North Carolina Courage

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.  

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. 

There was a large sense during the USWNT’s last two friendlies against South Korea that the team was growing stale.

Just give Trinity Rodman a call-up for November’s USWNT friendlies against Australia now. She’s earned it. 

To much fanfare (maybe too much?), Carli Lloyd played her final USWNT match last week. At the club level, she’s got at least one more match left before she fully retires. When is Carli Lloyd's last game? That depends on her and her Gotham FC teammates as the NWSL playoffs begin Sunday. 

The National Women's Soccer League named 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup chief executive Marla Messing as its interim CEO on Monday, after allegations of sexual misconduct engulfed the league.

With just two weeks remaining in the NWSL regular season, the North Carolina Courage welcomed NJ/NY Gotham FC to WakeMed Soccer Park on Sunday afternoon in a match with huge playoff implications.

After a scoreless first half, Midge Purce got the opener for Gotham in the 54th-minute before adding a second 10 minutes later. The 26-year-old forward is now her team’s leading scorer on the season with eight goals.