NWSL

OL Reign and United States women's national team star Megan Rapinoe was not selected in the 2021 National Women's Soccer League expansion draft. She will remain in Seattle. 

Here are the picks Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC made Thursday night:

1. Angel City: Dani Weatherholt, OL Reign midfielder
2. San Diego Wave: Kristie Mewis, Houston Dash midfielder
3. Angel City: Claire Emslie, Orlando Pride forward
4. San Diego Wave: Kristen McNabb, OL Reign defender
5. Angel City: Jasmyne Spencer, Houston Dash forward
6. San Diego Wave passed
7. Angel City: Paige Nielsen, Washington Spirit defender
8. San Diego Wave passed
9. San Diego Wave: Kaleigh Riehl, Racing Louisville defender 

The Reign protected Rose Lavelle, Bethany Balcer, Alana Cook, Angelina, Jessica Fishlock, Sofia Huerta, Quinn, Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Ally Watt for this year's expansion draft. 

Rapinoe was also left unprotected in last year's expansion draft, when she went unselected by Racing Louisville FC. Teams were allowed to protect nine players for the upcoming draft, including a maximum of one United States Federation player. Lavelle, who also stars for the USWNT, was the U.S. federation player the Reign opted to protect over Rapinoe. 

Rapinoe has spent her entire eight-year NWSL career with the Reign, who were formerly known as the Seattle Reign. She began playing in the NWSL in 2013 and has appeared in 86 matches (72 starts). The 36-year-old has notched 40 goals and 17 assists in that span.

During the 2021 campaign, she tallied six goals and two assists in 11 games (eight starts). 

Rapinoe has also made 187 appearances for the USWNT, tallying 62 goals and 71 assists. In addition to being named the 2019 Ballon d'Or Feminin winner, she has also won two Women's World Cups, won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Ball and was also named the best FIFA women's player in 2019.

USWNT stars Kelley O'Hara (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit) and Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit) were also left unprotected by their respective clubs. None were selected. 

San Diego and Angel City are set to begin play in 2022, increasing the number of teams in the NWSL to 12 from 10.  

The National Women's Soccer League will hold an expansion draft on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET for the two new clubs being added to the league: Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC.

The event will be televised on the CBS Sports Network and available to stream on Paramount+, CBS Sports HQ, its corresponding Twitch and YouTube channels and on the NWSL YouTube channel.

Per an NWSL release, the two clubs "may select one player from each NWSL team, and no more than one U.S. allocated player in total from all teams."

Caitlin Murray of ESPN outlined other restrictions for the two expansion teams:

Four NWSL teams earned full immunity in the expansion draft through a series of trades before last week's roster freeze: the Chicago Red Stars, the Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham and the North Carolina Courage. Due to pre-draft trades, Angel City can't select any of OL Reign's forwards, including Megan Rapinoe, but San Diego can. The Portland Thorns and Racing Louisville are protected from Angel City while the Spirit are protected from San Diego. The Kansas City Current, which joined the NWSL this year, are exempt from the expansion draft.

The Wave have already made an enormous splash by signing United States women's national team superstar forward Alex Morgan. 

"As a Southern California native, I am excited to be making a long-term commitment to Wave FC and the city of San Diego," the 32-year-old said in a statement. "I am coming home to partner with this ambitious new club and to push the league forward for generations of soccer players to come. I cannot wait to get started and I will do everything I can to help bring a championship to this great city."

Angel City, meanwhile, has already landed Christen Press and Julie Ertz. 

But other star players still available include the USWNT's Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Kristie Mewis and and Canada international Christine Sinclair. The playing rights to Tobin Heath will also be up for grabs, though she is currently playing for Arsenal in England. 

Mewis, 30, seems an absolute lock to be one of the players selected in the expansion draft, though there has been buzz that she might join Tottenham Hotspur on loan. Regardless, she's the most talented midfielder available and still in her prime. 

Jordan DiBiasi and Marisa Viggiano would be excellent consolation prizes in the midfield behind Mewis. 

