This week, we present part 1 of our annual 2022 NWSL regular season wrap-up, in which we look at the six teams who made the playoffs, while next week, we look at each of the six teams who missed the playoffs; this week we also look at NWSL league news, involving an interesting player signing by the league itself.
2022 NWSL Regular Season Review—Part 1
Six teams made the NWSL playoffs in 2022: Portland Thorns, OL Reign, San Diego Wave, Houston Dash, the Kansas City Current and Chicago Red Stars. Last season, Portland, OL Reign, Chicago, Washington, Gotham FC and North Carolina made the postseason, so expansion side San Diego, along with surprisingly consistent Houston (for their first playoff spot ever in their 9-year history) and on-fire Kansas City, are in at the expense of Washington, Gotham FC and North Carolina. As of September 20—with the top six having two or three remaining games—the point spread between first place San Diego (34 points) and sixth place Chicago (30 points) was only 4 points, the same as the gap between sixth place Chicago and seventh place Angel City FC (26 points). The top six pulled away from the rest of the field around the second half of the season, with only Angel City (finishing with 29 points) hanging around the playoff spots throughout the campaign while North Carolina Courage (ending with 31 points) making a late season charge riding on their potent scoring but fell just short of a berth.
The teams finishing third through fifth this season were even on points (36) and were seeded into the playoffs based on goal difference.
NWSL Regular Season Standings (as of October 3, 2022)—Part 1
OL Reign (11-7-4, 40 points, First)
The Reign celebrated their return to playing in downtown Seattle, after three years in nearby Tacoma, with their third NWSL Shield (regular season title) following their 2014 and 2015 titles (also under head coach Laura Harvey. They defeated the Orlando Pride 3-0 on October 1 in front of their season best home crowd at Lumen Field of 10,746 (also home to the MLSSeattle Sounders and NFL Seattle Seahawks) for a stand-alone NWSL game—they drew 27,248 for a doubleheader against the Thorns last season while the Sounders played the Portland Timbers afterwards. Some other results went their way as Portland surrendered a 3-1 lead late to tie at NJ/NY Gotham FC and then Racing Louisville scored a late goal to defeat Kansas City 1-0, so the Reign had the chance to win the Shield, which they did with their win over Orlando, pipping the Thorns by one point (40 vs. 39).
The Reign players also earned $20,000 for finishing first as part of the league’s sponsorship with CarMax (a national used car retailer). The Reign came home to Seattle for the Orlando game after winning three straight games on the road (in North Carolina, New Jersey/New York and Houston) and their 11 regular season wins was the most in the league. The Reign entered the playoffs on a nine-game unbeaten run (only 1 tie). Defensively, goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce tied the Portland Thorns FC’s Bella Bixby for most shutouts this season with nine and was a revelation this season. Before the final regular season game, long-time defender Lauren Barnes told the media, “I think the three games away on the road were going to be really hard and I’m really proud of the team for coming out with nine points and setting us up for where we are heading into this weekend. But yeah, obviously it’s a relief [to clinch a top two spot and a first-round bye, but we’re not going to take this game [against Orlando on October 1] lightly at all. We’ve talked about it all week and pretty much our mentality this whole year is to be ruthless and I think the road trip gives us confidence and momentum going into this game.”
On September 17 in Seattle, OL Reign (8-4-7, 31 points, 5th place) showed tremendous character on the road, beating the North Carolina Courage (7-8-4, 25 points, 8th place) 2-1, after initially going down 1-0 in the sixth minute through a goal by their rookie Brazilian forward Kerolin. With this win, OL Reign picked up a crucial three points and their first ever win in Cary, North Carolina. The Reign found an equalizer in the 11th minute through U.S. international Rose Lavelle and took the lead in the 26th minute through U.S. international Megan Rapinoe from a precise free-kick past the near post. In the Reign’s last four NWSL road games at that point, they had produced three comeback wins.
Bethany Balcer and Megan Rapinoe tied for the team lead in goals with 7 goals each with Rose Lavelle on 5 and Wales international Jess Fishlock had 4 goals and 2 assists.
