season, with one goal and one assist in 19 games played (16 starts). Pickett made her debut in the Canadian youth program at 15-years-old, representing her country in the 2012 U-17 and 2014 U-20 FIFA World Cups. She played at the University of Wisconsin.
Gotham FC had a major late season trade of defender Caprice Dydasco moving to Houston; it was a big loss to their defense but in return Gotham FC gains a lot of money ($120,000 to $150K contingent) for future transfers/signings (see last week's column: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL top 6 review; Wolfsburg alliance; ex-Man Utd coach Stoney outstanding - Tribal Football).
Off the field, NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Albany Alleycats—a top-notch development program for youth soccer located in the New York state capital city of Albany—have announced a partnership which will expand Gotham FC's youth soccer presence in the tri-state area. The agreement features a scouting affiliation, player development opportunities, and coaching staff education. The agreement also features virtual chalk talks, practice visits, and match-day experiences. Additionally, Gotham FC players will make appearances at Albany Alleycats training sessions and the Academy will have a presence at an upcoming home match at Red Bull Arena.
When the Albany Alleycats was established in 1994, it was designed as a semi-professional men's soccer team that competed as part of the USISL from 1995 through 1999. Since then, the Alleycats have transformed into an elite developmental platform for youth soccer. The Alleycats' mission is to foster the physical, mental and emotional growth and development of youth in the capital district through the sport of soccer.
NWSL In Season Exhibition Matches versus top international sides
There were a number of NWSL mid-season friendlies and tournaments involving sides from Mexico as well as from Europe and Asia, including one match involving a full national team.
Angel City FC Head Coach Freya Coombe talked about the importance of this match and that it was different from just a mid-season friendly, "It's really important. It puts a spotlight on the Mexican league for players and spectators that maybe aren't watching. I think it gives a great opportunity for us to watch teams from that league. The work that's being done off of the field is very important for the growth of the game. Hopefully this is an opportunity for us to get some international club competition and more formal club competition on the women's side. You have the Champions League in Europe and on the men's side; for us now this is the next stage of how we'd like to see the game grow."
Tigres Head Coach and former Canadian national team international Carmelina Moscato added, "I agree with Freya in the sense that, in the absence of a true Champions League here in CONCACAF, these kinds of independent partnerships will take this game to another level for us. I think it'll inspire other leagues to get moving. When you start to see the game growing and connecting in these ways, people want to be part of this. It's unique."
ACFC's Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel (23) was born in Brazil and raised in Spain and then played at West Virginia University; she joined Angel City this season after playing at Tigres and previously for clubs in Spain and in Brazil. She saw the game as important for the growth of women's football in the future, "I think it's really important to do things like this. Women's soccer is really new, and there are still a lot of firsts. I was the first international player to play for Tigres. And now it's the first time the club has done something like this. Maybe other teams in the NWSL now are going to follow and do the same thing, or maybe it will become even bigger and we'll become a league like a Copa. I think it's huge for women's soccer, to always be growing and doing new things like this."
This column has noted the need for a CONCACAF club championship in the past (see: The Week in Women's Football: CONCACAF focus; NWSL sign Mexican internationals; Puerto Rico Sol breaks world record - Tribal Football) particularly as CAF started a continent-wide club championship—with regional feeder tournaments—last year and it went very well. These friendly games are important in the interim and all credit to Angel City for quickly developing a relationship with the Mexican league teams. However, these games are still friendlies for both teams and having a continental competition run by CONCACAF will increase the competitiveness of these matches, and the attention from fans and media, while elevating the sport throughout the region.
Before the game Ferrer Van Ginkel emphasized the differences she saw in the of play between Liga MX Femenil and the NWSL, "There is a really big difference both community and playing style wise. For communities in Mexico, soccer is the primary sport and the community's support is 100% percent attentive to soccer. Compared to the U.S., there are other sports that steer the attention away from soccer, which is not considered the primary sport of choice. But you can see what is possible with Angel City and all of the soccer happening in LA….The playing style is different as well. The NWSL is more physical compared to Liga, which is more technical."
Winger/Fullback Anika Rodriguez (25), who was born in nearby Torrance, California, is a full international for Mexico and played for the U.S. at the U-17 level; she joined Tigres this season after two seasons with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and was on the Thorns roster during the 2020 Challenge Cup but did not see action.
