Washington Spirit – Page 2 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note: Wave sign UCLA’s Quincy McMahon, Thorns acquire Brazilian Daiane, Spirit re-sign Kaylie Collins, Courage CSO departs, “Gotham FC Alliance” announced

On Friday, two clubs announced additions: The San Diego Wave have signed UCLA defender Quincy McMahon, and the Portland Thorns have acquired Brazilian center-back Daiane via a transfer from CR Flamengo.

Additionally, the Washington Spirit have retained goalkeeper Kaylie Collins for the 2025 season.

In team news, the North Carolina Courage’s front office is without a Chief Soccer Officer after the departure of Curt Johnson.

Also, Gotham FC have announced a “Gotham FC Alliance” program for youth clubs which will involve player identification and development opportunities in order “to create a professional player pathway”.

NWSL: End-Of-Season Roster Updates for All 14 Clubs (10-Dec-2024)

On Tuesday, December 10th, all 14 NWSL teams published their initial offseason rosters. This post includes the announced roster for each club, in a standardized format.

The lists for each club are organized as follows:

Currently Signed: All players signed to a contract (for at least part of 2025) but not presently loaned to another club.
Out on Loan: Signed players that have current loan agreements.
Loan Expired: Players on loan from other clubs who have returned to their home club.
In Negotiations: Free agent players that the club acknowledges as still negotiating.
Free Agents: Players with expiring contracts that have not been retained and/or with options that have not been exercised.
Retired: Players that have announced their retirements from professional club soccer.

NWSL News of Note, Players Edition: Claire Emslie, Penelope Hocking, Maddie Moreau, Hanna Glas, and Hannah Stambaugh all extend; Carrie Lawrence retires; Ouleye Sarr on SEI List

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.

Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang pledges to give $30 million over five years to U.S. Soccer in support of women’s soccer development

On November 19th, in a joint press conference with U.S. Soccer, Michele Kang, majority owner of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, announced that she has pledged to give a total of $30 million over the next five years to U.S. Soccer. Kang’s pledged gift has three stated purposes:

First, to double the number of youth women’s national team camps.
Second, to ramp up women’s youth talent identification by expanding U.S. Soccer’s digital talent identification platform.
Third, to double the number of licensed female coaches and female referees.

Beyond the stated purposes of the pledged gift, there were not much details about how the $30 million will be spent.

The first stated purpose of “doubl[ing] the number of” women’s youth “national team camps” from their current level is noteworthy because the number of WYNT camps held in 2024 is about half the number of camps compared to several years ago.

2024 NWSL Championship — Broadcast Details and Referee Assignments

On Saturday, November 23rd, the 2024 postseason of the National Women’s Soccer League concludes with the NWSL Championship match between the Orlando Pride, who won the 2024 NWSL Shield as the team with the best overall record in the league, and the Washington Spirit, who finished second in the table.

In the United States, the 2024 NWSL Championship will be nationally televised by CBS, with pre-match broadcast coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Kick-off is slated for 8:14 p.m. ET. Additional pre-match and post-match coverage will be on the free CBS Sports Golazo Network streaming channel.

Alyssa Nichols will have the whistle for the Championship. She has refereed NWSL matches since 2020 and earned her FIFA badge in 2023.

The match will be played in Kansas City, Missouri, at CPKC Stadium, which is the home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current.

USWNT News of Note: Lily Yohannes commits to the USA, Sophia Smith ankle injury update, Trinity Rodman goes the full 120, Tierna Davidson returns to Gotham’s line-up

This post was originally going to be centered around fitness updates on a few players, but stop the presses… Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes, who does not turn eighteen until next June, has chosen to represent the United States.

In not-so-good news, Portland Thorns head coach Rob Gale made some comments regarding Sophia Smith’s recent ankle injury that raises the question of whether she should be called up for the USWNT’s upcoming European friendlies against England and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, two Olympic gold medalists who were left off of the USWNT’s roster for its trio of October friendlies due to injury issues played full matches over the weekend: Gotham FC center-back Tierna Davidson returned for her first match in almost a month, while forward Trinity Rodman played the full 120 minutes in the Washington Spirit’s extra-time victory over Bay FC.

NWSL News of Note: Chicago Red Stars rebrand; Leroux, DiBernardo, McNabb, and Brown extend; Lacasse and Ordóñez on SEI List; Montefusco retires

Among the notables that happened during the international break…

The Chicago Red Stars drop “Red” from the club’s name and introduced a new crest.
Four players signed new contracts: Sydney Leroux of Angel City, Vanessa DiBernardo of the Kansas City Current, Kristen McNabb of the San Diego Wave, and Ryanne Brown of the Seattle Reign.
Also, Megan Montefusco (née Oyster) of the Orlando Pride officially announced her retirement. Montefusco was twice capped by the senior USWNT.
Two players, Cloé Lacasse (ACL/meniscus) of the Utah Royals and the Houston Dash’s Diana Ordóñez (shoulder surgery) were moved to the Season-Ending Injury List.
In coaching news, Utah Royals interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets is no longer “interim” after signing a two-year contract.
The NWSL Disciplinary Committee announced additional match suspensions for Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila and Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi.

Additionally, the league announced that Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge will be performing the National Anthem at the 2024 NWSL Championship in Kansas City, Missouri.

NWSL News of Note: Andi Sullivan out with torn ACL, Frankie Tagliaferri leaves Royals, New role for Karina LeBlanc, Cleveland rumors

This week, the Washington Spirit placed midfielder Andi Sullivan on the season-ending injury list after she suffered a torn ACL in the Spirit’s match last Sunday against the Orlando Pride. In other player news, midfielder Frankie Tagliaferri is no longer with the Utah Royals.

Also, Portland Thorns general manager Karina LeBlanc will transition to a new position with RAJ Sports, which owns both the Portland Thorns as well as Portland’s new WNBA franchise.

Additionally, on Wednesday, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman visited Cleveland, meeting with the Cleveland Pro Soccer organization and local leaders.

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: 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