On September 20, goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce talked about her adjustment to the NWSL, “I mean, it’s been such a growth experience for me this season, especially coming out of France [where she spent two seasons at Stade de Reims], adjusting to this league, adjusting to this team, learning their game plan and how we play…and what they expect from a starting goalkeeper, having to learn that right off the bat. [I’m] super grateful for the coaching staff for being patient with me and definitely trusting me throughout this whole season (See more about Tullis-Joyce in: The Week in Women’s Football: 2022 NWSL Regular Season review – Tribal Football).
In mid-August, the Reign signed defender Jodi Ulkekul, who was previously signed as a National Team Replacement Player (NTRP) in July, to a contract through the end of the 2022 season. Ulkekul previously played professionally with CD Castellón in Spain after spending two seasons with AS Roma in Italy.
Unfortunately, she then went on the season-ending injury list the next month. Laura Harvey told the media on September 20, when discussing her loss and the impact that injuries have had on her squad selection, “I mean, we’ve done so well all year without having big, big injuries and then, obviously, [midfielder] Angelina went down playing for Brazil and then we got the unfortunate news about [forward and U.S. international] Tobin [Heath—out for the season] and…[defender] Sinclaire [Miramontez] and…. [forward] Jodi [Ulkekul]. I think it’s always heartbreaking when players get injuries that are going to keep them out for a sustained amount of time and I think we all felt it for Jodi because her journey has been like a fairytale story, really—a local kid [from suburban Sammamish and who played collegiately at Gonzaga University across the state in Spokane] just wanting to have a training opportunity, comes to training, gets a national team replacement contract, trains really well, [plays] great with the team and then we sign her right before we go to the Women’s Cup [international tournament that the Reign won in Louisville in August] because she deserved it and she gets some minutes in that. Again, really getting up to the speed with the team and then just an unfortunate one where, yeah, just in training and unfortunately, those things happen and touch wood, they don’t happen again.
“But yeah, we were heartbroken for her, but she handled it like a true pro, honestly. She’ll be back with the team, I’m sure, when the time’s right in her recovery and I think she knows that we’re all there for her because, yeah, it was a tough one to take, for sure.”
Note: In early August, OL Reign placed midfielder Angelina (22) on the season-ending injury list. On July 30, she suffered an injury to her right knee during the Copa América Femenine Final for Brazil; the midfielder made six starts in eight appearances for OL Reign in 2022, with one assist. Angelina played brightly for Brazil but her impact in her two seasons in Seattle has been, quite frankly, minimal. She could move onto a club in Europe at some point in 2023, particularly if she is able to return in time to play on Brazil’s WWC team next summer for Swedish native head coach Pia Sundhage.
In mid-August the OL Reign sent forward Ally Watt to the Orlando Pride in exchange for $125,000 in Allocation Money. Watt was initially acquired by OL Reign in a trade with North Carolina at the end of 2020. Since then, the 25-year-old made three starts in 18 appearances in regular-season play for the Reign.
Portland Thorns (10-9-3, 39 points, Second)
On September 21, Portland became the first team this season to clinch a NWSL playoff berth with a 3-0 home win over Racing Louisville, with goals from Sophia Smith, Sam Coffey and Olivia Moultrie within a nine-minute span, to secure three points and a shutout. Thorns FC have qualified for the playoffs in six consecutive regular seasons. It also marks the eighth time Portland has qualified for the playoffs in nine NWSL regular seasons (2020 was cancelled because of COVID)—the most of any team in the league.
Portland had the second highest number of ties in the league (9) behind the Washington Spirit (10 ties). The Thorns did go 11 games unbeaten (6 wins and 5 ties) from late May until the second week of August, until falling to North Carolina 3-1 on the road on August 24. This was the second-longest unbeaten streak in club history, falling short by one game of the club record 12 games unbeaten during the 2016 season. This loss to NC was their first loss since May 21, 2022. The loss was also the Thorns FC’s first on the road in 2022 and their first loss on the road in NWSL regular season play since Sept. 25, 2021.
