Sunday, September 8th will be the end of an era as Alex Morgan will play her final professional soccer match. On Thursday, September 5th, Morgan announced her retirement via a social media video. The suddenness of Morgan’s retirement was due in part to a pregnancy, which was first publicly disclosed in the social media video.
The other major NWSL news of the week is the loss of Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune for the rest of the season due to a meniscus injury that occurred during a ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game.
Here are the rest of the notables from September 3rd to the 5th:
- Washington Spirit: Earvin “Magic” Johnson joins the club’s investor group
- Seattle Reign: Jordyn Huitema extends until 2026, with mutual option for 2027
- Angel City: Forward Jun Endo signs on through 2027
- Angel City: Sale of Controlling interest to Willow Bay and Bob Iger completed
- Houston Dash: Forward Bárbara Olivieri extends for two years
- Houston Dash: Forward Cece Kizer released from contract
- Orlando Pride: Amanda Allen loaned to USL Super League’s Lexington Sporting Club
- Utah Royals: Addisyn Merrick released, signed by USL Super League’s Carolina Ascent
- Rumor: Sofia Jakobsson “close to signing” with London City Lionesses
San Diego Wave: Alex Morgan Announces Retirement From Professional Soccer
Update (6-Sep-24): Added additional broadcast details about Morgan’s final match.
Morgan announced her retirement via a 4 minute social media video, which she posted to Instagram (embedded below) and x.com at about 11:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday.
Morgan’s last NWSL match wil be on Sunday, September 8th, against the North Carolina Courage, at 8:00 p.m. EDT, which will be shown live on most of the NWSL’s media partners, as well as NWSL+ (plus.nwslsoccer.com). On cable, the match will air live on ESPN 2 and the CBS Sports Network. Streaming options include Prime Video and Paramount+. The match will also air live on a local San Diego station, KUSI. (Wave press release)
Official press releases:
- San Diego Wave: “Alex Morgan Announces Retirement From Professional Soccer Following Sunday’s Match”
- NWSL: “Alex Morgan Announces Retirement”
- U.S. Soccer: “Women’s Soccer Icon, Two-Time World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Alex Morgan Announces Retirement from Professional Soccer”
The Wave will also honor Morgan before their final home match of the season on Sunday, November 3rd.
U.S. Soccer has not yet announced any details about honoring Morgan before a future USWNT match.
Washington Spirit: Croix Bethune out for the rest of the year due to a torn meniscus
On Wednesday, the Spirit announced that “Bethune had successful surgery to repair torn meniscus”, which occurred “away from training last week”. Bethune was placed on the season-ending injury list. (September 4th press release)
Subsequent news articles confirmed that Bethune’s injury came during a ceremonial first pitch on August 28th before a Major League Baseball game in Washington, D.C. (Washington Post, ProSoccerWire) From the ProSoccerWire article:
Spirit coach Jonatan Giráldez said Sunday that Bethune had to miss Washington’s 1-1 draw with the San Diego Wave due to the injury suffered at Nationals Park.
“She had a problem making the first pitch the other day [at] the baseball game,” Giráldez told reporters after the match. “We will report about exactly what she has, but she is not going to be available this season. It’s bad, bad news, but in the end, it’s part of life. We have to keep going.”
Given the recovery time for a meniscus tear (2022 literature survey study), it is unlikely that Bethune will be available for any USWNT matches until 2025.
Washington Spirit: Earvin “Magic” Johnson joins the club’s investor group
(September 5th press release) No specifics about the deal were released.
In addition to the public relations value of adding Johnson as an NWSL investor, Johnson’s involvement should give the NWSL another voice for promoting the league to potential investors and sponsors. The deal may also indicate a capital investment that could be used, at least in part, for a dedicated training facility for the Spirit.
Johnson also has ownership interests in the Washington Commanders of the NFL plus three Los Angeles teams: The Dodgers (Major League Baseball), the Sparks (WNBA), and Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer.
