Among the notables that happened during the international break…
- The Chicago Red Stars drop “Red” from the club’s name and introduced a new crest.
- Four players signed new contracts: Sydney Leroux of Angel City, Vanessa DiBernardo of the Kansas City Current, Kristen McNabb of the San Diego Wave, and Ryanne Brown of the Seattle Reign.
- Also, Megan Montefusco (née Oyster) of the Orlando Pride officially announced her retirement. Montefusco was twice capped by the senior USWNT.
- Two players, Cloé Lacasse (ACL/meniscus) of the Utah Royals and the Houston Dash’s Diana Ordóñez (shoulder surgery) were moved to the Season-Ending Injury List.
- In coaching news, Utah Royals interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets is no longer “interim” after signing a two-year contract.
- The NWSL Disciplinary Committee announced additional match suspensions for Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila and Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi.
Additionally, the league announced that Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge will be performing the National Anthem at the 2024 NWSL Championship in Kansas City, Missouri.
Chicago Red Stars: Rebranding Announced, will be known as “Chicago Stars FC”
Over the international break, the Chicago Red Stars revealed that they will be undergoing a rebranding with both a new name and a new logo. The club will be dropping “Red” from its moniker and will be known as “Chicago Stars Football Club”. As part of the rebranding, the club will also have a completely new crest. (October 23rd press release)
The club will continue to use the existing “Chicago Red Stars” name and crest through the end of the 2024 NWSL season and post-season. Then, the team will transition to their new name before the 2025 season.
For more details about the new name and crest, see chicagoredstars.com/stars.
Angel City: Sydney Leroux signed for another three years
On Tuesday, Angel City announced that forward Sydney Leroux has signed a new contract that should see her staying in Los Angeles through the 2027 NWSL season. According to the October 29th press release, Leroux expects the next few seasons to be her last:
“This is my last go and I’m excited to end my career here,” said Leroux. “My family and I are so excited to continue to be a part of Angel City and I promise to give my everything until the wheels fall off.”
Leroux, who has a 1990 birth year, will turn 37 during the last year of her new contract.
Leroux was a member of the USA’s teams at the 2008 and 2010 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cups. In the 2008 edition, Leroux won the Golden Ball as the best player and also the Golden Boot as the top goal-scorer. With the United States Women’s National Team, Leroux won an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
Kansas City Current: Midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo extends through 2026, with option for 2027
Vanessa DiBernardo, who joined the Kansas City Current as a free agent ahead of the 2023 season, is set to double her tenure with the club after signing a new contract that also has an unspecified option for the 2027 season. (October 24th press release)
In her eleven-year NWSL career so far, DiBernardo has played 14,883 minutes over 188 matches. She currently sits on 29 career assists, which is two behind Sofia Huerta at 31.
DiBernardo, a Chicago-area native, eschewing more established NCAA women’s soccer programs, chose to stay in-state and played collegiately for the University of Illinois (player profile, Hall of Fame page). After four years at Illinois, DiBernardo was a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Red Stars.
DiBernardo was a key member of the 2012 U-20 USWYNT, which was the last USA team to win a FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. During the 2012 U-20 WWC, DiBernardo scored the opening goal against Korea DPR in the USA’s quarterfinal (FIFA highlights on YouTube).
San Diego Wave: Defender Kristen McNabb adds another two years
Kristen McNabb, who has been with San Diego Wave since the start of their inaugural season in 2022, is set to continue with the Wave through the 2026 season. (October 24th press release)
McNabb was acquired by the Wave in an expansion draft from the Seattle Reign, where she played for five seasons after being drafted in the 2017 college draft. Previously, McNabb played four seasons at Virginia (player profile). During her time as a Cavalier, McNabb scored 13 goals, including two game-winners against in-state rival Virginia Tech.
McNabb, who has a 1994 birth year, attended several U.S. Soccer youth national team camps, including three U-23 camps from 2016 to 2017.
Seattle Reign: Defender Ryanne Brown signed through 2025
On Tuesday, the Seattle Reign announced that outside-back Ryanne Brown has been given a one-year contract extension. Brown, who was set to become a free agent, suffered an ACL and meniscus injury during the Reign’s first match of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, and underwent knee surgery in August. (October 29th press release)
Brown was drafted out of Wake Forest by the Reign in 2022. She played five seasons as a Demon Deacon (player profile), playing 82 matches and scoring 8 goals, including ones against Duke and Notre Dame.
Halfway through her rookie season, Brown was loaned to Danish side FC Nordsjælland alongside Alyssa Malonson.
Brown had four youth national team call-ups for the USA, all for the U-17s during the 2016 calendar year.
Orlando Pride: Megan Montefusco retires after a ten-year pro career
On Friday (press release), defender Megan Montefusco (née Oyster) announced that she will officially retire after the end of the 2024 NWSL season. Montefusco suffered a right foot injury during the 2024 preseason and was placed on the Season-Ending Injury List (February 22nd press release).