Portland’s offense was stellar all season and led the league in goals with 49—and were third best in goals allowed (24) behind the Reign (19) and the Wave (21). Fourteen players scored for the Thorns this season, the most in a single season to score a goal in club history. Yazmeen Ryan had five assists, finishing in a tie for third with Washington’s Ashley Sanchez and became the fifth different player in club history to record five or more assists in a single season, joining Tobin Heath (2018 – 7, 2016 – 10), Meghan Klingenberg (2017 – 6), Vero Boquete (2014 – 6) and Alex Morgan (2013 – 5).
Included in their 11-game unbeaten run was an incredible 2-1 come-from-behind win in Washington on August 10, as Portland scored two goals in the final seven minutes. Canadian international Christine Sinclair leveled the match with her fifth goal of the season in the 84th minute, while Morgan Weaver notched the game-winning goal in 92nd minute (she finished the season with 7 goals in 20 matches). Also, during that streak, on August 5 at home Portland played a 3-3 draw with North Carolina as Sophia Smith scored twice in front of 17,139. After scoring a brace in their last regular season game on the road with Gotham (3-3) Smith finished the season with fourteen goals—one behind the Wave’s Alex Morgan (15)–and set a new Thorns FC single-season record, surpassing the previous record of 13 goals set by Lindsey Horan during the 2018 season.
Former Thorns player Rhian Wilkinson was a fantastic selection as head coach and led Portland to a first-round bye in the playoffs. New players Hina Sugita from Japan and rookie Sam Coffey (ex-Penn State University)—the latter being selected to the full national team for the CONCACAF W-Championship Finals and friendlies against Nigeria—were hugely impactful. Veteran defender Kelli Hubly (28), in her sixth season with Portland, appeared in her 50th career NWSL regular season match during the season.
San Diego Wave (10-6-6, 36 points; Third)
Of the two California expansion teams for 2022, Angel City in Los Angeles received more attention for their ownership group, five figure season ticket holders and out-of-the-box marketing and sponsorship agreements but it was the San Diego Wave—led by former U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis in the role of Team President and former England national team player Casey Stoney (with 130 caps) as head coach–that were being raved about during the season due to their almost start to finish run at the top of the table. Though they finished in a three-way tie for third, they were only four points below the top of the table. San Diego, Houston and KC all had identical 10-6-6 records for 36 points, but San Diego finished third on a better goal different (+11), with the Dash fourth (+8) and the Current fifth (+0). Alex Morgan had a Player of the Season year with 15 goals in 17 games. Casey Stoney is my vote hands down for Coach of the Year and the NWSL Team of the Year (voted by the media) should include Morgan and defender Naomi Girma, while midfielders Emily Van Egmond and Taylor Kornieck were hugely impressive in the team’s first season.
Off the field, after playing most of their games at the University of San Diego’s stadium (6,000), in mid-September they moved into their new home of Snapdragon Stadium, which had hosted college American football a few weeks before, and sold out the 34,000-capacity stadium, setting the NWSL single game attendance record, despite the fact the popular singer Bad Bunny was performing in the San Diego Padre’s baseball stadium the same evening. At that game, the Wave defeated their rivals from two hours up the I-5, Angel City FC (1-0), when teenager Jaedyn Shaw (17) scored the winner. Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan crucially saved a penalty kick to record another shutout (her eighth of the season and only one behind league leader Bella Bixby of Portland and Phallon Tullis-Joyce of OL Reign). The 34,000 attendance is second only to the WUSA opener in 2001 in Washington against the Bay Area CyberRays, with 34,148 coming for women’s professional soccer’s first game in the U.S., but the Wave crowd was almost 7,000 more than the previous NWSL record of the Portland Thorns vs. the North Carolina Courage in 2019 (25,218).
After the first game at Snapdragon Stadium, Stoney told the media, “We weren’t great, but I think when you can, not play well and still win, that’s the sign of a good team. This was a pressure moment some of these players have never faced before and I probably need to take that into account. The huge crowds and big build up. To be honest, I wanted this game out of the way…It feels incredible to win for our fans and as someone who has been involved in this game for 30 years, I’ve waited for this moment. To be able to do this without another crest, like in England how we rely on Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to gain big crowds, but this is San Diego Wave, eight months into existence and to pull a crowd like this, it just shows what San Diego is as a community and we want to keep them coming back because the potential for this team and community to keep growing is huge. This was such a momentous occasion for women’s soccer and I’m just so pleased to be a part of it.”
