NWSL – Page 10 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note: Royals Release Amandine Henry and Ifeoma Onumonu, Debinha stays in KC, plus more contract extensions

Friday, September 6th was not a slow news day in the NWSL.

Leading the notables are the addition of two new league front office hires, retired New Zealand international Sarah Gregorius for the role of “Senior Director, Sporting” and Karla Thompson as the new “Director of Youth Development”.

The top player-related headline is the departure of French midfielder Amandine Henry from the Utah Royals.

Here are the rest of the notables:

Kansas City Current: Debinha extends through 2026, with option for 2027
Houston Dash: Center back Natalie Jacobs extends through 2028
Houston Dash: Austrian midfielder Sarah Puntigam signs on for two more years
Orlando Pride: Back-up goalkeeper McKinley Crone extends through 2026
Utah Royals: Nigerian forward Ifeoma Onumonu Released

NWSL News of Note: Alex Morgan announces retirement, Croix Bethune on SEI list, Magic Johnson invests in Spirit, plus lots more

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

NWSL Referee Assignments: September 6 to 8, 2024

Friday, September 6th:

Angel City vs. Reign: Trevor Wiseman (VAR: Brad Jensen)

Saturday, September 7th:

Spirit vs. Thorns: Greg Dopka (VAR: Danielle Chesky)
Current vs. Royals: Calin Radosav (VAR: Shawn Tehini)
Bay FC vs. Racing: Rebecca Pagan (VAR: Alexandra Billeter)

Sunday, September 8th:

Gotham vs. Dash: Joshua Encarnacion (VAR: Kevin Broadley)
Red Stars vs. Pride: Eric Tattersall (VAR: Alyssa Nichols)
Wave vs. Courage: Brad Jensen (VAR: Abdou Ndiaye)

Source: PRO

NWSL: Media Coverage of the ‘Historic’ and ‘Groundbreaking’ New Collective Bargaining Agreement

(Note: The bulk of this post was originally going to be part of a longer article analyzing the new CBA, but due to time constraints, I have not been able to do proper research for that article.)

On Thursday, August 22nd, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) released details about their new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league. The new CBA, which has been described as “historic”, “groundbreaking” and “landmark” by professional journalists, has numerous significant new provisions, including several that grant the players much greater autonomy over their professional soccer careers.

Specifically, those provisions cover:

Full free agency for all players,
Player consent required for any trade,
Elimination of the entry draft and expansion drafts, and
Guaranteed contracts

Other key changes include revenue sharing for players, sizable increases in the minimum player salary, and requiring charter flights in certain situations.

At the moment, the full text of the new CBA is not yet available, so a detailed analysis is not currently possible. (According to the NWSLPA’s website, “[t]he full terms of the new CBA announced on August 22, 2024 will be shared… at a future date.”)

Reminder: Thorns and Gotham FC play their first Concacaf W Champions Cup matches this week

Two NWSL teams, the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC, will play their first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup matches this week.

Both matches will be streamed live by CBS Sports (English-language) and ESPN+ (Spanish-language).

Portland Thorns vs. Club América (Mexico)

Wednesday, September 4th, 10:00 p.m. EDT
Streaming: Golazo! and ESPN+

Gotham FC vs. Alajuelense (Costa Rica)

Thursday, September 5th, 8:00 pm. EDT
Streaming: Paramount+ and ESPN+

For the full tournament schedules of all three NWSL teams, including the San Diego Wave, see “2024 Concacaf W Champions Cup: Group Stage Schedule for NWSL Teams with TV and Streaming Details”.

NWSL News of Note: Hanna Glas to Reign, Sophie Hirst to Thorns, Royals sign defender Julia Grosso

The notables for September 1st and 2nd include a pair of trades and a player signing:

Kansas City Current trade defender Hanna Glas to Seattle Reign
Houston Dash trade Sophie Hirst to the Portland Thorns
Utah Royals sign American defender Julia Grosso

Yes, there is now a second “Julia Grosso” in this league, after the addition of Canadian international midfielder Julia Grosso in August. Utah’s new signing hails from Florida and played at the University of Kentucky for five years.

NWSL News of Note: Penelope Hocking Traded to Bay FC, Spurs loan Rosella Ayane to Red Stars

Here is a late night edition of notables from Saturday, August 31st:

Penelope Hocking traded from Chicago Red Stars to Bay FC
Chicago Red Stars acquire forward Rosella Ayane on loan from Tottenham Hotspur
Update on Laura Harvey: She “was hospitalized” earlier in the week

NWSL News of Note: Updated Free Agency List, Ustruck Consulting for Dash, Petersen to Racing, Pride GM Extends

Here are the notables for Friday, August 30th:

Updated 2025 Free Agency List
Houston Dash: Former Orlando Pride general manager Erik Ustruck is overseeing player transactions
Defender Courtney Petersen has been traded from the Houston Dash to Racing Louisville
Orlando Pride: General manager Haley Carter extends her contract through 2026

NWSL News of Note: Laura Harvey Will Miss Match Due to Illness, Cook and Malonson Re-Up for 3 Years, Pride “Waives” Kerr

Here are the notables from Thursday, August 29th:

Seattle Reign: Head coach Laura Harvey will miss Saturday’s away match versus Racing Louisville due to illness
Bay FC: Outside back Alyssa Malonson signs on for 3 more years
Kansas City Current: Recently acquired center back Alana Cook extends for 3 seasons
Orlando Pride: Rookie forward Alex Kerr has been “waived”

NWSL Referee Assignments: August 30 to September 1, 2024

Edit (29-Aug-2024): Added VAR details, which were originally not available.

Friday, August 30th

Thorns vs. Bay FC: Shawn Tehini (VAR: Adorae Monroy)

Saturday, August 31st

Racing vs. Reign: Laura Rodriguez (VAR: Alyssa Nichols)
Dash vs. Royals: Gerald Flores (VAR: Kevin Broadley)

Sunday, September 1st

Courage vs. Current: Elvis Osmanovic (VAR: Laura Rodriguez)
Angel City vs. Red Stars: JC Griggs (VAR: Shawn Tehini)
Pride vs. Gotham FC: Thomas Snyder (VAR: Elijio Arreguin)
Wave vs. Spirit: Anya Voigt (VAR: Shawn Tehini)

Source: PRO