2025 NWSL Season Kicks Off
Volume 02 | Issue 01 | March 2025
This month in professional US women's soccer:
2025 NWSL Season Kicks Off With Energized Start
Washington Spirit Win 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup
The Washington Spirit beat the Orlando Pride in a penalty shootout to win the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7.
The game displayed a fiery rivalry between the Spirit and the Pride, who last played each other in the 2024 NWSL Championship where Orlando took first place.
“We never beat Orlando last year, so it’s nice to finally get a win over them,” said Spirit goalkeeper and Challenge Cup MVP Aubrey Kingsbury in a post-match press conference.
“It wasn’t necessarily a revenge match because it’s not like anything can change what happened in the final last year, but we’re focused on this year. We’ve got a new team, a lot of exciting additions, and, like I said, the first opportunity to win a trophy this season so hopefully more to come.”
Rafaelle was the first to find the back of the net with a goal in the 41st minute, giving the Pride a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Leicy Santos found the equalizer for the Spirit in the 72nd minute, pushing the game into a shootout at the end of regular play.
The first two shooters for each team scored. The Pride’s third shooter, Summer Yates, sent her shot low and off-frame.
Narumi Miura stepped up to the spot for the Spirit and sent the ball soaring past the goalkeeper’s gloves, giving the Spirit a 3-2 lead.
Aubrey Kingsbury stopped the Pride's next shot, and then Tara McKeown clinched the win for the Spirit by sending her shot high and central into the net.
What Is the NWSL Challenge Cup?
The NWSL Challenge Cup is a single-game super cup traditionally played between the previous year's NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship winners to kick off the NWSL season.
Since the Orlando Pride won both the 2024 NWSL Shield and Championship, this year’s competition was structured as a rematch of the 2024 Championship game.
NWSL STATS
Hatch and Chawinga Lead NWSL Golden Boot Race
Ashley Hatch and Temwa Chawinga both have an early eye on the NWSL Golden Boot after the first three weeks of play, with each player scoring three goals.
Hatch scored her first goal of the season in the Washington Spirit’s game against the Houston Dash and scored a brace in the third week of play against Bay FC.
Chawinga scored a goal in each of the Kansas City Currents’ games so far this season.
Multiple players scored two goals a piece in the first month of play, including Barbra Banda, Marta, Debinha, Alyssa Thompson, Maggie Graham, Michelle Cooper, Emma Sears, and Gia Corley.
Chawinga won the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot with 20 goals and six assists during the regular season. Chawinga’s 20 points earned her the highest number of goals in an NWSL single season, out-scoring Sam Kerr’s previous record from 2019 of 18 goals.
Chawinga also earned the 2024 NWSL MVP award and was named to the NWSL Best XI, presented by Amazon Prime.
Pride Sits at Top of NWSL Standings After Week Three
Last year’s NWSL Shield winner, the Orlando Pride, maintains its place at the top of the NWSL standings after the first three weeks of NWSL play.
The Pride ended Week 3 with three wins and a goal differential of nine points.
The Kansas City Current sits close behind the Pride with three wins and a seven-point goal differential.
The NWSL shield is awarded to the team with the best record at the end of regular season play.
The Pride finished out the 2024 NWSL regular season with a record of 18-2-6 and won the 2024 NWSL Championship.
NWSL Players to Watch
Two players made an early name for themselves in the league by scoring goals in each of their first two NWSL career games, joining the likes of Jaedyn Shaw and Lindsey Heaps (formerly Horan).
Rookie Maggie Graham signed a three-year contract with the Houston Dash after a successful college career playing for Duke University. While at Duke, Graham was named First-Team All-American, ACC Midfielder of the Year, MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist, ACC Offensive Player of the Week, and TDS National Player of the Week.
Graham came off the bench and scored in the first two games of the season, becoming the first NWSL player to attain this achievement.
Gia Corley’s goal against the Utah Royals FC helped the German international earn the honor of being named NWSL’s Week 2 Player of the Week. Corley signed a two-year deal with the San Diego Wave, coming to the NWSL after a four-season stint with TSG Hoffenheim Frauen in Germany.
Corley entered the professional stage at the age of 16, playing for FC Bayern München.
Visit www.nwslsoccer.com for the full NWSL schedule.
NWSL Off-Season Recap
NWSL Players Announce Major Life Updates
Wedding bells and baby announcements rang out across social media during the off-season as players tied the knot and posted updates with sonograms and baby bumps.
With new nuptials comes new names for fans to know: Lindsey Horan is now wearing Heaps on the back of her jersey, Lynn Williams changed her last name to Biyendolo (the Congolese name that was gifted to her father-in-law), and Sophia Smith took the last name Wilson.
Ali Riley married former Swedish soccer player Lucas Nilsson in January, just mere days after a wildfire destroyed her childhood home. Riley shared on social media in March that she started a needle-free IVF treatment.