She also discussed what this historic game meant to both leagues, "As a Mexican-American, this partnership is so important to me and the women's game because it's challenging the 'boundaries' of this sport and crossing borders. Soccer/ futbol is universal and knows no boundaries. This partnership is just one step closer to that ideal. For Tigres, this partnership is incredibly beneficial in broadening the viewer and fan base. Our fans are the base of what makes Tigres so special; broadening that group to reach the Latinx community in Los Angeles is just incredible…. Los Angeles, my hometown, let's pack the stadium and show everyone that Tigres and Angel City have the best and most supportive fans in the world."
Tigres Femenil started in 2017 and in seven of eight complete tournaments played so far, it has reached the Championship Final and won the title on four occasions (Clausura 2018, Clausura 2019, Guardians 2020, and Guardians 2021).
In early September, Angel City FC took their friendly matches up a level as they hosted the inaugural Copa Angelina match between the club and the Mexican Women's National Team on September 5 at Banc of California Stadium. Angel City wasn't as successful in this match as they lost 2–0 after a goal by Scarlett Camberos (21) and an own goal by Angel City. It was the first international goal for Camberos, a San Diego native who attended UC Irvine, about 45 minutes' drive south of the stadium, and is her second (split championship) season with Club America, with 11 goals in 21 matches, after joining in January of this year.
Angel City FC head coach Freya Coombe talked about playing Mexico's full national team after the match, "It was great to see the attendance that we got [17,754], and also for us to bring the two teams together. It's an opportunity for many of our players that aren't playing international football, to get that opportunity to play against an international team, playing at that slightly different game which is a different to the NWSL. It was a great experience for us in the game tonight. You don't see many friendlies that are played in front of this big of a crowd with as much confetti covering us at the end."
ACFC defender Jasmyne Spencer, a veteran of the NWSL since the inaugural season and who also played in Cyprus and Australia, talked about the environment of the match and strong support for Mexico, "You feed off the energy whether they're there for or against you. It's just incredible to play in a stadium that's loud and vibrant like the Banc [of California Stadium, also the home of LAFC of MLS]. It's been so good to us all season long."
Women's Cup in Louisville
The second edition of the Women's Cup in Louisville was held this past August. Six teams were involved this year and in the first round on August 14, AC Milan defeated Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza (3-1) and Mexico's Club America defeated England's Tottenham Hotspur (2-1). In the opener, AC Milan's Martina Piemonte slid in a low shot to the near post in the 30th minute after a nice through-ball from Lindsey Thomas (27—a French international who was born in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean and is in her second season at AC Milan—she won her first cap in a 2-1 friendly loss to Germany this month). Milan added a second in the 54th minute when Swedish national team star Kosovare Asllani scored with another assist from Thomas. Asllani's second goal came 27 minutes later, when the veteran forward again tallied. Defender Risa Shimizu (26—who then was shortly after transferred to West Ham United in England for the 2022-23 season) finally broke through for the Japanese side in the 82nd minute, scoring a consolation goal.
Club America started early in its win over Tottenham, with Mexican international forward Kiana Palacios (26—who was born in the U.S., played collegiately at UC-Irvine and played at Real Sociedad in Spain for three seasons before joining America for the 2021-22 season) knocking in a loose ball off a corner in the 10th minute. Scarlett Camberos doubled Club America's lead five minutes later. Tottenham pulled a goal back in the 64th minute through Nikola Karczewska's one-timer from 12 yards out on the right side (see more on Karczewska in: The Week in Women's Football: Global transfers wrap-up; Chelsea beat Arsenal for Cankovic - Tribal Football).
In the semifinals on August 17, OL Reign came from behind to defeat Club America 2-1. CA scored first in the 60th minute through a Kiana Palacios goal. In the 79th minute, the Reign's Tziarra King scored on a one-touch volley after a clearance from a free kick. OL Reign had the winner three minutes later when midfielder Olivia Van der Jagt (23 and ex-University of Washington Huskies) scored in a goal mouth scramble.
In the other semifinal, new signing Wang Shuang of China (see above) and star forward Nadia Nadim scored as Racing Louisville FC beat Italian club AC Milan, 2-0 and advanced to The Women's Cup final for the second consecutive year. Tokyo Verdy Beleza edged Tottenham Hotspur (2-1) in the fifth-place match. Louisville bested German club Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout last year to claim the inaugural tournament in Louisville.
