The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup isn’t over yet, but the 2022 NWSL regular season is upon us. While four teams still compete for the first trophy of the season, expansion club Angel City FC hosts the N.C. Courage at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday night (live on CBSSN) to open what is sure to be an enthralling campaign. That means it’s time for some NWSL predictions. 

To say 2021 was a bad year for women’s soccer in the U.S. would be an understatement of epic proportions. In October, The Athletic detailed horrifying allegations of verbal abuse and sexual coercion by N.C. Courage coach Paul Riley, sending shockwaves through the NWSL.

Soccer is coming to the Daytona International Speedway.

Two teams from the National Women's Soccer League — the Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville FC — will play a match on the infield of the iconic raceway on July 3 as part of the inaugural Daytona Soccer Fest.

Fresh off her mini Twitter feud with Ashlyn Harris — nothing wrong with adding a little spice to the NWSL Challenge Cup group stage — USWNT and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman had a goal and two assists in her side's 4-1 victory over the Orlando Pride at Audi Field (not some amateur shit high school field) on Sunday.

The Spirit opened the scoring in the 43rd minute after Ashley Hatch left Rodman's low cross into the area for Ashley Sanchez.

After coming off injured in the 31st minute of the Orlando Pride's 1-0 NWSL Challenge Cup defeat to North Carolina on Saturday, six-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta confirmed the worst on her Instagram account Monday morning — the Brazilian legend has suffered a knee ligament injury and will undergo surgery. 

Marta said she'll be out "for a while," but the 36-year-old also said "now it's time to focus on my recovery to get back to doing what I love most, representing my country, my people and my team."

Editor’s Note: See update at bottom.

The Orlando Pride are, by their very name, a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community. Many of the Pride’s most prominent players have been gay, and Exploria Stadium includes 49 rainbow-colored seats as a memorial to the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting. But apparently, the word “gay” is too political for the team.

The North Carolina Courage are in full-on rebuild mode in the post-Paul Riley era. Lynn Williams is the latest star leaving the storied NWSL club after seven seasons with the Courage/Western New York Flash; the team announced a blockbuster trade to send the USWNT forward to Kansas City on Monday morning.

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.