U.S. Women’s National Team forward Alex Morgan added, “I just want to focus on the fans and the fact that this organization has the ambition of selling out this stadium the first game we were here. We did that. That’s a testament to the ambition of this club and what we are looking to do in the coming years. If this is year one, there is so much to look forward to. To get the win here tonight, grind it out, and have an incredible save by Kailen [Sheridan] at the end to keep us on top was what we needed. To have the fans behind us from minute one to the last minute was incredible. Such a memorable moment for all of us….To think there wasn’t a team in California before this year is just crazy. Seeing the fan base with Wave FC and Angel City FC is incredible. This rivalry is just going to keep heating up. It’s just different knowing that the game in the U.S. is growing so much. …It was such a beautiful moment. To see soccer in California not exist before this season for many years, to see San Diego embracing us as a women’s professional soccer team so quickly in the way that they did it was just a great moment. It felt like we were home and had 32,000 fans behind us from the first minute and it was a great moment to enjoy and remember.”
The Wave added forward Jackie Altschuld to their regular season roster for the rest of the season on August 25. Altschuld signed with the Wave originally as a part-time national team replacement in July. Altschuld said, “It’s honestly a dream come true. To be in this environment has been absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have gotten here without my teammates and everyone on the coaching staff. Everyone has pushed and challenged me to become a better player every day, and I’m just excited to do whatever it takes to help the team achieve our goal.” Altschuld grew up in Los Angeles and played at the University of San Diego and then with UMF Tindastóll in Iceland, where she played for three seasons. Wave coach Casey Stoney said, “Jackie has been in our environment for a few months now and has worked hard with an incredible mentality and is very deserving of being added to our roster.” Altschuld’s signing shows that there are different ways to make a NWSL roster, even via a mid-season temporary or international player replacement spot.
Houston Dash (10-6-6, 36 points, Fourth)
The Dash made a number of signings during the summer and successfully integrated their new (and second) interim head coach of the season, after long-time Dash/Dynamo organization coach James Clarkson (yet another head coach in the NWSL who was suspended because of complaints of discrimination, harassment and abuse) gave way to assistant coach Sarah Lowdon as the first interim head coach—who kept the team in the playoff race—and now Juan Carlos Amoros from Real Betis in Spain as the current interim head coach (assisted by Lowdon); with all the turmoil the team could have fallen apart like a cheap paper towel but this veteran side worked hard for each other and have made the regular season playoffs for the first time ever by finishing fourth, guaranteeing a home game for the first round.
Houston went unbeaten in their first five games under their latest interim head coach Juan Carlos Amoros (with 4 wins and 1 tie) starting in mid-July. In the 0-0 draw at home against Racing Louisville on August 12, Houston celebrated Rachel Daly’s seven-year career with the club at halftime (see below) after the English international was transferred to Aston Villa FC earlier in the week. The Dash posted their fifth clean sheet of the season [all by Jane Campbell in goal, who finished the season with six] who faced no shots on target.
In Amoros’ first game in charge—a 4-1 win over the Red Stars on July 16—recently acquired English international (with one cap) Ebony Salmon scored a hat trick. Salmon had 8 goals in 8 games at one point for Houston and finished with 9 goals in 12 games for a tie for sixth among league scorers with Washington’s Ashley Hatch. She wasn’t starting for Louisville—struggling again near the bottom of the table this season—which is puzzling—particularly given that she scored six times in 20 games for Racing in 2020. Salmon fell short of the Dash’s single season scoring record of 11 goals (from 20 games) set by Kealia (Ohai) Watt in 2016. Canadian 2020 Olympic Games winner Nichelle Prince had 5 goals in 18 games while international teammate Sophie Schmidt had 3 goals in 18 games.
