In the past seven months, the U.S. women’s national team roster has undergone a transformation.

For two friendlies against Australia in November, head coach Vlatko Andonovski named a 22-player roster that had 12 players with 10 caps or fewer. The following three camps featured many of the same players. Now, the new look could be the norm.

As the USWNT moves into the 2023 FIFA World Cup era with the Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers approaching in July, it’s time to get serious about the future of the USWNT roster.

The squad plays a pair of friendlies against Colombia on June 25 and 28, followed by the qualifying tournament a week later. The next roster, to be announced Monday morning, will be the most important one since the team that won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last year. There is a chance the roster for the two friendlies will be different from the Concacaf squad, but by one or two players at most.

Fifty-nine players were named to the preliminary Concacaf roster on Wednesday. Andonovski has to cut that number to 23 for qualifiers.

It takes time for a team to build chemistry. With that in mind, it’s unlikely Andonovski will stray far from the players he’s called in throughout the last year. Here are the 23 players I think Andonovski will take to Concacaf World Cup Qualifying.

Forwards (7): Mallory Pugh, Sophia Smith, Ashley Hatch, Midge Purce, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Trinity Rodman

Midfielders (6): Andi Sullivan, Rose Lavelle, Ashley Sanchez, Kristie Mewis, Lindsey Horan, Jaelin Howell

Defenders (7): Sofia Huerta, Alana Cook, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Kelley O’Hara, Emily Sonnett, Becky Sauerbrunn

Goalkeepers (3): Casey Murphy, Alyssa Naeher, Jane Campbell

Forwards

Andonovski somehow needs to evaluate the bottomless depth of the USWNT forwards, especially now that Alex Morgan and Christen Press are making strong cases for inclusion with their play in the NWSL.

To start, Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith are the two most obvious locks. Both players excel on the dribble and create big chances with their playmaking abilities. Add in the fact that Pugh leads the Chicago Red Stars with four goals and Smith is the Portland Thorns’ top goal scorer with three, and it’s impossible to think of any reasons why they wouldn’t be chosen for the USWNT’s Concacaf roster. Catarina Macario would have completed the trio up top, but she announced last week that she tore her ACL in Olympiuqe Lyon’s final match of the season.

Ashley Hatch seems to find the net every time she steps onto the field for the national team, including scoring the third-fastest goal in team history during her first start in November. The reigning NWSL Golden Boot winner has scored four goals in eight appearances for the USWNT and could be a good bench option for Andonovski when the team needs offense.

Midge Purce has been an impactful game-changer as an all-round player with a background in defending. The 26-year-old hasn’t missed a call-up opportunity in the last seven months, so it would be surprising to see her left off the roster now.

Morgan and Press are on the verge of a comeback. Morgan hasn’t been on the roster since September and Press since the Olympics last August, but both veterans have been proving their dominance on their club teams through the first few months of the NWSL season. Morgan leads the league in scoring with nine goals in nine games for the San Diego Wave, and Press has been a threat on Angel City FC’s frontline all season.

Press’ status for the roster is uncertain after she appeared to hurt her knee and was helped off the field in the 64th minute of Angel City’s win over Racing Louisville on Saturday. The club has yet to give an official prognosis, but whatever information Andonovski gets between now and Monday’s roster announcement could affect Press’ inclusion.

It’s also time for Trinity Rodman to get more experience with the USWNT. The 2021 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year attended her first senior national camp in January and earned her first cap at the SheBelieves Cup in February. The highest-paid player in the NWSL, Rodman will undoubtedly be a top candidate for the 2023 World Cup roster. Before then, the Concacaf tournament is the best way for her to get used to the high-stakes environment.

Midfielders

Playing in the 10, Rose Lavelle is the anchor of the USWNT’s midfield. Earning a spot on the NWSL’s May Best XI for her play with OL Reign, the USWNT’s 2019 World Cup hero isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Rising star and fellow attacking midfielder Ashley Sanchez also has a knack for creativity. With just seven caps, Sanchez has adjusted to the national team quickly, showing off fancy footwork and confidence on the ball.

Andonovski values Lindsey Horan as a leader for this young team and a stable presence in the center of the park. Another reliable contributor, Andi Sullivan helps set the pace from the six position, though she’s recently appeared on the Washington Spirit’s injury list for her quad.

Jaelin Howell, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, gives the USWNT a double-sided six who’s had a fair amount of exposure to the environment in the last year. In just her fifth international appearance in April, she scored her first goal against Uzbekistan.

Typically subbed in to be a game-changer, Kristie Mewis has become a consistent call-up since Andonovski took over as coach at the end of 2019.

Defenders

Kelley O’Hara, Emily Fox and Sofia Huerta are all exceptional in contributing to the attack. Huerta is arguably the best at crossing balls into the box, and Fox has the ability to dribble comfortably through multiple opponents out of the back. O’Hara has assumed a larger leadership role in the past year, holding the team to its high standard of a competitive, winning culture.

Emily Sonnett brings a high level of intensity to the backline. She’s mostly played on the outside for the USWNT, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Andonovski to try her at center back, where she thrives with the Washington Spirit.

The NWSL’s most recent Rookie of the Month, Naomi Girma, has stood out on the Wave’s backline with nifty, effortless-looking tackles and an impressive 85 percent passing success rate. She’ll have to compete for a starting spot with Becky Sauerbrunn, the most fearless player on the team, and NWSL May Best XI member Alana Cook, a world-class defender with similar composure.

Goalkeepers

Casey Murphy and veteran Alyssa Naeher lead the USWNT’s deep goalkeeping pool.

