Leading the player notables for Wednesday, January 29th, are the news that 2024 NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga has extended through the 2028 NWSL season with the Kansas City Current and that both Thompson sisters, Alyssa and Gisele, have done the same with Angel City.
Meanwhile, tThe Utah Royals have added another Spanish player: Outside-back Nuria Rábano, who was teammates with Ana Tejada at Real Sociedad.
In other player news, Gotham signed another rookie, UCLA’s Sofia Cook, to a multi-year deal, and the Seattle Reign have extended the loan of Welsh international Lily Woodham to Crystal Palace.
Also, Texas standout Lexi Missimo will not be taking her talents to the NWSL or Europe anytime soon after signing with her hometown club, the Dallas Trinity, of the nascent USL Super League.
Angel City: Alyssa and Gisele Thompson both extend through the 2028 NWSL season
Los Angeles’s most dynamic sister duo with Filipino ancestry since the Millington sisters (magazine article), Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, have each committed to playing for Angel City FC through the 2028 NWSL season. Per Angel City’s press release, Alyssa has extended for three years, while Gisele, who is younger by 13 months, has extended for two years.
Forward Alyssa Thompson, who already has a FIFA Women’s World Cup under her belt, and outside-back Gisele Thompson were both under contract through the 2025 season, with Gisele having an option for 2026 that was apparently exercised at some point (December 2023 press release).
Alyssa, who is the older sister by 13 months, turned 20 last November, while Gisele turned 19 last December.
Alyssa Thompson
Alyssa has played two NWSL seasons after being selected #1 overall by ACFC in the 2023 NWSL College Draft.
Following the 2023 FIFA WWC, Alyssa scored just one goal for club or country over a one-year period, from late August 2023 to late August 2024.
Alyssa was left off the USWNT rosters for both the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup (roster release) and the 2024 SheBelieves Cup (roster release). Nor was she named to the USA’s squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics (roster release).
In the first half of 2024, it appeared that Alyssa’s star was dimming, however, it would shine bright again in August and September: Alyssa scored a brace in ACFC’s first post-Olympics match against the San Diego Wave and then added three more goals over the next four NWSL matches.
Alyssa was called into the USWNT for the last two international windows of 2024 and scored her first senior international goal against Iceland in October (U.S. Soccer YouTube highlight video).
In 2024, Alyssa appeared in every regular season NWSL match, with 24 out of 26 starts. (NWSL game log)
Gisele Thompson
The younger Thompson sister was signed ahead of the 2024 NWSL season, days before turning 18-year-old, and appeared in 15 regular season matches with 10 starts during her rookie year. She registered her first goal contribution via an assist in ACFC’s second-to-last match of the year. (NWSL game log)
Gisele was recently called up for the January 2025 “Futures Camp” and was a training player with the USWNT ahead of the 2024 SheBelieves Cup (roster release).
Gisele missed a handful of matches during the NWSL season due to her playing in the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. In the third-place match, Gisele had the assist on Ally Sentnor’s opening goal (U.S. Soccer match report). Gisele also added a goal during the group stage against Paraguay.
Kansas City Current: 2024 NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga adds three years to her contract
Temwa Chawinga, the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player and Golden Boot winner in 2024, is set to stay in Kansas City through the 2028 season after inking a three-year extension that was announced on Wednesday (press release). Her previous contract would have expired at the end of 2025.
In her debut NWSL season, Chawinga became the first player to tally 20 goals during the regular season. On her way to that record, she scored at least one goal against all 13 other NWSL clubs. She also added a 21st goal in the post-season. (NWSL game log)
In the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, Chawinga scored a brace in the final against Gotham and had the game-winner in the semifinal against the Kansas City Current.
Chawinga joined the Current as a free agent in January 2024 (press release) after four years in China, where she scored 83 goals in 84 appearances. Prior to that, Chawinga plied her trade in Sweden for Kvarnsvedens IK, where she scored 54 goals in 52 second division matches (SvFF profile).
At the international level, as of January 2024, Chawinga had 14 caps and 22 goals for Malawi. Chawinga has an older sister, Tabitha, who also has a history of profuse goal-scoring. Tabitha joined Olympique Lyonnais last summer (Lyon news feature).
Gotham FC: UCLA’s Sofia Cook signed through 2026 with 2027 mutual option
Before finally publishing their initial preseason roster, Gotham announced the signing of rookie midfielder Sofia Cook to a two-year contract, which also includes a mutual option for 2027 (press release).
Cook, who will turn 21 in August, leaves UCLA after three seasons, where she helped the team win a national title in her freshman year.
At the youth international level, Cook has represented the USA in two Concacaf championships, at the U-20 level in 2023 and the U-15 level in 2018 (that year the USA sent a U-14 team). In 2024, Cook attended the last three U-20 USWYNT camps before roster selection for the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, but was not named to the final roster.
Cook’s mother is from Argentina, so Cook is likely also eligible to play international soccer for La Albiceleste (U.S. Soccer profile article).
Sofia Cook
- Position: Midfielder (attacking)
- Height: 5’6″
- Age: 20 (born 7-Aug-2024)
- Hometown: Huntington Beach, California
- FIFA Eligibilities: USA and Argentina
- NCAA Team: UCLA (2022 to 2024)
- NCAA Career Stats: 12 goals and 6 assists over 56 matches and had 30 starts (3 seasons)
- NWSL Contract Details: Signed through 2026 with mutual option for 2027
- Press Release: “Gotham FC Signs UCLA Midfielder Sofia Cook to Multi-Year Contract” (28-Jan-2025)
- U.S. YNT Experience: Attended at least eight camps from the U-14 to U-20 level. Cook was in the mix for the USA’s squad for the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, but was not selected. (She attended the last three camps in 2024 prior to roster selection.) Cook competed in the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship and 2018 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship (that year the USA sent a U-14 squad).
