The U.S. women’s national team is back in camp this week, playing two friendlies against Colombia as they continue to navigate the post-World Cup era without a permanent head coach. Perhaps ironically, some of the biggest names in American soccer in 2023 — Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger — won’t be taking part in those games, not due to injury but because they’ve moved on from national duty.

For a long time, contract structures and consistency of competition dictated that players usually ended their careers with international play in mind. They typically considered themselves USWNT players first and club players second.

But the ongoing pursuit of a final NWSL trophy for retiring stars indicates just how far the world of women’s soccer has come from that attitude. Both Rapinoe (OL Reign) and Krieger (Gotham FC) will want to ride out their NWSL postseasons as long as they possibly can.

New space to grow

Rapinoe got to control the narrative surrounding her USWNT exit. The legendary forward announced she’d be retiring from both club and country at the end of 2023 after former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made it clear she was in his plans for this year’s World Cup. Teammate Julie Ertz followed a similar trajectory but chose not to finish out the NWSL season with Angel City, the club she joined on a one-year contract after a long hiatus from professional soccer.

Krieger had a less ceremonious final few years with the national team, returning from a strangely imposed exile by Jill Ellis to help the U.S. secure a fourth World Cup in 2019. She also faded away during the Andonovski era, playing in her final match with the team in January 2021. The defender nonetheless continued progressing as a player in the NWSL, from which she plans to retire at the end of this season.

Krieger’s move from Orlando to Gotham for a fresh start in 2022 also didn’t go quite as planned, with the team struggling to score and sliding to last place in the NWSL standings by the end of the season. But one of the bright spots of an otherwise difficult season was Krieger’s increased comfort at center back. Later into her career, the 39-year-old has shifted centrally to maintain a steady pace of play.

Positioning in the central defense is something that takes time to develop, and Krieger’s penchant for the position emerged in slow motion. But her success in 2023 has her on the shortlist for NWSL Defender of the Year, giving brand-new life to a career that is nearing its end.

In a way, Krieger’s moment in the spotlight at the end of 2023 is a sign to players who don’t get to write their own USWNT ending that there is still meaning to retiring at the league level. Other players with similar stories who greatly impacted their team’s seasons were Angel City’s Sydney Leroux and Houston’s Jane Campbell. Also notable for next year will be the final club season of Canadian legend Christine Sinclair, who plans to retire from international play at the end of this year.

Changing tides

This mindset shift has a lot to do with the way player contracts with U.S. Soccer have drastically changed in recent years. The USWNT ratified their historic CBA in 2022, earning the exact same wages and benefits as their male counterparts for the same amount of work.

But the CBA change also moved the team away from the safety net of longer-term contracts, which the team had operated under for over a decade. Players theoretically now find themselves less entrenched in the USWNT system, making far more money per appearance than they were in the past, but no longer tying their long-term salaries to their place on the national team. This means less job security at the international level, which shifts a player’s home base to their club.

This has fortunately coincided with rising wages in the women’s club game, both in the NWSL and abroad. Players can now envision themselves having long careers in domestic play, as opposed to primarily on the national team. Playing for the USWNT is a dream for many players, but if that pinnacle is never reached or not held for very long, it doesn’t have to spell the end of a fulfilling, winning soccer career.

Even players who are still with the U.S. can feel the shift and tone. San Diego Wave superstar Alex Morgan made it clear earlier this year that she wanted to miss as few games as possible for her club, a mission that ultimately led the team to the NWSL Shield in 2023. That sentiment was echoed throughout the USWNT player pool, most recently by Lynn Williams in defense of the Challenge Cup. Players understand the balance necessary to compete at both levels, but a renewed intensity by the best players in the league paid dividends in the most competitive season in NWSL history.

Keep the story going

There might be a pause in the NWSL postseason during this international break, but Rapinoe and Krieger should feel pretty good about their chances to go all the way. Quarterfinalists tend to do well in the league’s expanded postseason format, with three of the last four finalists entering the playoffs as quarterfinalists.

Both Rapinoe’s OL Reign and Krieger’s Gotham FC looked ready for the cagey chess matches that make up knockout soccer in their quarterfinal wins. Rapinoe and Krieger were also instrumental in their teams reaching the postseason itself, with Rapinoe scoring a brace and Krieger making a goal-line save on Decision Day.

In addition to tactics, they benefit from the galvanizing force that overcomes a team when they want to send an esteemed colleague out on a high. Much has been made of Rapinoe’s attempts to win her first NWSL Championship — the Reign made the finals in 2014 and 2015 before enduring a long road of futility that resulted in their first playoff win in eight years in the 2023 quarterfinals. Krieger has been similarly close, losing the 2016 championship by the the closest margin in soccer, a penalty shootout.

Rapinoe and Krieger have the opportunity to go head-to-head to finish their respective careers with a storybook ending, but they have one more game to get through first. For now, they’ll wait while teammates handle international duty and return refreshed with the finish line in sight.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Chelsea did what they needed to do on Wednesday in order to make Saturday's slate of season-ending WSL fixtures interesting: Beat Tottenham.

The Blues are now number one in the league, with an edge over Manchester City on goal differential thanks to an eight-goal outing against Bristol City last week. 