Kristie Mewis posted social media updates that showcase her growing baby bump of her first child with fiancée Sam Kerr.
Andi Sullivan shared with her Spirit teammates in mid-February that she and her husband, Drew, are expecting their first child in July.
Newlyweds Sophia and Michael Wilson posted pictures on social media in early March showing sonogram images and announcing Sophia’s pregnancy.
The latest pregnancy announcement came after the second week of NWSL play when Canada Women’s National Team and San Diego Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan shared that she and wife Dominique were due in September.
Denver Wins Bid for NWSL Expansion Team
Denver won its bid in January to become the NWSL's 16th team with a record $110 million expansion fee.
The NWSL Denver expansion fee is the league's highest yet, far surpassing Bay FC's and Boston Legacy FC's recent expansion fees of $53 million.
The franchise is scheduled to start playing in the league in the 2026 season, entering the same time as the NWSL's 15th franchise team, Boston Legacy FC.
Fans in the Mile High City shared their excitement and support for their new club by securing 5,280 season ticket deposits within days of the club's announcement, making the new Denver NWSL team the fastest in NWSL history to secure 5,000 season ticket deposits.
Just two weeks later, the club launched a campaign to allow its fans to help choose the Denver NWSL team name.
In March, Denver NWSL announced plans to construct a purpose-built stadium and recreational complex for professional women's soccer in Santa Fe Yards, just a few miles south of downtown.
The Denver NWSL stadium is scheduled to open in Spring 2028.
The club announced it is building a temporary stadium in Centennial, CO, to house the team's home games for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The facility will also include a training complex.
USWNT Updates
USWNT Takes Second in SheBelieves Cup as Hayes Expands Player Pool
The USWNT placed second in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup in February with a relatively green USWNT roster for the competition.
USWNT Head Coach Emma Hayes called up four uncapped players to play alongside a mix of veterans and those with less than a handful of caps.
“We don’t have a World Cup today, and my job is to prepare a team to compete come that period,” said Hayes in the week leading up to the tournament.
A number of firsts were recognized during the competition.
Claire Hutton and Michelle Cooper received their first USWNT call-ups, and the two earned their first caps along with Gisele Thompson and Tara McKeown.
Cooper scored her first international career goal during her second cap in the game against Australia.
Ally Sentnor made her first start in the game against Colombia, where she also scored her first international goal and was named Woman of the Match. Sentnor earned her first assist in the game against Australia, and she scored her second international goal in the game against Japan.
Other first-time starters in the SheBelieves Cup included Lily Yohannes, Gisele Thompson, Tara McKeown, and Claire Hutton.
Alyssa and Gisele Thompson were the third set of sisters to make a USWNT roster and the second to start a game together.
Veterans Emily Sonnett and Tierna Davidson each captained the national team for the first time during the tournament, with Sonnett doing so in celebration of reaching 100 caps.
“We have to keep developing, and development isn’t linear,” said Hayes in a press conference after the final match of the tournament.
“I think you need moments to give you a sense of where you are in that path. But I think it’s exciting, and I think our future is exciting."
The loss against Japan was the USWNT’s first upset under Hayes, bringing the team’s record under her tenure to 15-1-2.
April Camp Roster Announced for USWNT vs Brazil
USWNT Head Coach Emma Hayes released the April camp roster for the team’s upcoming friendlies against Brazil.
Similar to the style of the recent SheBelieves Cup roster, Hayes selected a mix of fresh faces and veteran players as she continues to grow and strengthen the USWNT player pool.
“This roster has Olympians returning, less experienced players continuing to try to prove themselves, a few uncapped players, and some players who have seen and done it all,” said Hayes.
The 24-player roster includes
Goalkeepers - Jane Campbell, Mandy McGlynn, Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Defenders - Alana Cook, Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Tara McKeown, Avery Patterson, Emily Sams, Emily Sonnett, Giselle Thompson
Midfielders - Korbin Albert, Sam Coffey, Lindsey Heaps, Claire Hutton, Jaedyn Shaw, Lily Yohannes
Forwards - Michelle Cooper, Ashley Hatch, Catarina Macario, Trinity Rodman, Yazmeen Ryan, Ally Sentnor, Alyssa Thompson
Avery Patterson and Phallon Tullis-Joyce are the sole two players on the USWNT roster who have yet to earn their first cap.
Six players called up to the camp have fewer than five caps under their belt, including Mandy McGlynn, Tara McKeown, Emily Sams, Claire Hutton, Lily Yohannes, and Michelle Cooper.
Tierna Davidson received an initial call-up for the April roster. Davidson suffered a knee injury in NJ/NY Gotham FC’s match on March 28, and Hayes called up Giselle Thompson in Davidson’s place.
The USWNT will face Brazil on April 5th at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, and on April 8th at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA.
The two teams last played each other in the final of the women’s tournament of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the USWNT winning 1-0 and taking home the gold.
Visit www.ussoccer.com for the full USWNT schedule.
Graphic images created with Adobe Generative AI.