An NWSL side won the Women's Cup title on August 20 but it was OL Reign who again rallied from a goal down at halftime to beat host Racing Louisville FC (2-1) in The Women's Cup final. Rookie Kirsten Davis (ex-Texas Tech University) opened the scoring for Racing in the 34th minute, but OL Reign's rookie Olivia Athens (ex-UCLA) equalized in the 59th minute and Canadian international Jordyn Huitema scored the game-winner seven minutes later. In the third-place match, Alison Gonzalez (20—a full Mexican international who joined America this season after playing with Atlas n Guadalajara) scored a hattrick for Los Aguilas while Milan's Linda Tucceri Cimini (31—an Italian international) had one goal and two assists as Club America defeated AC Milan (5-4).
Head Coach Laura Harvey said after the match that she felt very good about the tournament: "I think we came here with a plan. For both games…I think the most rewarding thing is that we've been able to win and have success sticking to the plan. I think that plan was to show the depth of our roster, to win games and to use this to prepare for Orlando [their next NWSL match against the Pride] and I think we've done all three things and had success doing it. Yeah, [it was] pretty rewarding to see the whole squad have impact in different ways; [that] is the most rewarding thing, I think."
Off the field in Louisville, a small company was making The Women's Cup the first carbon-neutral soccer tournament in the world, positioning the city as a global reference for the future of sport (and likely not doing their own future sales prospects any harm). Sport Impact Group Louisville (SIG) was formed in 2020 and planned to measure the carbon footprint of the tournament in Louisville and provide the offsets necessary to make the event carbon-neutral. SIG co-founder Mae Marks said, "Individual soccer matches all the way up to English Premier League level have been operated as carbon-neutral, but The Women's Cup is the first tournament. It took discussion and collaboration with everyone involved, but it wasn't that hard, and it wasn't that expensive. We want to demonstrate that these methods should be baked into every outdoor sporting event. Because sport is disproportionately affected by climate change, it's natural that sport should lead the way."
In any other year, the men's World Cup would have been held in the summer. But temperatures in this year's host country, Qatar, pushed the tournament to November and December. It will be the first World Cup to be produced as carbon neutral, but as Marks pointed out, "We beat them by three months."
Women's International Champions Cup in Portland
In Portland on August 20, Lindsey Horan scored twice to lead France's Olympique Lyon to a 4-0 win over Monterrey in the Women's International Champions Cup final. In the first game, The Thorns fell, 1-0, to Chelsea in the third-place match, with a goal by Norwegian international Guro Reiten. The Thorns used 23 players in the tournament.
In the semifinals on August 17, the Portland Thorns were tied 1-1 with C.F. Monterrey at the end of regulation, but lost in the penalty-kick shootout (3-2). In regulation time Marissa Everett (25—who played collegiately in the state at the University of Oregon) scored from an Janine Beckie pass in the 5th minute while Dana Garcia tied it up for Monterrey in the 68th minute. In the first semifinal match between Chelsea and Lyon, Chelsea took an early 2-0 lead on goals by Australian international forward Sam Kerr and Lauren James (21—a youth international who won a full international cap last month in a WWC qualifier against Austria), but Lyon rallied back with a pair of late second-half goals, including a free kick from American international Lindsey Horan and a goal two minutes from the end by Danish international forward Signe Brunn to send the match to penalty kicks. In the shootout, Lyon prevailed, advancing to the final (4-3) for a second straight year at Providence Park. It was Horan's first match at Providence Park since Oct. 13, 2021 against OL Reign.
Spanish coach Pedro Lopez takes charge of Mexico's Women's National Team
El Tri Femenil has hired Pedro López as the manager of the senior Mexican women's national team in mid-September. Lopez directed Spain to the FIA U-20 Women's World Cup title this summer in Costa Rica, after earlier winning the European U-19 title this summer as well. López succeeds Monica Vergara, who was fired last summer after Mexico failed to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup or 2024 Summer Olympics during the CONCACAF W Championship, which was held in Mexico in July. López recently guided Spain to the FIFA U-20 World Cup title.
In Lopez's first game, Mexico tied Chile 1-1 in an international friendly in Mexico City on October 10th. Daniela Zamora (21), who played last season with Djurgardens in Stockholm Sweden, gave Chile the lead in the 35th minute but Mexico tied up the match just before the hour mark on a goal by Diana Ordonez of the NWSL's North Carolina Courage.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham is on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