Rapinoe, on the other hand, is 36. While still obviously talented, the Wave and Angel City may choose to prioritize younger players as they build for the future. And the USWNT icon played in just 11 games for the OL Reign this past year.

Yes, she scored six goals in those games. She's still a huge threat and one of the faces of the sport. But don't be shocked if she isn't selected and remains in Seattle next season. 

United States women's national team star Alex Morgan has been traded from the Orlando Pride to NWSL expansion team San Diego Wave FC, the club announced Monday:

Morgan has been with Orlando since 2015, but she will return to her home state of California for San Diego's inaugural season in 2022. Terms of the deal have not been announced.

"As a Southern California native, I am excited to be making a long-term commitment to Wave FC and the city of San Diego," Morgan said in a statement. "I am coming home to partner with this ambitious new club and to push the league forward for generations of soccer players to come. I cannot wait to get started and I will do everything I can to help bring a championship to this great city."

The 32-year-old is best known for her success at the international level, scoring 115 goals across 190 caps for the United States. She helped the team win the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, adding an Olympic gold medal in 2012.

Morgan has also had a successful club career, including an NWSL title with the Portland Thorns in 2013. She helped Lyon win a UEFA Champions League title in 2017 and spent part of the 2020-21 season with Tottenham in the Women's Super League.

The forward tallied five goals with two assists in 13 matches for Orlando in 2021, although the squad managed just an eighth-place finish out of 10 teams.

Moving to San Diego gives Morgan a chance at a fresh start while providing the new club a legitimate superstar to build excitement ahead of the inaugural season.

The move also reunites Morgan with team president Jill Ellis, who coached the USWNT in the last two World Cups.

"This is an incredibly special moment for our club, our fans, and our community to welcome Alex and her family to San Diego," Ellis said. "She is an extraordinary person, a great talent and a leader on and off the field."   

United States women's national team star Megan Rapinoe has been left unprotected by the OL Reign for the upcoming National Women's Soccer League expansion draft, per ESPN's Caitlin Murray. 

The decision to leave Rapinoe unprotected makes her available to be taken by expansion clubs Angel City FC and the San Diego Wave during the Dec. 16 draft. 

The Reign have opted to protect Rose Lavelle, Bethany Balcer, Alana Cook, Angelina, Jessica Fishlock, Sofia Huerta, Quinn, Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Ally Watt.

Rapinoe was also left unprotected in last year's expansion draft and ended up not being selected by Racing Louisville FC. The 36-year-old has spent her entire eight-year NWSL career with the Reign, formerly known as the Seattle Reign. 

Rapinoe began her NWSL career in 2013 and has appeared in 86 total matches (72 starts). She's tallied 40 goals and 17 assists in that span. In 11 games (eight starts) during the 2021 campaign, she tallied six goals and two assists. 

The 2019 Ballon d'Or Feminin winner has also made 187 appearances for the USWNT, tallying 62 goals and 71 assists. She is a two-time Women's World Cup champion, won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Ball and was named the best FIFA women's player in 2019. 

In addition to Rapinoe, USWNT stars Kelley O'Hara (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit) and Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit) were left unprotected by their respective clubs. Canada's Christine Sinclair, the all-time women's leading scorer, was also left unprotected by the Portland Thorns. 

Teams were allowed to protect nine players for the upcoming draft, including a maximum of one United States Federation player. Both Angel City FC and the San Diego Wave are allowed to select one player from each team. 

There are currently 10 teams in the NWSL. That number will increase to 12 in 2022.  

The Chicago Red Stars owners released a statement Tuesday in the aftermath of a report from Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post that detailed multiple players' assertions that former head coach Rory Dames was verbally and emotionally abusive.

Dames resigned after Chicago lost to the Washington Spirit in Saturday's NWSL championship.

The statement was apologetic for the team's lack of actions after players came forward with concerns as early as 2014:

We apologize to Christen Press, Jennifer Hoy, Samantha Johnson and those players who didn't feel safe to come forward, and we are deeply sorry for the pain they endure. 

