March Madness is finally here. No, not that silly basketball tournament that once again left your school out (what, just me?). I’m talking real madness: The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. If it’s anything like the start of last year’s edition, you won’t want to miss a minute.
Megan Rapinoe isn’t hanging up the boots just yet. Following the lead of her fiancée, the USWNT icon is sticking around for at least one more season. Rapinoe re-signed a one-year deal to stay with the OL Reign in the NWSL, the club announced on Wednesday.
OL Reign Re-Signs Forward Megan Rapinoe to One-Year Deal
On Sunday afternoon, the N.C. Courage announced they had signed a one-year deal with retired fullback Jaelene Daniels, formerly known as Jaelene Hinkle. Now NWSL fans across the country — especially in North Carolina — are furious over the signing. On the other side of the continent, the Portland Thorns angered their fans for drafting a player with a history of horribly racist, homophobic and transphobic behavior on Twitter.
This is not how the NWSL wanted to end what has already been a shit year for the league.
The 10th annual NWSL Draft was held on Saturday evening, and with the No. 1 overall pick, expansion side San Diego Wave FC selected Stanford defender Naomi Girma, who was U.S. Soccer's 2020 Young Female Player of the Year.
Girma joins a San Diego backline anchored by USWNT veteran Abby Dahlkemper and former Stanford teammate Tegan McGrady. The 21-year-old can also play in midfield, where she may be needed after the club selected a forward, German international Marleen Schimmer out of Grand Canyon University, with its ninth pick in the first round.
As a semi-active goalkeeper and current goalkeeper coach, I pride myself on being knowledgeable about all things goalkeeping. But early on into this project, I realized I was in over my head. My goalkeeper expertise was far outweighed by my previous lack of knowledge on women's soccer.
I couldn't rank the top ten women's goalkeepers because I couldn't even name ten of them. I was humbled and also disappointed in myself, but I set out to rectify the situation by producing the best damn rankings of women's goalkeepers I possibly could.
Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC will start to really fill out their rosters during the NWSL expansion draft on Dec. 16, during which time each team is allowed to draft up to nine players from other preexisting NWSL squads. But neither club is waiting around for the expansion draft or the 2022 NWSL Draft two days later to make moves, with one USWNT player heading west and a potential blockbuster trade in the works ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
Canadian soccer is on the rise — even Forbes is taking notice. Forbes unveiled its annual 30 Under 30 lists on Wednesday, with two Canadian national team players making the grade in the sports category: OL Reign’s Quinn and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies.
With the OL Reign taking center stage at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma on Sunday, all eyes were on the attacking riches of the No. 2 seed in the NWSL playoffs, including the USWNT duo of Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle, France’s Eugénie Le Sommer, Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsán and Wales’ Jess Fishlock.
They were collectively outplayed and humbled by the Washington Spirit’s 19-year-old sensation Trinity Rodman and 22-year-old attacker Ashley Sanchez.
There was a large sense during the USWNT’s last two friendlies against South Korea that the team was growing stale.
Having not named an outright NWSL champion since the North Carolina Courage in 2019, it’s time to get down to business with the 2021 NWSL playoffs beginning on Sunday. It’s win or go home from start to finish, and the final at Louisville’s Lynn Family Stadium should provide a spectacular setting for the final on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Can Carli Lloyd lead Gotham to glory on her swan song? Can anyone stop that OL Reign attack? Is this the beginning of a Portland Thorns dynasty? What about a side like North Carolina or Chicago upsetting the odds?