On August 7, in their 2-1 win away against OL Reign, it was an important game for the team’s confidence as Dash forward Ebony Salmon scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season in the span of two minutes as the Dash rallied from a 1-0 deficit. Also, Houston’s 2-1 victory at Lumen Field was their third under interim head coach Juan Carlos Amorós and he became the first manager in league history to win their first three league matches at the helm of a team. The road victory snapped a 10-game winless streak on the road against OL Reign as the Dash entered the game with a 0-8-2 record on the road against the Reign. Juan Carlos Amorós commented on the important victory, “The team was able to overcome a massive challenge and display their character. The players trust in the game plan, for me that is the main takeaway. It was outstanding how they kept working and how they were able to win in a pitch that no has done this season. So, we have proof of character, another step forward in the direction that we really want to go.”
Amoros discussed specifically his team’s rally in the second half, “Both of those goals probably come in a quick transition. Certainly we will look at that, the main thing is how you react to those. I read recently that only 15 percent of the games are won after you go behind in the league. Doing it twice in a row is practically impossible [they defeated Gotham FC 4-2 after going behind 1-0 on the road on July 31]. It shows the character and the belief this group of players have. Whatever problems are thrown at them, they are able to react, believe and trust. So, I want to look at the bright side, which is how we reacted. We definitely will look at that first half because we weren’t ourselves.”
On his third consecutive win since joining the Dash, Amoros said, “I was chatting with Jane (Campbell) and Katie (Naughton), they were saying ‘Coach, this is a great win for you.’ And I said ‘t’s a great win for us.’ That’s how I believe things are and how things should be. I’m extremely proud of the players and staff. They’ve worked incredibly hard on these long trips on the road. On a personal level for me, I didn’t know I was the first coach to achieve that, buy obviously it is a moment of pride. [As] coaches, we take a lot of time away from our families preparing a lot of things not only when you win, also when you lose.”
Ebony Salmon commented on the second half rally against the Reign, “As a team, we came in at halftime and we knew it wasn’t good enough. We knew from our previous performances that we are a lot better team and we had to come out and turn it around. We went into today’s game knowing we needed the three points. Everyone found it within themselves to push more and get more. We ended up getting the penalty and the second goal.”
When asked about her six goals in her last three games, Salmon said “Throughout my career, I have [always] scored goals. One thing I focused on, especially after my move to Houston, was consistency, which I am starting to find with scoring. From now and till the end of the season, I need to find that. Obviously, I am not going to score every game but as many games as I can.”
Dash forward and Mexican international Maria Sánchez commented on Amoros’ short time in charge, “He’s been great for us so far. We’ve been training with him for about two weeks now. We had a break during that stretch and then it’s been a tough start for him because he didn’t have all the players here with the internationals being gone. He’s responded very well to that and I mean, he’s won three games. So far so good.”
The biggest move by the club was the transfer of English international and 2022 Women’s EURO winner Rachel Daly to Aston Villa in England. The move was not unexpected as Daly played every match as an outside back on a team that had four shutouts in six games on England’s Women’s EURO winning side this summer and is expected to be on England’s WWC side next summer. She also represented Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In England, she will have less travel for international games and camps while also being home after more than a decade in the States for college and with the Dash. She should also be better place for sponsorship opportunities that the England squad members are being inundated with; Chloe Kelly signed a 2 million Pounds (US$ 2.4 Million) sponsorship deal with Land Rover.
Dash president Jessica O’Neill said, “Rachel has been an integral part of the Houston Dash for seven years and she will be missed not only as a world-class footballer, but also as a driven and passionate leader on and off the pitch. This transfer will result in Rachel being much closer to her loved ones, a request we wanted to make every effort to honor. We’re deeply grateful for the commitment and loyalty she’s shown to this city and wish her the best in her next adventure.”
Daly (30) was drafted by Houston with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft, finished with 116 appearances for the club in all competitions and led the team to the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, the first and only trophy the Dash has ever won. She scored 42 goals and added12 assists for the team across seven campaigns in the NWSL.
Daly said, “My time in Houston has been a journey. Not many people can say they have played at the same club for seven years. I am honored to have worn orange for that length of time. I absolutely love this club and the city of Houston. I have created memories that will last a lifetime. I feel happy knowing that I am leaving this club in a much better place than when I arrived. I can’t wait to see the future success of the Houston Dash. I want to thank everyone, from the bottom of my heart.”