As the owners of the Chicago Red Stars, we commit to holding ourselves accountable and to doing better. There is no place for any type of abuse in women's sports.  The fact that it happened here, despite the belief that we had mechanisms in place to prevent it, means our club will require significant reflection and evaluation to ensure this does not happen again.

It also explained the team will seek out players' feedback in the search for a new coach and use stricter interview practices and background checks while vetting candidates.

"The Chicago Red Stars are motivated to be a part of positive change for the NWSL while also recognizing the ways in which we have contributed to a culture that did not sufficiently prioritize the health and safety of our players, and we commit to ensuring this team succeeds in years to come by being a player-centric organization," the statement continued.

Hensley-Clancy reported "players had seen Rory Dames cross a line into what they believed was verbal and emotional abuse: controlling, berating and humiliating players, and breaking the boundaries of the player-coach relationship."

Press, who played for the Red Stars from 2014 to 2017, said she raised concerns about Dames during a meeting with former president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati in 2014.

"Gulati dismissed her concerns, Press recalled, by saying Dames's behavior was normal for a professional coach," Hensley-Clancy wrote. "Press, who said she had been told she needed to play in the NWSL to keep her spot on the national team, said she felt she had no choice but to return the next season."

While Dames kept his job, Press, who was one of multiple players who raised concerns about the coach, eventually filed a formal complaint about him with U.S. Soccer.

Yet he kept his job once again.

"He asserts control like you’re a little girl, not an adult woman—when you can go out to a concert, when you can say something or you can’t say something, when you can see your family," Press said. "It felt like it's a disrespect that is related to gender."

Hensley-Clancy noted Dames makes five male NWSL coaches who have been accused of misconduct in 2021 alone.

The NWSL Players Association reacted to the latest story by saying "nothing short of a complete transformation of our league will suffice":

In October, the NWSLPA released the following list of demands with the message: "Systemic transformation is not something you say. It is something you do. We, as players, are continuing our efforts to end the culture of silence and ask fans to stand with us as we demand the following."

The league announced it would start "several critical investigative and reform initiatives to protect players and staff, and the environments in which athletes live, train, and compete to give athletes the agency and ability to safely report misconduct of any form."       

Members of the Chicago Red Stars told the U.S. Soccer Federation of their concerns about the behavior of now-former coach Rory Dames as early as 2014, according to the Washington Post's Molly Hensley-Clancy.

"Over and over, according to interviews and confidential records reviewed by The Post, players had seen Rory Dames cross a line into what they believed was verbal and emotional abuse: controlling, berating and humiliating players, and breaking the boundaries of the player-coach relationship," Hensley-Clancy wrote.

Dames continued to coach the Red Stars until his resignation Sunday, one day after Chicago's 2-1 defeat to the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship.

Neil Buethe, a spokesman for U.S. Soccer, provided a statement to the Post:

We share the concerns about allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women's professional soccer and are addressing this matter with the utmost urgency. Ms. [Sally] Yates's investigation is well underway and her team has been given full autonomy, access and necessary resources to follow the facts and evidence wherever they may lead.

The NWSL Players Association responded to the story by saying "the system has failed us" and that "nothing short of a complete transformation of our league will suffice":

Christen Press, who has made 155 appearances for the United States women's national team, spent four seasons with the Red Stars from 2014 to 2017. She told Hensley-Clancy that she spoke to then-U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati and other officials in 2014 about Dames creating a toxic environment and yelling at players in a harassing way.

Press said her concerns were dismissed:

But Gulati dismissed her concerns, Press recalled, saying Dames's behavior was normal for a professional coach. Press, who said she had been told she needed to play in the NWSL to keep her spot on the national team, said she felt she had no choice but to return the next season.

U.S. Soccer examined the matter again in 2018 after Press filed a formal complaint, in part saying she thought Dames "emotionally abuses players" and "doesn't have a safe distance between himself and his players."

The federation interviewed Press and some of her former teammates in Chicago. However, other players said they were unable to meet with investigators despite wanting to do so.

Hensley-Clancy wrote that U.S. Soccer again "took no apparent action."

