NWSL – Page 2 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL: 2025 USA TV/Streaming Schedule — Week 1, with Referee Assignments

The first weekend of the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League season kicks off on Friday, March 14. All fourteen teams will be in action.

In the USA, four of the seven matches will be televised. In addition to the Saturday ION doubleheader, ABC and ESPN 2 will each show a match, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. All seven matches can be streamed live: Four via a free service (NWSL+ and ION) and three via a paid service (Prime Video and ESPN+).

The top two teams from last season, the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit will both be in action on Friday, with the Pride being featured on the first Prime Video broadcast of the 2025 regular season. Sunday’s lone match will be a SoCal derby between Angel City FC and the San Diego Wave.

NWSL News of Note: Houston Dash sign midfielder Evelina Duljan, Utah Royals reveal two more invitees, Jaime Frias hired as Dash assistant coach

Here are the notables for Monday, February 10th, and Tuesday, February 11th:

The Houston Dash have signed free agent Evelina Duljan to a one-year contract. Duljan was with the Orlando Pride in 2024.
The Utah Royals have at least two more unannounced invitees, based on a preseason match line-up posted via their x.com account. One of those players looks to be defender/forward Itala Gemelli, who finished up her NCAA career last fall with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Dash have also added an assistant coach to Fabrice Gautrat’s staff: Jaime Frias, who was the head coach of the women’s soccer team for the University of Houston since 2022.
Also, the Boston 2026 franchise has placed $25 million in escrow, which is a preliminary financial requirement for the renovation of White Stadium.

NWSL Week in Review: Savy King traded from Bay FC to Angel City, Abuse scandal settlement announced

Topping last week’s notables is the news that the National Women’s Soccer League has agreed to a settlement agreement with the Attorneys General of New York, Illinois, and the District of Columbia. The settlement agreement was a result of a joint investigation into the NWSL in the wake of the player abuse scandal. That scandal eventually led to the Yates Report (PDF) and a separate report produced by the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association (PDF).

In player transactions…

The lead story is the trade of defender Savy King from Bay FC to Angel City for a $300,000 transfer fee that will be paid over two seasons.
Meanwhile, the top story from the East Coast is Gotham FC re-signing free agent forward Midge Purce.
Bay FC signed rookie midfielder Hannah Bebar, who will not immediately join the club as she is finishing a master’s degree at Duke University.
Down in SoCal, Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson is now under contract through the 2028 season.
South African international Linda Motlhalo‘s second stint in the NWSL has ended after she and Racing Louisville agreed to a mutual contract termination.
The Washington Spirit are loaning rookie midfielder Deborah Abiodun and Brazilian forward Tamara Bolt to the USL Super League’s Dallas Trinity for the 2025 calendar year.
Olympique Lyonnais center-back Kysha Sylla is being sent on loan to the Spirit for one year.

In team news, the Portland Thorns have announced a shared performance center with the new WNBA franchise.

Also, the Utah Royals have added two unannounced non-roster invitees.

NWSL News of Note, Internal Moves: Courage trade Haley Hopkins to Current, Yazmeen Ryan inks new deal with Dash, Kelli Hubly joins Bay FC

Leading the intra-NWSL notables for the end of January is the trade of forward Haley Hopkins from the North Carolina Courage to the Kansas City Current.

Meanwhile, United States Women’s National Team forward Yazmeen Ryan has signed a new contract that should keep her with the Houston Dash through the 2027 NWSL season.

In free agency news, center-back Kelli Hubly, who had spent the previous eight years with the Portland Thorns, is staying on the West Coast after signing a two-year deal with Bay FC.

Additionally, the San Diego Wave and Gotham FC both announced the hiring of assistant coaches.

NWSL News of Note, Outgoing Moves: Jenna Nighswonger acquired by Arsenal, Crystal Dunn signs with PSG, Tarciane traded to Lyon, Adriana transfers to Saudi Arabia, Elexa Bahr returns to América de Cali, Victoria Pickett loaned to Toronto

The last days of January and the first days of February saw a pair of major transfers out of the NWSL:

Brazilian center-back Tarciane leaves the Houston Dash for Olympique Lyonnais after just nine months in the NWSL.
Another Brazilian, Adriana, has been traded from the Orlando Pride to Al Qadsiah FC of the Saudi Women’s Premier League.

According to news reports, Lyon paid over $825,000 to the Dash for Tarciane, while Orlando received $500,000 for Adriana.

