Most of the NWSL community has been waiting for the start of the 2022 season since the Washington Spirit walked away with the 2021 trophy on Nov. 20. For San Diego Wave FC forward Kelsey Turnbow, the countdown began last January when the Chicago Red Stars selected her No. 18 overall in the 2021 college draft.

Instead of playing for the Red Stars last year, Turnbow opted to return to Santa Clara for the spring 2021 season, rescheduled from 2020, and stay with the team last fall for her final NCAA season.

Toward the very end of that season, Turnbow learned she wouldn’t suit up for the Red Stars after all. The day before her last game with the Broncos, a shootout loss to BYU in the College Cup semifinals, Chicago traded her rights to San Diego, along with those of Katie Johnson and Makenzy Doniak, in exchange for immunity in the 2022 expansion draft and allocation money.

At that point, Turnbow was ready. The 23-year-old had two goals she wanted to reach before turning pro: earn her MBA and win a national championship. By the end of her college career, she had both. And for good measure, she finished the 2021 fall season as a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist, First Team All-West Region honoree, All-WCC for the fifth time and a First Team All-American.

“It just felt right for me to stay another year,” the former Broncos captain told Just Women’s Sports. “I am a goal-setter and I like to challenge myself and I felt like I hadn’t done what I came there to do yet,  that was really motivating. … I just felt like I wanted to be a part of something special for as long as I could, and that year gave me that.”

Santa Clara won the 2020 NCAA title in a shootout against No. 1 Florida State last May, thanks Turnbow’s equalizer in the final seven minutes of regulation that sent the match to overtime. The attacker also converted her penalty kick to seal the upset victory.

“To win a national championship with my best friends, I will never forget that moment and I will always cherish the friendships I’ve made with those girls,” she said. “Those are my friends for life.”

The thought of capping her college career on the high note of a national championship was tempting, but with an MBA to complete and surrounded by friends she’d become even closer to after the title-winning season, Turnbow made the natural decision to stay for the fall.

The lessons she picked up during her last year at Santa Clara have served her in well in her first NWSL training camp. With San Diego, Turnbow has focused on contributing to a strong team culture, checking in on her teammates and picking them up when they’re down.

“Literally my teammates are my family and I’ve always considered them as such,” she said. “So however I can contribute to make this environment a winning culture and a really healthy environment for people to grow, I want to do that.”

Get to know #6, @KelseyTurnbow ⚽️🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/T5SBbVuZF4

— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) February 17, 2022

In their first month and a half as a team, the Wave have created a culture built on authenticity, transparency and vulnerability, values that resonate deeply with Turnbow.

“It’s an environment where I feel like I can be myself and I can thrive and they expect so much out of me,” she said. “I love goal-setting and I like challenging myself, and I feel like this is a place where I can do that and I can really grow and be my best self both on and off the field.”

A naturally social person, Turnbow lived in a house with 13 teammates for one year at Santa Clara. So far with the Wave, she has found her relationships to be fulfilling.

Turnbow and roommate Naomi Girma, the Wave’s first overall pick in the 2022 college draft, live in the same apartment building as other San Diego teammates. They spend much of their downtime sitting by the pool of the complex or relaxing at the beach. Turnbow has enjoyed her conversations with the coaches and veterans about both soccer and life experiences.

“I just feel like they hand-picked such a great group of people and I could not be more blessed to have this experience because the people matter,” Turnbow said. “You can be somewhere so cool in the world, but if you’re not with the right people, it’s not going to be as memorable. And I just feel so grateful that the people here are awesome. It’s really contributing to my growth here.”

The team-building efforts have made preseason pass by in a flash, as Turnbow described it, but they’ve also set the Wave up to come out strong in their Challenge Cup opener Saturday against Angel City FC.

“I’ve just been thinking about this game — like, it’s my very first professional game — for so long,” she said. “To finally be here, it’s so surreal, it’s exciting, it’s a little bit nerve-wracking in all the best ways. But I feel blessed to be in this position, to where I have the opportunity to play with so many incredible players. To just step on the pitch as a professional for the first time, it’s going to be really special day.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Just days after Spain rose to world No. 1 in the most recent FIFA rankings, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Monday that head coach Montse Tomé will not see her contract renewed when it expires at the end of August.

"The Board of Directors of the Royal Spanish Football Federation would like to express its gratitude for Montse Tomé's work, professionalism, and dedication in her various roles during her time as a member of the national teams at the RFEF, particularly during her time as senior national team coach," the governing body said in a statement.

