USA

If 2016 was an up-and-down year, full of injuries, player returns and off-field disturbances, then 2017 may very well be about building a new direction for the NWSL’s Seattle Reign. 

Former 2014 league MVP Kim Little was transferred to Arsenal, captain Keelin Winters has retired and there are still questions about Hope Solo’s future. Now the club has announced that Kendall Fletcher, a defensive starter, will not return to the team for the upcoming season. 

On Thursday the NWSL held their fifth college draft in Los Angeles, California. In a week that saw two of the ten franchises change hands to new ownership, the focus shifted back to the players. 

Notable events and stats from the draft: 

The Boston Breakers had five of the first eleven picks in the draft, as they look to rebuild their last-place team from 2016. 

USC had three players taken in the first round, and five overall from the total of 40 draft picks. They claimed the school’s second national title in 2016. 

Christian Pulisic scored another goal for Borussia Dortmund in a friendly over the Bundesliga winter break, notching the opener in his sides 3-0 victory over Belgium’s Standard Liege.

For Pulisic, it was his second goal in two games following his strike against PSV Eindhoven last weekend. 

Apparently January is the time of year to purchase a NWSL club, in case you had been considering it. Following Monday’s announcement that the Western New York Flash had been purchased and relocated to North Carolina, the league announced yet another club being sold. This time, the two-time NWSL champions FC Kansas City were getting a new owner. 

U.S. Soccer has announced that they will host the second annual SheBelieves Cup. From March 1-7, 2017, four out of the five top ranked teams in the world will travel to the northeast region of the U.S. to compete. Germany, France and England will join the USA in the most elite international tournament of the year. USA is currently ranked number one in the world, with Germany coming in second, France in third and England in fifth. 

Carli Lloyd had quite the year before adding another international award to her name. Early in 2016, Lloyd released her autobiography When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey To The Top Of The Soccer World. It was a book that reflected on her family falling-out as well as the struggles and sacrifices she encountered as she rose to the top. 

As the NWSL moves toward the start of the 2017 season, the Seattle Reign have announced another signing. Typically, that is standard news for this time of the year. However, with the new player being a keeper, and looking at the rest of the roster, where does that leave Hope Solo’s future? 

Carli Lloyd has won her second FIFA Women's Player of the Year award in as many years. It's a tremendous accomplishment, despite the fact that the award appeared to have been chosen by folks who don't follow/watch a whole lot of women's soccer. 

Lloyd is certainly one of the best and most recognizable players in the world. However, there are other, less-recognizable players who maybe deserved the award more.

Christian Pulisic’s 2017 is off to a fine start after the 18-year-old American scored in Borussia Dortmund’s friendly victory over PSV Eindhoven during the Bundesliga’s winter break.

Yeah, it was only a friendly, but scoring a goal against Champions League opposition still probably means more than taking it to the Colorado Rapids. 

Pulisic scored off a Andre Schurrle cutback for Dortmund’s fourth goal in their 4-1 victory.