In United States Women’s National Team player news:

Jenna Nighswonger is officially no longer a Gotham FC player and now wears the red and white of Arsenal.
Another now-former Gotham player, Crystal Dunn, who was released by the club last week, has signed with Paris Saint-Germain, joining two other USWNT players.

Additionally, two clubs sent players on loan for the calendar year:

Forward Elexa Bahr returns to her previous club, Colombia’s América de Cali, for the remainder of her Racing Louisville contract.
The North Carolina Courage have loaned Canadian midfielder Victoria Pickett to AFC Toronto of the Northern Super League.

NWSL News of Note, Incoming Moves: Pride acquires Prisca Chilufya, Angel City adds Miyabi Moriya, Wave invite Penn State’s Jordan Fusco

On the last day of January, two NWSL clubs announced the signing of internationals, both via transfers:

The Orlando Pride have acquired Zambian international Prisca Chilufya from FC Juárez of Liga MX Femenil. Chilufya inked a three-year deal that runs through the 2027 NWSL season.
Meanwhile, Japanese international Miyabi Moriya has transferred to Angel City after ten years with INAC Kobe Leonessa. She is signed for one season and has a club option for 2026.

Earlier this week, the San Diego Wave have apparently added another non-roster invitee: Midfielder Jordan Fusco, who recently wrapped up her NCAA career at Penn State after three seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers.

Additionally, the Houston Dash now have enough non-roster invitees for one side of an 11-v-11 scrimmage after adding six more recent collegiate players.

NWSL: The Houston Dash add six more non-roster invitees

On Saturday, the Houston Dash announced (press release) that they had invited six more recent collegiate players, bringing their total number of current non-roster invitees to 11.

Among the new six are Wisconsin defender Aidan McConnell, who was a United States youth international and played in the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, and Penn State defender Mieke Schiemann, who has German youth international experience and was with Turbine Potsdam II before making the move to NCAA soccer.

Houston’s New Non-Roster Invitees:

Goalkeepers (0): n/a
Defenders (2): Aidan McConnell (Wisconsin, 4 seasons), Mieke Schiemann (Penn State, 4 seasons; DFB Datencenter profile)
Midfielders (3): Kate Colvin (Texas A&M, 5 seasons), Alexis Fowlkes (Houston, 2 seasons; Texas Tech, 2 seasons), Juliet Moore (Houston, 2 seasons; Mississippi State, 2 seasons)
Forwards (1): Makhiya McDonald (Texas A&M, 4 seasons)

Colvin previously trained with the Dash in 2019, while still in high school (news article), when she was with Dash’s youth club.

NWSL: Denver officially introduced as the newest expansion team

On Thursday, January 30th, the National Women’s Soccer League officially announced Denver as the city of its second expansion franchise for the 2026 season. As previously reported, the expansion fee for Denver is $110 million.

The NWSL’s newest franchise is led by Rob Cohen (corporate bio), the Chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group (website), who is the club’s controlling owner and its representative on the NWSL Board of Governors. Mellody Hobson (corporate bio), Co-CEO & President of Ariel Investments (website), will serve as the club’s Alternate Governor. Ariel Investments is the parent company of a new investment firm, Project Level (website), which will have an ownership stake in the Denver club.

Additional investors include siblings Jon-Erik Borgen and Kaia Borgen Moritz, plus their spouses; Dhiren Jhaveri and his wife, Neelima Joshi; and Molly Coors.

Denver’s ownership has plans to build its own soccer stadium as well as a dedicated team training facility.

When Denver and its fellow 2026 expansion franchise, Boston, join the NWSL in 2026, the league will have sixteen clubs.

NWSL News of Note: Chawinga and the Thompson sisters extend through 2028, Gotham signs UCLA’s Sofia Cook, Royals acquire Nuria Rábano, Lily Woodham will remain on loan, Lexi Missimo stays local

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.

NWSL: 2025 Preseason Rosters, Part 7 of 7 — Gotham FC

On Wednesday, Gotham FC became the final club to release its initial roster for the 2025 NWSL preseason. The roster includes no unsigned invitees.

The roster does have a few minor notables:

Jenna Nighswonger has “not yet reported”, likely due to her expected transfer to Arsenal
As expected, 14-year-old Mak Whitham is now officially a permanent signing after being signed to short-term contracts in 2024
Midge Purce remains a free agent

Also, if you missed Tuesday’s news: Crystal Dunn was released from her contract via mutual agreement.