In other transfer news, Jamaican national team player Tiernny Wiltshire signed a contract for the rest of the season on August 25; she originally joined the team this season as a trialist. The New Jersey native played collegiately at Rutgers University. The forward was first called up by the Reggae Girlz in September 2019.
The Dash acquired French international forward Valérie Gauvin (26) from the North Carolina Courage mid-season. Gauvin, a native of Sainte-Clotilde, Reunion in Africa, represented France at the 2019 Women’s World Cup and has scored 17 times in 37 appearances since 2015 for Les Bleus. Houston sent $25,000 in Allocation Money to North Carolina and a conditional 2024 second round draft pick. Gauvin joined the Courage in March after signing from Everton FC, where she scored five goals and tallied an assist in 15 appearances for the FA Super League club in 2021. She spent six seasons with Montpellier of D1 Féminine, the top French women’s soccer league, and helped them qualify for the 2017-2018 UEFA Women’s Champions League. She did not play in any games for the Courage and totaled 65 minutes in three matches after her move to the Dash.
In a big trade to bolster their defense for the end of season run and playoff games, the Dash acquired defender Caprice Dydasco from NJ/NY Gotham FC on August 19th. Houston will send $120,000 dollars in allocation money to Gotham in exchange for Dydasco. The Dash will send additional allocation money up to $30,000 to the club, pending on if performance conditions are met. Dydasco made 13 starts and 13 appearances for Gotham during the 2022 regular season. Last season, Dydasco was named the 2021 NWSL Defender of the Year and named to the NWSL Best XI and was nominated for an ESPY in 2022. Dydasco (29) has been with Gotham since the 2019 season and made 61 regular season appearances. Prior to her time in New Jersey, she played three seasons with the Washington Spirit from 2016 to 2018. The Spirit selected Dydasco No. 19 overall in the 2015 NWSL Draft. Originally from Hawaii, she played collegiately at UCLA.
That same week, the Dash sent defender Haley Hanson to the Orlando Pride, receiving $75,000 dollars in allocation money as well as a 2023 NWSL Draft second round pick which the club acquired from OL Reign. Hanson was drafted No. 7 overall by the Dash in the 2018 NWSL Draft. Hanson has made 80 regular season appearances and 70 starts, tallying one goal and three assists while in Houston and 100 appearances (including Challenge Cups) in total over five seasons. Hanson played collegiately at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 2014 to 2017 as a midfielder. With Nebraska, Hanson appeared in 75 matches and made 72 starts, scoring 19 goals and recording 7 assists.
On October 1, the Dash defeated the Washington Spirit 2-1 and clinched their first playoff berth, after falling just short in 2021 after a late season losing skein. After the game, Canadian Olympic Gold Medal Winner Nichelle Prince talked about the team’s celebration after the match, “It was so cool, the Dash have been working hard to get to the playoffs and we have finally done it. We deserve to celebrate tonight and we will get back to work later next week. Tonight, we are celebrating all the hard work we’ve put in this season….It’s [making the playoffs] been weighing on us for a bit, and we know this has been our goal and how big it would be for this club, each player and this team, just to get to the playoffs. We are all just so excited that it’s finally happened.”
She discussed how the team overcame coaching changes and turmoil to make history this season, “Throughout my career here, I’ve gone through a few coaches, different styles of play and many different teammates. We were finally able to pull it together this year, which wasn’t easy. We had a coaching change at the beginning and in the middle of the season, and everyone had just bought in, and we all had the same goal. We all wanted to make it to the playoffs and do something special this year. It was hard, and it took us starting from scratch and trying to listen to Juan (Carlos Amoros) and the new things he was implementing to the team, and that can sometimes be difficult. Every player has done so well to just buy in and do what it takes for the team.”
Off the field, the Houston Dash signed United Airlines as their official airline partner (their first), which should enhance the player travel experience, which has been a sore point among players throughout the league for years. The Dash will have access to United Traveler Amenities, which will facilitate travel to all road games and provide a premier travel experience. Houston Dash president Jessica O’Neill explained, “As professional athletes who are frequently away from home, the ease and comfort of travel is key to performance. This partnership with United will elevate the Dash player experience and their support is vital to our success. We’ll continue to put players first on a consistent basis while aligning with brands that believe in our vision.” As we sometimes see in sports leagues in America, Houston was able to do this agreement even though rival Delta Airlines is an official sponsor of the league.