Beyond examining U.S. Soccer's handling of the allegations, the report detailed how Dames allegedly treated his players.

Per Hensley-Clancy, he questioned whether a player was a good mother because she wasn't communicating well in practice. He also allegedly directed personal attacks toward players. Two players said he told an Asian player she should've been smarter, and two players said he called one player from the Appalachian region "trailer trash."

Four of Dames' former players told Hensley-Clancy how they felt he crossed the line in terms of his control on and off the pitch.

"He asserts control like you're a little girl, not an adult woman," Press said. "When you can go out to a concert, when you can say something or you can't say something, when you can see your family. It felt like it's a disrespect that is related to gender."

The allegations come as the NWSL is facing a reckoning over the atmosphere it fostered for players over the years.

North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley was fired after The Athletic's Meg Linehan spoke to Sinead Farrelly, who said she felt coerced into having sex with Riley as part of a relationship beyond what is typical between a coach and player.

Another of his former players, Mana Shim, said Riley once pressured her and Farrelly to kiss each other in front of him. She also said he invited her to his hotel room for an informal film session and was wearing only his underwear when she arrived.

Riley denied both allegations.

Hensley-Clancy also wrote a pair of reports on the Spirit, first detailing how former players said coach Richie Burke verbally abused them and made racially insensitive remarks on multiple occasions.

She followed up with an investigation into the Spirit's workplace culture, one that alienated female employees because of a toxic atmosphere.

Lisa Baird resigned as the NWSL's commissioner in October, and the league said it was creating "several critical investigative and reform initiatives to protect players and staff, and the environments in which athletes live, train, and compete to give athletes the agency and ability to safely report misconduct of any form."

U.S. Soccer also announced it was commissioning an independent investigation, which was referenced by Buethe in his statement.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The NWSL's weirdest, most twisting, and in some ways darkest season yet came to a close today with what would have seemed an impossible result two months ago: The Washington Spirit, the team that's undergone some of the most turmoil in these last few months, are first-time champions.

To briefly sum up that turmoil, head coach Richie Burke was fired following an investigation into allegations of abuse detailed in reporting by the Washington Post. Soon, fans and players began calling for part-owner Steve Baldwin, who brought Burke in from his daughter's club team, to sell his shares of the team to co-owner Michele Kang, touching off an ugly and ongoing public battle. Then in late August, the Spirit took a huge hit in the standings after COVID-19 protocols forced them to forfeit two games.

After all that—and after going down a goal to Chicago late in the first half—they did it.

Throughout the first half, Chicago was the more dangerous side. They continued doing their Chicago thing, sitting obstinately deep in a 4-1-4-1 in defense, forcing Spirit attacks wide and shutting down attackers one-on-one as they looked for openings into the 18. The Red Stars are, above all, an extremely organized defensive side; they've sucked the life out of some really dangerous teams this season, including the top-seeded Thorns last week.

In contrast with what we've often seen from them, they also committed numbers forward, giving them the opportunity to pick up second balls in the 18. Mallory Pugh—absent last week thanks to COVID-19 protocol—was dangerous on both sides of the ball, often dropping deep to defend on the left wing, then cutting inside to set up teammates when the Red Stars regained possession. On the opposite flank, Rachel Hill had a similarly good work rate and managed to dribble past Tegan McGrady to send in a cross a handful of times. Late in first-half stoppage time, it was Hill who found the end of a cross by Arin Wright at the far post to head in the opening goal.

Ominously, though, Chicago lost two important players—Vanessa DiBernardo in the 13th minute, then Pugh at halftime—to injury in that first half. Losing Pugh, especially, boded poorly for what was to come.

The Spirit came out swinging, with rookie Trinity Rodman finding more of the ball and taking cracks from distance or playing teammates in. What enabled Rodman's increased participation, though, was deeper on the field, as forward Ashley Hatch dropped further back in defense to add a fourth body to a previously outnumbered Spirit midfield.

"We had to make some changes," said Red Stars midfielder Morgan Gautrat postgame, "and any time you make changes, you have a different flow to the game...with Hatch dropping into the midfield a bit more, it becomes overloaded, four vs. three."