Yesterday's result tees up a league finale for the books as Chelsea looks to send coach Emma Hayes off with another trophy to add to her cabinet. The Blues will play FA Cup winner Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City is away at Aston Villa.

"We will be leaving nothing on the pitch, we will be giving everything and no matter what the result is," Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said after Wednesday's win. "At least we can look each other in the eye and say we gave everything."

It makes for a thrilling end to Chelsea's Emma Hayes era, as the decorated WSL coach will take over the USWNT in June. And it comes after Hayes all but conceded the title race early this month after Chelsea fell to Liverpool 4-3.

"I think the title is done," Hayes said at the time. "Of course, mathematically, it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.

"We will never give up. But the title is far from us; it's not in our hands. I think City are deserving, their consistency has put them in that position. Of course, we will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be going to us this year."

Be it mind games or Hayes truly thinking her team was that far off, her words lit something in Chelsea. Their following two performances showed the team’s determination to have a shot at some silverware.

As for Saturday's schedule, Hayes believes her team is facing the "tougher of the two games."

"It's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," she told BBC Sport. "As I said to the players if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one. We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."

Star gymnast Selena Harris has been dismissed from the UCLA gymnastics team and has entered the transfer portal, the school confirmed Wednesday.

Harris, the 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and a 12-time All-American, has two years of eligibility remaining. During her time at UCLA, she was one of the top all-around gymnasts on the team. 

UCLA did not provide details about her dismissal. 

B1G dreams won’t include Selena Harris for @uclagymnastics. The 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year entered the transfer portal Wednesday morning after being “dismissed” from the team. https://t.co/zQn10qIEyV

— Daily Bruin Sports (@DBSports) May 15, 2024

Harris has also not spoken about it, but did repost a Tweet on Wednesday confirming her entrance into the transfer portal. She has also removed any mention of UCLA gymnastics from all her social media bios.

When reached for comment by the Daily Bruin, she shared a message thanking UCLA fans for their support.

"Just wanna thank bruin nation fans for being the best supporters!" Harris wrote via Instagram.

A former No. 1 recruit, Harris was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2023 and earned four perfect scores during the 2024 season, while also winning the Pac-12 all-around title at the conference championships in March. She finished the regular season tied for first in the country on vault. 

She competed as an individual at the NCAA championships, finishing tied for third place on balance beam after UCLA failed to advance.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut drew 2.1 million viewers across all platforms on Tuesday night, making it the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years. 

The Fever-Sun matchup was the most-watched WNBA game ever broadcast on ESPN. The network's previous record was set in 2004, when Diana Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury debut drew 1.43 million viewers.

The game between Indiana and Connecticut was also the most-watched WNBA game since an NBC broadcast of the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets brought in 2.45 million viewers on Memorial Day in 2001. 

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Clark had a team-leading 20 points on the night, but also a WNBA-record 10 turnovers. She finished 5-for-15 from the field.

"She's a rookie," Fever coach Christie Sides said after the game. "This is the best league in the world. We've got to teach her. We've got to teach her what these games are going to look like for her every single night. And we've got to eliminate some of that pressure for her, and that's on me."

The former Iowa star is used to the pressure, and has routinely broken viewership records throughout her career. There was hope that her presence would grow the WNBA fanbase after Iowa and South Carolina's 2024 NCAA championship clash brought in a record 18.7 million viewers. 

In April, Clark — alongside a star-studded rookie class — headlined the most-watched WNBA draft in history with 2.45 million viewers.

Arike Ogunbowale powered Dallas to a win on Wednesday, with 14 of her 25 points coming in the fourth quarter. 

Despite trailing 75-73 with 3:16 to go, the Wings rattled off the next 14 points to beat the Chicago Sky 87-79. As a whole, the Wings shot 100% on eight shots in the final five minutes of the game. 

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"I don't know. I mean, I was dead, honestly," Ogunbowale said after Dallas's comeback win. "Maddy [Siegrist] came to me and said, 'The Lord renews your strength.' And the last five minutes, we went crazy."

Postgame, head coach Latricia Trammell applauded her team’s ability to handle the Sky’s pressure.

"We know basketball is a game of surges," Trammell said. "You just gotta weather the storm because we were gonna go on our runs as well."

While Chicago was unable to find an answer for Dallas’ fourth-quarter surge, Sky rookie Angel Reese had a solid professional debut. Her first WNBA bucket came in the third quarter, and she finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, joining the remaining four Sky starters in double-digit scoring.  

Of Reese's 12 points, seven came in the fourth quarter.

"She's [Angel Reese] a great player on and off the court," Ogunbowale said of the LSU alum's performance. "This is her first game. Obviously, she has a long career, this is a good start."

While rapper Latto was in the building for the Sky game, Kim Kardashian dropped by the Los Angeles Sparks game with daughter North to see the Sparks took on Atlanta. Rookies Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson both made their WNBA debuts, while Layshia Clarendon had their first career triple-double.

Brink finished with 11 points, four assists, and two blocks, but got into foul trouble with five fouls in 20 minutes. 

Atlanta would have the last word, thanks to Rhyne Howard leaving behind some broken ankles in her 25-point performance.