Kansas City Current (10-6-6, 36 points, Fifth)
The Current has been one of the hugely positive stories in the NWSL this season, both on and off the field. After struggling in their first year in Kansas City (with only 3 wins in 24 games and a last place finish, on September 14, they had their first loss since May 26 (a 4-0 defeat to Chicago on the road), running up a 13-game unbeaten streak (for 31 points) with 9 wins—the best in the league during that period—along with only 14 goals allowed (tied for the fewest in the league during that period) and 5 shutouts (tied for second during that period of games). The 13-game unbeaten streak was the league’s longest active streak and second longest streak in NWSL history. The 2014 Seattle (now OL) Reign hold the record with 16 games unbeaten. During the streak, the Current won five consecutive road games, matching the longest road-winning streak in a single season in NWSL history (North Carolina Courage in 2018).
Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta and forward Cece Kizer led the club with 7 goals each while forward Kristen Hamilton finished with six. The three players have combined for more goals (20) than the entire team scored in 2021 (15). Kizer had 5 goals which were either game equalizers or game-winning goals. Kizer joined from Racing Louisville in June and worked well with Hamilton in particular. Coming into the 2022 season, midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta had 5 goals and 5 assists in her 7-year career—this year she had 7 and 4 respectively. LaBonta scored on a penalty kick against North Carolina on August 28, her 5th of the season, one short of the record for most in a season set by Kim Little of the (then) Seattle Reign and Heather O’Reilly of the Boston Breakers in 2014. French international Claire Lavogez had 2 in 9 games for KC and should be very productive in 2023 when she has a full season with the team. She joined the side on July 20 and on August 15, she had an assist and the game-winning goal in only her second appearance against North Carolina (4-3 win) on a brilliant dribble for 25 yards and blast into the top corner, helping spur KC’s come back from 3 deficits against the high scoring Courage.
Goalkeeper AD Franch became only the second goalkeeper in NWSL history to reach 40 shutouts during the season while former Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart holds the all-time record with 52.
Another Current player reached a significant individual milestone in the early stages of the second half of the 2-1 win over San Diego in California on August 7. Team captain and midfielder Desiree Scott surpassed 10,000 NWSL minutes played in the 60th minute. Scott became just the second Canadian player [along with the Thorns’ Christine Sinclair] and 29th player in league history to reach the milestone.
In terms of player movement, the Kansas City Current acquired either OL Reign’s natural 1st round pick, currently held by NJ/NY Gotham, or Gotham’s 2nd highest selection in the 2023 NWSL Draft and $200,000 in allocation money in exchange for midfielder Victoria Pickett. Pickett was the second pick for Kansas City and 15th selection overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft. The Canadian international made an immediate impact in Kansas City, assisting on the club’s first goal in the 2021 Challenge Cup and scoring the winning goal in the club’s first franchise win against OL Reign on August 14, 2021. She leaves Kansas City with a goal and an assist and 30 starts in 35 regular season matches played.
In early August, the team placed midfielder Sam Mewis on the team’s season-ending injury list and missed the remainder of the 2022 campaign. Mewis has a long-standing progressive injury to her right leg suffered prior to her arrival in Kansas City and did not play at all in 2022.
Also, on September 20, the Current transferred defender Maddie Nolf to the Scottish Premier League club Rangers WFC for an agreed upon transfer fee. Nolf was drafted by the Utah Royals out of Penn State in the third round of the 2019 NWSL Draft and made 15 appearances with eight starts and 693 minutes in her NWSL career. She played recently for Rangers in their 2022-23 UEFA Women’s Champions League matches.
Their 11th game in their unbeaten run came in a 1-1 draw against Angel City in front of 10,395 fans, a new NWSL record in Kansas City. The Current had challenged the fans to #ShowUpKC as the club sought to beat the NWSL record for attendance in Kansas City (7,594 fans—which came on June 4 of this year). The team continues to build momentum and interest ahead of their new purpose-built stadium, which had a ground breaking at the end of the campaign.