Once they'd cracked Chicago's defensive block open, the Spirit sent in wave after wave of offense; they would end the half with 17 shots, compared to nine in the first half, 12 of which were from inside the box. In the 67th minute, Tierna Davidson fouled Tara McKeown in the box in a last-ditch defensive effort, conceding a penalty, which Andi Sullivan calmly placed low to the right side of keeper Cassie Miller.

With the game level, Chicago's sit-and-absorb strategy became a lot riskier. The Red Stars were already missing one of their forwards in Kealia Watt, who suffered an injury in the semifinal. With Pugh on the bench, their attacking options were few. Postgame, Chicago head coach Rory Dames added that Hill had picked up a knock in the first half and "pushed through another 20 [or] 25 minutes." The momentum was firmly on Washington's side.

Sure enough, in the first half of extra time, Rodman sent a killer long ball to the far post for Kelley O'Hara, who headed it in for her first goal of the season. Chicago found a couple of promising looks in garbage time, but thanks partially to luck and partially to championship MVP Aubrey Bledsoe, the Spirit staved off penalties.

There's no player who epitomizes the Spirit better than the 19-year-old Rodman, who flipped into sicko mode in the second half. Some of her shots would have looked like frustration shots coming from a different player, but Rodman has such ferocity and swagger that you get the impression she believes—correctly—that she could put one away from 25 yards at any moment.

At the end of a long, strange, sometimes painful season for the Spirit, it's that refusal to roll over that put them over the line.

"The resiliency and perseverance of this team is pretty incredible," said O'Hara postgame. "It's something I haven't seen from a team I've been on."

Trinity Rodman got a huge surprise when her father, NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, attended her NWSL playoff game Sunday. The 19-year-old Washington Spirit forward opened up about her relationship with her father in an emotional Instagram post.

"This last game was an extremely emotional one. Yes Dennis Rodman showed up to an Nwsl game, but also my dad, after YEARS surprised me at a big game in my career, I was shocked, overwhelmed, happy, sad, everything," Trinity wrote.

"My dad doesn't play a big role in my life at all and most people don't know that, we don't see eye to eye on many things," she continued. "I go months if not years without his presence or communication. Being in spotlights has been hard for us, him and me."

The Spirit topped the North Carolina Courage 1-0 to advance in the NWSL playoffs. Trinity shared an embrace with her father after the game, which was the picture she posted.

"We don't have the best relationship, but at the end of the day he's human I'm human… he's my dad, and I'm his little girl that will never change I will improve and look forward everyday as I hope he does," her post concluded.

The Spirit will face OL Reign in the semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The National Women's Soccer League Players Association announced Friday that the NWSL has agreed to its demands after recent allegations of sexual coercion and verbal abuse within the league:

The NWSLPA issued its demands Oct. 6, asking for transparency in a current investigation of sexual abuse and future investigations into sexual misconduct.

According to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN, the investigations will feature a five-person committee, including two representatives from the NWSLPA, one from the NWSL, one club representative and one jointly selected neutral party.

The NWSLPA also demanded to be included in the search for a new commissioner.

"Throughout the history of our sport, it is players who have blazed the trail of change," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke said in a statement. "We, as players, embrace this legacy. It is the call of our generation to make the game we love safer for future generations so that it reflects the best of our sport and the people in it."

Former North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley was fired last month after former players alleged sexual coercion, per Meg Linehan of The Athletic.

OL Reign manager Farid Benstiti resigned in July, and in October a former player alleged he was verbally abusive, per Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post.

Washington Spirit manager Richie Burke was terminated in September after allegations of verbal abuse. Burke was initially reassigned to a front-office role but was fired following a third-party investigation.

Earlier this month, Lisa Baird resigned as commissioner and from her position on the U.S. Soccer board of directors.

The NWSLPA has pushed to feature player involvement to help prevent further issues within the league.

"Each of these demands is seen by the players as one step closer to the goal of taking our league back," NWSLPA president Tori Huster said.