Gotham FC – Page 3 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note, Teams Edition: Billionaire Marc Lasry expected to acquire controlling stake in Courage; Bay FC to build training facility, Current stadium to host 2025 NCAA College Cup

Leading this edition of notables is the news that Steve Malik, the primary owner of the North Carolina Courage is in formal talks to sell a 60% stake in the Courage to billionaire Marc Lasry. Should that deal go through retired NWSL player Lauren Holiday is expected to have “a very active role” in the Courage organization.

Also, Bay FC has announced plans to acquire a lease of land on Treasure Island, in the San Francisco Bay, for a permanent and dedicated training facility, which would also include offices for its sporting operations.

In head coaching news, the Houston Dash have officially parted ways with Fran Alonso who had been mysteriously absent from the team since the end of June.

Other notables include:

Angel City: MLS club Los Angeles FC acquires minority stake
Kansas City Current: CPKC Stadium will host 2025 NCAA Women’s College Cup
Gotham FC: Ali Krieger named Club Ambassador
Portland Thorns: RAJ Sports awarded Portland WNBA Franchise
Racing Louisville’s attendance woes — “We’d love to see more of you”

Angel City’s violation of the salary cap and other league rules is covered in a separate post: Angel City FC fined $200,000 and docked 3 points for violating salary cap and other league rules.

Additionally, SafeSports investigation into former Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames has apparently been closed due to “insufficient” evidence. However, the root cause appears to be a blatantly deficient investigation.

NWSL News of Note, Players Edition: Christine Sinclair announces retirement, Contract renewals include Alyssa Naeher, Ann-Katrin Berger, Julie Doyle, and Tara McKeown

Leading the notables since the last update is the announcement by one of the all-time greats, Christine Sinclair, who will be ending her professional playing career at the end of the season.

Another retiring player, Gotham FC’s Kelley O’Hara was placed on the season-ending injury list due to “chronic knee degeneration”.

In other player-related news, three goalkeepers extended with their clubs: Alyssa Naeher of the Chicago Red Stars, Ann-Katrin Berger of Gotham FC, and Jordan Silkowitz of Bay FC.

Other players re-signing with their clubs include

Orlando Pride: Julie Doyle
Washington Spirit: Tara McKeown
Houston Dash: Sophie Schmidt
Utah Royals: Laura Flynn and Cristina Rogue

Additionally, the Washington Spirit have loaned defender Waniya Hudson to the Dallas Trinity of the USL Super League for the remainder of her contract.

NWSL News of Note: Katie Stengel and Lily Woodham to Crystal Palace, Current sign goalkeeper Katie Fraine

Leading the notables for Friday is the transfer of Katie Stengel from Gotham FC to WSL debutante Crystal Palace FC. Palace also acquired another NWSL player, Welsh international Lily Woodham, from the Seattle Reign on a short loan.

The Kansas City Current bolstered their goalkeeper depth chart with the signing of Katie Fraine, who had a long career in Sweden following a stint with the Atlanta Beat of the now-defunct Women’s Professional Soccer.

Also, as rumored, former San Diego Wave forward Sofia Jakobsson signed with the London City Lionesses.

NWSL News of Note: Cece Kizer signed by Gotham, Alozie and Bike extend, U-20 WWC Players Update, Former Royals Find New Homes

Here are the notables since last Friday’s update:

Gotham FC: Forward Cece Kizer signs through 2025
Houston Dash: Michelle Alozie extends for two seasons
Chicago Red Stars: Jenna Bike extends through 2026
U-20 WWC Players Update
Former Utah Royals find new homes
Gotham FC: Sinead Farrelly honored on Sunday
ESPN: NWSL General Manager survey

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: Olympics Break Catch-Up: Balcer-Howell Swap, Katie Zelem to Angel City, Jess Carter to Gotham, and Lots More

After a seven week break for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the USWNT once again won gold, the second-half of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season gets underway on Friday, August 23rd.

During the Olympic break, most of the teams were involved in player trades, signings, and other roster moves. The most notable (and shocking) trade during the break, just happened on Monday, when the Seattle Reign and Racing Louisville swapped forward Bethany Balcer for Racing’s captain, midfielder Jaelin Howell. Meanwhile, the most surprising signing was not a player, but an interim head coach: Landon Donovan, with the San Diego Wave.

Updates:

August 20th: Racing signs Colombian defender Ángela Barón, NC Courage loan defender Talia Staude to USL Super League side Tampa Bay Sun…

For player-related moves, as well as other developments involving all fourteen NWSL teams, including Angel City FC’s sale to Willow Bay and Bob Iger, keep reading…

2024 Concacaf W Champions Cup: Group Stage Schedule for NWSL Teams with TV and Streaming Details

The inaugural edition of the Concacaf W Champions Cup, the confederation’s first international tournament for professional women’s soccer teams (mostly), gets underway tonight with a play-in match between the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Elite of Canada and Alianza of El Salvador.

With less than four hours to go before the kick-off of the play-in match, CBS Sports released its television and streaming schedule for the group phase on the website formerly known as Twitter.

Three NWSL teams are in the competition: The 2023 champions, Gotham FC; 2023 Shield winners, San Diego Wave; and the Shield runners-up, Portland Thorns. Gotham is in Group A, while the Wave and the Thorns are in Group B.