Chicago Red Stars (9-6-7, 33 points, Sixth)
Chicago making the playoffs for the seventh straight year was a surprise this season, even though they made the NWSL Championship Final in 2021. The day after that final, Rory Daimes resigned as head coach amid multi-year player abuse allegations. The Red Stars didn’t have a coach until the 2022 season started, after conducting a full international search and then determining that they didn’t have a viable candidate and had to go through the process a second time. Why they couldn’t vet candidates sufficiently during the initial pool development and finalization for interviews is one of the great women’s football mysteries of life.
Thank God for Mallory Pugh who scored in double digits (11 goals) and finished tied for fourth in the league in scoring with North Carolina’s Mexican international rookie Diana Ordonez; Pugh is now viewed as a lock for the 2023 WWC side after missing out for the 2020 Olympic Games Finals squad. The Red Stars needed to defeat Angel City FC on October 2 in the last match of the NWSL regular season to clinch a playoff spot, which they did with a 2-0 win, pipping the North Carolina Courage by one point (33 vs. 32). North Carolina Courage put on a late rush for the playoffs—even overtaking Chicago for sixth on the penultimate weekend. Chicago had dropped their two previous matches—1-0 to Houston at home on September 17 and 3-0 away to Portland on September 25—before the crucial win over Angel City.
Ella Stevens has been a revelation in midfielder and scored 4 goals in 19 matches this season after 0 goals in 5 games in her previous two seasons. At Duke University, she scored 24 times in 91 matches in her career.
Alyssa Mautz retired in August from the Red Stars after a 10-year professional career to take an assistant coaching position at her alma mater of Texas A&M University. She was one of 21 players who have been in the NWSL since its inception in 2013. She played a season with Sky Blue FC of Women’s Professional Soccer before joining the NWSL. Mautz was at A&M from 2008-10 after transferring from Saint Louis University. She had 21 goals and 10 assists for the Aggies in 67 matches.
Only 2,135 saw Chicago’s 4-0 win on September 14 over Kansas City when, with Mal Pugh scoring twice and adding an assist, they snapped the Current’s 13 game unbeaten run, giving the Red Stars an important three points in strengthening their hold onto a playoff spot run after winning only once in their previous five games. On her first goal in the Kansas City win, Pugh nutmegged two players as she went on a solo dribble that was over three-quarters length of the field. The game announcer called her goal, “a total show stopper.” Her second goal came when she picked up a ball near the midfield line, dribbled towards the goal and then fired a brilliant goal into the lower far corner from near the top of the penalty box. The poor crowd is a symptom that the team plays in a southern suburb that the MLSChicago Fire used to play in before moving downtown to Solder’s Field. The Red Stars need a better stadium solution to increase their visibility in the market.
Off the field, the Red Stars have a new strategic alliance with VfL Wolfsburg Women in Germany. The two clubs will collaborate and coordinate technical and business resources and create new global business opportunities for the organizations. VfL Wolfsburg is one of the oldest and most successful professional women’s soccer clubs in Europe with two UEFA Women’s Champions League titles, 7 Frauen-Bundesliga and 8 German Cup championships.
Michael Meeske, the CEO of VfL Wolfsburg, said, “In the fastest growing segment of the most popular sport in the world, ambitious clubs will need a global network to solidify their position among the best and to create the most sophisticated opportunities in terms of player development, compensation and commercial approaches. Therefore, today is an exciting day as we are embarking on a very unique journey that will create sustainable value and long-term growth for both organizations on and off the pitch.” In addition to elevating each club’s competitiveness on the pitch and in business, the two clubs will look for new opportunities to give back to the communities for which they are named.
NWSL General League News
In a different kind of transaction, the NWSL itself signed defender Emily Madril to a contract through the 2025 season, in order to allow her give up her eligibility at Florida State University. She will go through the 2023 NWSL Draft but was sent on a short-term loan to BK Hacken and played in their WCL Preliminary Round games. She is seen as a future prospect with the U.S. Women’s National Team and was an All-American last season at FSU, which won the national championship.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham is on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