Michele Kang and Magic Johnson appeared live on CBS Mornings to formally announce Johnson’s addition as an investor. The full segment is below:
Seattle Reign: Jordyn Huitema extends until 2026, with mutual option for 2027
On Thursday, the Reign that they and forward Jordyn Huitema had agreed to a new two-year contract, which also includes a mutual option for the 2027 NWSL season. (September 5th press release) Huitema, who joined the Reign in 2022, would have been a free agent for the 2025 season.
The 23-year-old Canadian international has 85 senior international caps, along with 21 international goals. (Canada Soccer profile)
Angel City: Forward Jun Endo signs on through 2027
Japanese international forward Jun Endo, who is recovering from an ACL injury, has agreed to a new contract that should keep her with Angel City through the 2027 NWSL season. (September 5th press release)
The 24-year-old has been a regular call-up for Japan, making the rosters for the last two Women’s World Cups as well as the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics. (Wikipedia bio)
Angel City: Sale of Controlling interest to Willow Bay and Bob Iger completed
On Thursday, the club announced that the deal, which was announced in July, has been formally completed. (September 5th press release)
No significant new details about the transaction were released, though the press release did note that “the transaction was unanimously approved by NWSL’s Board of Governors”. The release also clarified that the additional $50 million would be for capital expenditures. From today’s press release:
The historic transaction values ACFC at $250 million—the highest ever for a women’s professional sports team – and includes an additional $50 million capital injection to support the club’s operations and growth goals.
As a result of the deal, Alexis Ohanian is no longer the controlling owner.
Houston Dash: Forward Bárbara Olivieri extends for two years
On Tuesday, the Dash announced that they had signed Bárbara Olivieri to a new two-year contract, which should keep the forward in Houston through the 2026 NWSL season. (September 3rd press release)
Olivieri, who played one season for Texas A&M before turning pro, was a member of Venezuela youth women’s national teams and has at least one senior international cap with Venezuela. (Wikipedia bio)
Olivieri has 20 appearances and 2 goals across all competition for the Dash in 2024. (NWSL stats)
Houston Dash: Cece Kizer released from contract
On Thursday, the Dash announced that the club and forward Cece Kizer “have agreed to a mutual termination of her contract”. (September 5th press release)
According to Theo-Lloyd Hughes, the Dash were looking to trade the 27-year-old Kizer during the August transfer window, but no deal was reached. (x.com post)
Kizer, who was traded from the Kansas City Current for Canadian forward Nichelle Prince at the beginning of this year, only appeared in 7 matches across all competitions for the Dash. A month after her trade to Houston, Kizer and the Dash had agreed to a one-year extension that would have saw Kizer stay on through the 2025 season. (February 23rd press release)
Orlando Pride: Amanda Allen loaned to USL Super League’s Lexington Sporting Club
Allen’s loan is “for the duration of the USL Super League 2024-25 season” and includes a “right to recall”. (Pride press release, Lexington press release)
The forward, who is currently with Canada’s Under-20 women’s national team at this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, originally signed with the Pride in April 2023 at the age of 18. Allen has one senior international cap for Canada. (Canada Soccer profile)
Utah Royals: Addisyn Merrick released, signs with USL Super League’s Carolina Ascent
Also on Thursday, the Royals announced that the team and Addisyn Merrick had “mutually agreed to part ways” so that she could sign with Carolina Ascent FC of the USL Super League. (Royals press release, Ascent press release)
The 26-year-old outside back has played in the NWSL for five season, including one-and-a-half seasons with Cece Kizer at Kansas City. Both players were acquired by KC on the same day, June 9, 2022. (Wikipedia bio) Merrick was a restricted free agent when she signed with the Royals in December 2023.
Rumor: Sofia Jakobsson “close to signing” with London City Lionesses
According to BBC Sport senior women’s football reporter Emma Sanders, “London City Lionesses are closing in on the signing of Sweden international Sofia Jakobsson from San Diego Wave”.
The 34-year-old Jakobsson would join fellow Swedish player Kosovare Asllani. The London City Lionesses play in the second tier of English women’s soccer, the Women’s Championship, and are aiming for promotion into the Women’s Super League. (BBC news article)
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