Montefusco has two USWNT caps, both as substitute appearances in 2017. She also attended over a dozen USA youth camps, primarily from the U-15 to U-17 levels.
After four years at UCLA (player profile), where she played in 100 matches, Montefusco was drafted by the Washington Spirit. She later played for the Boston Breakers, Reign FC, and the Houston Dash, before being traded to the Orlando Pride ahead of the 2022 season.
Utah Royals: The club drops “interim” from Jimmy Coenraets’s title
Over the international break, the Utah Royals announced that interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets has signed a new contract with the club, making him the head coach. The contract should keep Coenraets in Utah through the 2027 NWSL season. (October 24th press release)
Prior to being hired as an assistant coach by the Royals, Coenraets was the head coach of Oud-Heverlee Leuven, which he helped to guide from bottom of the table in the Belgian Women’s Super League to the top: Coenraets was hired by OH Leuven in the middle of the 2019-2020 season. When that season was suspended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, OH Leuven was at the bottom of the then six-team league and had only one point from 17 matches. The next year, OH Leuven finished fourth out of tenth in the regular season table, and after that, second place behind RSC Anderlecht. For the last two season, OH Leuven finished at the top of the regular season table. (nl.Wikipedia)
Additional Reading:
- Salt Lake Tribune: “How do you fix a broken team? For new Utah Royals coach, it’s one player at a time.” by Aaron Falk
Utah Royals: Cloé Lacasse moved to Season-Ending Injury List
On Wednesday, the Utah Royals confirmed that Canadian forward Cloé Lacasse suffered a ruptured ACL and an MCL sprain in their last NWSL match, against Angel City. During the international break, Lacasse underwent “successful surgery”. (October 30th press release)
Lacasse was named to Canada’s roster for the international window, but after her injury, was replaced by Marie-Yasmine Alidou (CANWNT x.com post), who subsequently scored Canada’s goal in their 1:1 draw with Spain last Friday (Canada Soccer).
Houston Dash: Diana Ordóñez added to Season-Ending Injury List after shoulder surgery
On Thursday, the Houston Dash, via social media, revealed that forward Diana Ordóñez had surgery over the international break and has been placed on the Season-Ending Injury List. (Dash x.com post). Per, Theo-Lloyd Hughes (x.com post), the surgery was for her shoulder.
Ordóñez was listed as “Questionable” due to a shoulder issue on the Dash’s last availability report before the break. (Taylor Vincent x.com post) In the previous match (October 13th), Ordóñez came on in the last minute of normal time and played about eight minutes.
Disciplinary: Red Stars forward Ludmila and Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi given extended suspensions
Earlier this week, the NWSL announced that the league’s Disciplinary Committee had been given additional match suspensions related to an incident in a match between the two teams on Sunday, October 20th, just before the international break. Both players received a red card after the incident, which was featured in an “Inside Video Review” video from the Professional Referee Organization (PRO):
The Disciplinary Committee issued an additional two match suspension for Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila, while Washington Spirit forward has been given an additional one-match suspension. Both decisions were appealed to the NWSL Review Committee, which upheld the punishments. (October 28th press release)
As a result, Ludmila will sit out Chicago’s (1) last 2024 regular season match, (2) their 2024 playoff quarterfinal, and (3) either their 2024 playoff semifinal or, if the Red Stars fail to advance from their quarterfinal, the first 2025 regular season match.
Meanwhile, Kousassi will serve her match ban during the Spirit’s (1) last 2024 regular season match and (2) their 2024 playoff quarterfinal.
NWSL x Liga MX Feminil Summer Cup: Kansas City Current win the final 2-nil over Gotham FC
The Current won the final, which was held on Friday, October 25th, during the international break, on two first-half goals from Temwa Chawinga (24′, 37′), who was assisted on both goals by Lo’eau LaBonta. (Current press release, Gotham press release)
For the match, Gotham brought in seven National Team Replacement players (press release), including retired Gotham players, Mana Shim and Sabrina Flores, who both started the match. Fourteen-year-old Mak Whitham was also one of those seven players and came on as a 66th minute substitute.
Portland Thorns: Karina LeBlanc’s new job title announced
LeBlanc, who is wrapping up her tenure as General Manager of the Thorns, will be the “Executive Vice President Strategic Growth and Development” for RAJ Sports. (October 23rd press release)
NWSL Championship: Melissa Etheridge to perform National Anthem
On Thursday, singer/songwriter/musician Melissa Etheridge, who has won two Grammy Awards, was announced as the performer of the National Anthem for the 2024 NWSL Championship match, which will be held in CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (October 30th press release)
Etheridge, who was born and raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, spent some time in Kansas City, Missouri, as a hotel lounge singer from about November 1981 through May 1982 (example ad, via Newspapers.com).
After moving to the Los Angeles area, she joined as a women’s adult soccer team, which subsequently led her to her future (music industry) manager, Bill Leopold, as his wife, Karla, was also on the team. (Wikipedia, citing her 2011 autobiography)
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