In November, Scottish forward Claire Emslie extended with Angel City for two more season, while Bay FC re-signed forward Penelope Hocking and rookie defender Maddie Moreau. Meanwhile, the Seattle Reign have secured Swedish defender Hanna Glas for at least another year.
Also, earlier this week, Angel City signed goalkeeper Hannah Stambaugh to a new one-year contract.
Just before Thanksgiving, the Washington Spirit placed French forward Ouleye Sarr on the season-ending injury list for a back injury suffered in September.
Additionally, based on an Instagram message by Annaïg Butel, it appears that the French defender will not return to the Washington Spirit for the 2025 season.
Note: Free agency moves will be covered in a separate post that should be published sometime this weekend.
Angel City: Claire Emslie re-signed for 2025 and 2026
Back on Friday, November 22nd, Angel City announced that forward Claire Emslie has re-signed with a new contract that runs through 2026, with no announced options (press release).
Emslie has been with the club since July 2022, after her signing rights were acquired from the Orlando Pride during the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft. For the 2024 NWSL regular season, Emslie appeared in all 26 matches for Angel City, starting 24 matches, and scoring 7 goals (NWSL game log).
Emslie is a regular call-up for the Scotland Women’s National Team, with 70 caps and 16 goals, including Scotland’s first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup goal (SWNT player profile).
Emslie spent four seasons playing NCAA soccer at Florida Atlantic University, where she appeared in 76 matches and scored 29 goals, while registering 10 assists (FAU profile).
Bay FC: Penelope Hocking extends through 2027 with options for 2028 and 2029
On November 19th (press release), the club announced that forward Penelope Hocking has signed a new contract that should keep her with Bay FC through the 2027 season, with option for the 2028 and 2029 seasons.
Hocking joined Bay FC in August from the Red Stars, who drafted her in 2023. In March of that year, Hocking signed a three-year contract that would have expired at the end of the 2025 season if that contract’s one-year option was not exercised (March 2023 press release).
So far for Bay FC, Hocking has played in seven regular season matches and one play-off match, starting in three of those matches. After scoring 7 goals over one-and-a-half seasons for Chicago, Hocking has yet to score in a Bay FC uniform, though she did have an assist in their playoff loss to the Washington Spirit. (NWSL game log)
Bay FC: Defender Maddie Moreau re-ups for another year, plus option for 2026 season
On November 20th, Bay FC announced that rookie defender Maddie Moreau has been signed for the 2025 season, with an option for 2026 (press release).
The undrafted Moreau was originally signed on March 15th for a one-year contract with an option for next year (March 2024 press release).
As a rookie, Moreau had 11 appearances during the regular season, including two starts. During the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, she scored two goals and played every minute of Bay FC’s three matches.
Moreau, who also played as a midfielder during her NCAA career, spent three seasons at LSU (player profile), followed by two years at West Virginia (player profile). Over her five collegiate seasons, Moreau started 87 of 97 matches, scoring six goals and registering 7 assists.
Seattle Reign FC: Hanna Glas re-signs for 2025, with option for 2026
On November 20th (press release), the Seattle Reign announced that Swedish defender Hanna Glas has signed a new one-year contract that includes an option for the 2026 NWSL season.
Glas, who retired from international soccer earlier this year (svt.se), originally came to the NWSL ahead of the 2023 season when she was signed by the Kansas City Current on a two-year contract with a one-year option (February 2023 press release). Glas was traded to the Reign in early September. For Seattle, Glas appeared in six matches, starting all six (NWSL game log).
Angel City: Goalkeeper Hannah Stambaugh signs for another season
On Wednesday, Angel City and 5’9″ goalkeeper Hannah Stambaugh “agreed to a new one-year contract” that runs through the 2025 NWSL season (press release). Stambaugh was originally acquired in January 2024 via a trade from Japanese club Omiya Ardija Ventus (January press release). The details of that deal included “an option for 2025”.
Stambaugh, who was born and raised in Japan, was the starting goalkeeper of the Young Nadeshiko squad that won the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. (June 2024 profile)
In her first year with Angel City, Stambaugh did not appear in any regular season matches. (NWSL game log)
Orlando Pride: Carrie Lawrence announce retirement after five years
On Friday, November 29th, the club announced that defender Carrie Lawrence is retiring from professional soccer (press release).
Lawrence is a native of Orlando and played three seasons of NCAA soccer at the University of Central Florida (player profile), which is located in Orlando, after playing one year at South Carolina (player profile).
Lawrence spent her entire professional career with the Orlando Pride, but only featured in 33 matches across all competitions, in part due to injuries, including an ACL tear in February 2023 (press release) and an ankle injury in 2021 (Orlando Sentinel article). Each injury caused her to miss an entire NWSL season.
In August 2024, Lawrence and teammate Marta announced their engagement. (Wikipedia bio)
Washington Spirit: French defender Annaïg Butel not expected to return for 2025
On Wednesday, November 27th, French defender Annaïg Butel “posted a farewell message on Instagram” (Jason Anderson, bsky.app, Reddit post with screenshots) in which she thanked the Washington Spirit, the team’s staffs, her fellow players, fans, and Michele Kang.
Butel was signed in July 2023 on a contract that expired at the end of the current season (July 2023 press release).
With the addition of 24-year-old English defender Esme Morgan in July (press release), the 32-year-old Butel has been bumped down the Spirit’s center-back depth chart. In 2024, Butel started 18 straight matches, but only three of the final seven regular season matches and none during the post-season (NWSL game log) Meanwhile, Morgan started five of the seven final regular season matches and all three of the Spirit’s playoff matches (NWSL game log).
Prior to joining the Spirit in 2023, Butel had played her senior club career entirely in France and solely for Paris FC (formerly FCF Juvisy).
Butel has 10 international caps for France, from 2013 to 2018 (FFF.fr profile) and was a member of France’s 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad. She also had significant youth international experience, including playing in the 2010 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
Washington Spirit: French forward Ouleye Sarr officially placed on season-ending injury list
On November 27th, the Spirit announced that Ouleymata “Ouleye” Sarr has been put on the season-ending injury list. Sarr suffered a back injury during a home match on September 7th, against the Portland Thorns. (press release)
For the 2024 regular season, Sarr scored eight goals for the Washington Spirit, which tied her with Trinity Rodman. Sarr was signed by the Spirit via in June 2023 on a contract that runs through the 2025 NWSL season (press release).
The 29-year-old Sarr has 28 senior international caps for France, with the most recent in April 2023 (FFF.fr profile). She has nine senior goals for France and has scored against Spain (2017, in her second appearance and first start) and the Netherlands (2020).
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