- January 2025 Futures Camp: No
- Notables: Won an NCAA national championship with UCLA in 2022. Scored seven goals and registered four assists during her freshman season.
Utah Royals: Nuria Rábano acquired via trade from VfL Wolfsburg
On Wednesday, the Royals added Spanish outside-back Nuria Rábano via a transfer from VfL Wolfsburg of the Frauen-Bundesliga. She was signed to a three-year contract which includes a 2028 mutual option. (Royals press release)
Now primarily a left outside-back, Rábano also has experience as a winger (2021 news article).
The 25-year-old joins the Royals after one-and-a-half seasons with Wolfburg, where she had 38 appearances across all competitions, including five Champions League matches (Wolfsburg press release). For the current Frauen-Bundesliga season, Rábano appeared in seven of 12 matches, with four starts (DFB Datencenter profile).
Before signing with Wolfsburg, Rábano played the 2022-2023 season with powerhouse Barcelona (player profile), which won their second Champions League title that season as well as a domestic double. Her contract was originally for two seasons, but she departed a year early (Barcelona news item).
Rábano joined Barca as a free agent after two strong seasons at Real Sociedad. Prior to that, for four seasons, she was with Deportivo la Coruña, which was promoted to Liga F following her first season.
This move reunites Rábano with fellow Spanish midfielder Ana Tejada, as both were club teammates together at Real Sociedad. Additionally, Rábano, Tejada, and another current Royals player, midfielder Claudia Zornoza, all attended a senior Spain Women’s National Team camp in September 2022 (RFEF roster release, U.S. Soccer match report). Rábano and Tejada have also trained together as members of Spain’s U-20 WNT and U-23 WNT (example rosters: U-20, U-23).
Seattle Reign: Lily Woodham’s loan extended through June 30th
Welsh international Lily Woodham will stay in South London for at least the next five months after her loan to Crystal Palace, which was scheduled to run out at the end of January, has been extended through the rest of the Women’s Super League season. (Reign press release, Crystal Palace press release)
Over 11 WSL matches, Woodham has made 10 starts, with one off-the-bench appearance.
Crystal Palace currently sits last in the 12-team WSL table and, unless its fortunes improve, will likely be relegated back to the Championship. So, Woodham will probably be on the move after the WSL season, whether back to the Reign or elsewhere.
At the international level, Woodham recently helped the Wales Women’s National Team qualify for its first major tournament, the 2025 Women’s EURO. During the final playoff round matches against the Republic of Ireland, Woodham had a goal and an assist (FA Wales match pages: 29-Nov, 3-Dec). Overall, the 24-year-old Woodham has 33 caps and at least three goals for Wales.
The Reign have Woodham under contract for at least the 2025 NWSL season, which could be extended through 2026 via a mutual option (January 2024 press release).
Lexi Missimo: Texas standout opts for her hometown USL Super League club, Dallas Trinity FC
On Wednesday, January 29th, the Trinity officially revealed the signing of their new #10, Lexi Missimo, ending speculation of where the highly-touted midfielder would end up. Missimo was signed to a two-and-a-half-year contract that runs through mid-2027. (Instagram post, press release)
According to Front Office Sports (article), the contract was signed on January 7th.
Missimo was recently called into the January 2025 “Futures Camp” and has an extensive youth international résumé: She attended over 25 U.S. youth national camps from the U-14s to the U-23s and played in the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship. However, Missimo withdrew from selection for the USA’s 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup squad. That decision was announced via a social media post (x.com).
At Texas, Missimo scored 56 goals and registered 66 assists over 90 matches for the Longhorns (player profile). Her teammate at Texas and from her youth club days, as well as most youth national teams, is Trinity Byars, who signed with the San Diego Wave back in November 2024. Missimo’s head coach at Texas, Angela Kelly, played collegiate soccer at the University of North Carolina at the same time as Missimo’s father, Derek Missimo (Daily Texan article).
The Missimos also have social and soccer connections to the Dallas Trinity. According to an October 2024 Washington Post article, Missimo’s “family is friends with the owners” of the Trinity, which would be the Neil family (news article). Additionally, Lexi Missimo has known Trinity head coach Chris Petrucelli for over ten years (Front Office Sports article).
As part of the media rollout of Missimo’s signing, she talked to Front Office Sports (article) as well as Theo Lloyd-Hughes (Substack article). Both articles have quotes from Missimo that add context to her decision to not pursue opportunities in the NWSL and Europe at this time.
Quick Notes
According to Theo Lloyd-Hughes (news article), Olympique Lyonnais is nearing a deal to acquire Houston Dash center-back Tarciane via a trade that will have a transfer fee in excess of $800,00 (USD), which is over 50% higher than the $485,000 (USD) fee that the Dash reportedly paid at the end of April 2024 (news article). Tarciane is just 21-years-old and has an official height of 6’0″ (184 cm).
The Tarciane news came a day after word that Angel City defender Vanessa Gilles is looking to stay in Europe following her loan to Olympique Lyonnais ends this summer. According to Tom Garry of The Guardian (x.com posts), Gilles wants to stay with Lyon, “but those talks seem to be stalling”.
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