Tomé — Spain's first-ever women head coach — took over La Roja in September 2023 following the removal of former manager Jorge Vilda, with both Vilda and then-federation boss Luis Rubiales exiting amid a highly public toxicity scandal.

During her almost two-year tenure at the helm, the 43-year-old led her former national team to the 2024 UEFA Nations League title, but fell short at both the 2024 Olympics and the 2025 Euro.

Expected to win both major tournament titles, Spain exited the 2024 Paris Games in a semifinal upset to Brazil before finishing last month's European Championship as runners-up to repeat champions England.

While critics questioned some of her sideline decisions in those losses, Tomé also reportedly failed to fully earn the respect of the Spain locker room during her tenure — a hurdle that some contend was due in part to her prior role as Vilda's assistant.

The RFEF has tapped their U-23 manager, Sonia Bermúdez, to succeed Tomé.

Prior to her managerial career in Spain's youth program, the 40-year-old former national team captain and attacker scored 34 goals in her 61 appearances for La Roja.

Aiming to make a significant splash in their debut season in the top-flight WSL, the newly promoted London City Lionesses are gearing up by trying to bolster their roster with big names — including the club's newest target, Arsenal forward Beth Mead.

According to reports, London City owner Michele Kang has reportedly made a formal offer to acquire the longtime Arsenal star, who has suited up for the Gunners for the last eight years.

In her 225 appearances for the club, Mead has scored 78 goals en route to snagging Arsenal the 2018/19 WSL championship as well as a trio of League Cups.

Most recently, the 30-year-old attacker helped the Gunners shockingly upend powerhouse Barcelona to claim the 2024/25 Champions League crown — the WSL's first UWCL title in 18 years.

The WSL's all-time assists leader added another international trophy to her case just last month, as the England national booked a second straight Euro title to go along with her Golden Boot-winning tournament in 2022.

Regardless of the outcome, London City's offer makes a serious statement as the Lionesses ascend the ranks of women's football behind Kang's growing multi-team empire.

London City has already picked up players like Swedish legend Kosovare Asllani, Dutch midfielder Daniëlle Van de Donk, and former Manchester United forward Nikita Parris, signaling the Lionesses' intentions to keep rising ahead of their inaugural 2025/26 WSL campaign.

Fresh off her 2025 Euro win, England star goalkeeper Hannah Hampton revealed her penalty shootout secret that helped lift the Lionesses over Spain in last month's tournament final.

After Hampton spotted Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll's tactical notes written on her water bottle, she quietly picked it up and tossed it into the crowd.

"The Spanish keeper had it on her bottle," Hampton told England radio station talkSPORT on Friday. "So I thought when she was going in goal, I'll just pick it up and throw it into the English fans so she can't have it."

Hampton kept her own Euro penalty shootout notes wrapped around her forearm, explaining that "I never put it on a bottle because anyone can [throw it away]."

The 24-year-old's method proved useful in saving shots from Spanish stars Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey, ultimately setting up teammate Chloe Kelly to bury the title-winning penalty.

"I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing [because] I was like 'Oh, I don't know where [Coll's water bottled] has gone,'" Hampton recalled. "But you have got to do something, haven't you?"

As for Coll, the Spanish keeper seemed to refute Hampton's story, posting two laughing emojis in response to the radio clip, as well as saying "Okay, okay, calm down. If only it were true..."

The injury woes continued for the No. 5 Indiana Fever last week, with guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald both going down with season-ending injuries in Thursday's 95-60 blowout loss to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.

While 36-year-old veteran Colson tore her left ACL in the first quarter of the matchup, midseason signee McDonald broke her foot in the fourth quarter — leaving Indiana with just nine available players for Saturday's 92-70 win over the No. 11 Chicago Sky.

View this post on Instagram

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

With star Caitlin Clark still recovering from a groin injury, Thursday saw the Fever's point guard stock dwindle even further — especially as the team initially signed McDonald to a rest-of-season contract in late June to specifically address Clark's absence and help lighten the load.

"This is the most resilient team I've ever been a part of, and I say that wholeheartedly," Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell told reporters following her game-leading 26-point performance on Saturday. "We've had a lot of mishap happen throughout the course of the season...and we've stayed resilient."

With Colson and McDonald out for 2025 and Clark's recovery timeline still uncertain, Indiana's ongoing struggle to patch together a full, healthy roster saw the Fever sign veteran guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract on Sunday.

How to watch the Indiana Fever this week

The No. 5 Fever will put their newest lineup to the test on Tuesday, when Indiana will host the No. 12 Dallas Wings at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.