The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft was filled with surprises, trades and roster shake-ups. Angel City and San Diego used seven of the nine available selections during Thursday night’s draft, with the Wave passing on two picks.

Much of the drama, however, happened outside of the draft, with a flurry of deals becoming official after the official selection process.

So, where does the league stand after Angel City and San Diego made their picks for the 2022 season? Here are five takeaways from the event.

1. NWSL (Expansion Draft) After Dark

In true NWSL fashion, much of Thursday’s action took place after the expansion draft.

San Diego made it official with Alex Morgan, announcing the terms of the team’s trade with the Orlando Pride for the U.S. women’s national team forward. The Pride received the rights to midfielder Angharad James and $275,000 in allocation money in exchange for the 32-year-old.

The Wave also announced a trade with Gotham FC for Kristie Mewis, whom the expansion club selected second overall in the draft, in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money. San Diego’s deal with the Portland Thorns for Christen Westphal and Amirah Ali was also made public, with the Thorns receiving $50,000 in allocation money for the two players.

Angel City also got involved in the post-draft movement, trading their No. 26 pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft and $125,000 in allocation money to the Houston Dash in exchange for the Dash’s No. 6 pick.

The pre- and post-draft trades are a sign of progress in the NWSL, with clubs striking deals to keep their marquee players and protect their depth while also fulfilling players’ wishes. According to Jeff Kassouf of The Equalizer, the $275,000 Orlando received in the Morgan deal is the largest amount transferred in a single NWSL trade in league history.

We’ve acquired rights to Forward Amirah Ali from Portland Thorns. Amirah most recently played for Rutgers and starred in the 2021 Women’s College Cup. Welcome to Wave FC, @amirahali07! 🌊 pic.twitter.com/139iN6JjhE

— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) December 17, 2021

2. The Kristie Mewis flip

After San Diego selected her second overall in the expansion draft, Mewis was traded to Gotham FC in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money. The USWNT midfielder joins an already stacked Gotham FC side, after star goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and veteran defender Ali Krieger recently moved to the club in a trade. Mewis’ status for the NWSL season remains up in the air, however, with rumors indicating she could sign with Tottenham Hotspur.

The influx of new talent bolsters a team that includes MVP nominee Midge Purce, Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco and stars Ifeoma Onumonu, Ali Long and Imani Dorsey. Gotham’s offseason moves signal a “win-now” mentality. If Gotham’s postseason posture is any indication, the club is definitely in the hunt for a championship in 2022.

We're having an OK time.

NJNY Gotham FC acquires midfielder Kristie Mewis in trade with San Diego. pic.twitter.com/XIHJbmUSSK

— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) December 17, 2021

3. San Diego’s trickery

San Diego passed twice during the expansion draft, forgoing their sixth pick and their eighth pick. The official reasoning for the non-picks has not been confirmed, but many speculate it’s due to a handshake deal the Wave made with the Portland Thorns ahead of the draft, which the Thorns intended to protect their core from selection. The series of trades announced afterward only strengthened that theory.

The passes, while perhaps a solid strategic move for San Diego, made the event less entertaining that it was originally chalked up to be. In fact, most of the excitement around the draft occurred in the weeks leading up to it, with clubs across the league striking blockbuster trades to secure immunity from Angel City and San Diego.

4. OL Reign has holes to fill

OL Reign lost two defensive players Thursday night, with Dani Weatherholt going to Angel City and Kristen McNabb to San Diego. Compounding their departures is the fact that the club will also be without internationals Sarah Bouhaddi, Dzsenifer Marozsan and Eugénie Le Sommer, who are returning to Lyon following their NWSL stint in 2021.

While OL Reign still managed to protect star players like Sofia Huerta, Tziarra King and Rose Lavelle, the team needs to find answers for considerable roster turnover heading into the 2022 season.

Thank you Dani! We wish you all the best at @weareangelcity! pic.twitter.com/REgXxs3FCE

— OL Reign (@OLReign) December 17, 2021

5. San Diego and Angel City’s rosters are shaping up

San Diego and Angel City each made some impressive signings leading up to the expansion draft, highlighting the draw of both markets.

With Morgan officially joining Abby Dahlkemper in San Diego, the expansion club has established a solid veteran foundation. The Wave have also prioritized defense heading into 2022, with expansion draft selections Kristen McNabb and Kaleigh Riehl joining Dahlkemper on the backline. Next up, the team has the first pick in Saturday’s college draft and is expected to select Florida State star midfielder Jaelin Howell. Not a bad starting point for a club set to make its debut.

On the other side, Angel City’s attack is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in the league spearheaded by Christen Press. The Los Angeles club added Jasmyne Spencer to the lineup with their fifth overall expansion pick and secured Simone Charley via a pre-draft trade with the Thorns. ACFC also padded its defense during the draft, bringing in midfielder Dani Weatherholt to strengthen the team’s backline, anchored by center back Sarah Gorden.

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.