Murphy wasn’t available for the April friendlies due to injury, but she’s made a strong case with the national team, starting with her first cap in November. In a 3-0 shutout over Australia, she made eight saves to earn Player of the Match honors and has been formidable ever since.

Naeher has been the most consistent veteran call-up since the new year and won’t be going anywhere after her jaw-dropping performances for the Red Stars.

Fellow veteran Jane Campbell has recorded four clean sheets in seven games for the Houston Dash. Thanks to her 86.4 percent success rate on saves, the Dash have allowed an NWSL-best three goals so far this season.

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

Seb Hines was told he was interim head coach of the Orlando Pride on Tuesday.

It was the same day he found out head coach Amanda Cromwell and assistant Sam Greene had been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, pending the conclusion of a joint investigation between the NWSL and NWSL Players Association that explores allegations of workplace misconduct toward NWSL players.

With the Pride (2-3-2) coming off a 5-0 loss to the Houston Dash, Hines, who was hired in 2020 as an assistant coach, didn’t allow himself much reaction to either piece of news. With a road game against the second-place Chicago Red Stars coming up on Sunday, he and the team needed to focus on training.

“I’ve got a job to do,” said the former Orlando City SC player. “I’ll do it to the best of my ability as long as I’m in this role … We’ve got to prepare for Sunday and get a result at Chicago and put on a performance that the players deserve.”

Hines, 34, cannot comment on the suspensions with the investigation still underway. He also did not say how long he expects to serve as the acting head coach. Supporting him will be goalkeeper coach Aline Villages Reis and assistant coach Michelle Akers.

“I take it every day as it comes,” he told reporters Wednesday. “Today is a training session that would be led by myself. Tomorrow we have a day off. Friday we’ll train. Saturday we’ll leave to Chicago, and Sunday we’ll play. So, we’ll take every day as it comes.”

Focusing on the game has also been Hines’ message to the players as they, too, process the suspensions of Cromwell and Greene, who came to the team this offseason.

“Football’s freedom,” he said. “Go out and express themselves, believe in themselves and go enjoy it. We’re all here to play football. We love the game. I love the game. I’ve been at this, it’s all I know, since I was 7 years old. I know how fun it can be and making sure the environments are fun and enjoyable.”

When asked about the club’s environment off the field, Hines again directed attention back to the pitch.

“I focus on the field,” he said. “I can control what’s happening on the field at this present moment, so making sure that it’s a competitive environment, making sure we’re prepared and that players feel free to play and express themselves on the field. That’s what I can control.”

Pride midfielder Gunny Jónsdóttir was on the same page. She said she had no reaction to the suspensions and was focused on the match against the Red Stars.

For her, it isn’t difficult to block out the off-field noise.

“We’ve all had situations in our personal life or on a team that we’ve been on where different things happen, so I think we all have experience with setbacks or anything like that, so I think the team knows what we need to do,” Jónsdóttir said. “We need to just focus on ourselves and our performance and on training … and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Cromwell, who joined the Pride after 25 years at the college level, is the seventh NWSL head coach in the past two seasons to be suspended due to alleged misconduct. Earlier this season, Houston Dash coach James Clarkson was suspended amid an ongoing investigation to “review current and historic complaints of discrimination, harassment and abuse.”

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

The Houston Dash have found their stride. Over a month since finishing at the bottom of the Central Division standings in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and dropping their first regular season game against the first-place San Diego Wave, the Dash take a four-game unbeaten streak into Friday’s matchup with the Orlando Pride.

The results have all come under acting head coach Sarah Lowdon, who assumed the role after James Clarkson was suspended in late April based on initial findings in a joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSL Players’ Association.

During her three and a half weeks in charge, Lowdon has simply tried to “be what the team needs.” In some instances, that’s meant instilling positivity in the players; in others, it’s meant demanding a higher standard. Overall, she prioritizes a collaborative, open-door policy approach — if a player or staff member has a suggestion, she listens — and it’s led to two wins and two draws for the Dash.

“I think she’s done an amazing job,” said defender Ally Prisock. “She definitely didn’t sign up for this, but she’s taken the head coaching job and just run with it, really. I think she just does a really good job with communicating and she’s a really good leader, so I respect her a lot and I think she’s a great coach.”

This isn’t Lowdon’s first stint with the Dash. She rejoined the club in April after serving as an assistant coach from 2014-16. In between, the Newcastle, England native and former McNeese State midfielder was a volunteer assistant coach with the Penn State women’s soccer team.

When Lowdon first took over as acting head coach, she was focused on maintaining control as she adjusted to the new responsibilities. Now that she has a clearer understanding of her role and ability to delegate, she’s developed more of a routine.

“It’s been a transition, for sure,” Lowdon said. “It’s been obviously kind of a whirlwind, but I think in the end, I’m just trying to be here for the players and the staff and give them what they need to be successful. And that’s kind of what I’ve tried to do, is just be that person that they can come to.”

“It was a very difficult role for her to step into, but she stepped up to the plate and she’s been brilliant,” star forward Rachel Daly said after scoring the equalizer in Houston’s 1-1 draw with the North Carolina Courage on Sunday. “We couldn’t have asked for any more from her and the staff.”

On the field, Lowdon has placed a heavy emphasis on team defense, running film sessions in training to get their three-player backline on the same page. She’s preached the value of effort over talent, and the players have bought in. With goalkeeper Jane Campbell as the last line of defense, Houston is tied for the NWSL lead with three goals against in five games.

When the Dash host the Pride on Friday, it will be just their third home contest after three straight games on the road. Spending over two weeks away from home instilled a resilient attitude within the group that’s now translating into results.

After a disappointing finish in 2021, when the Dash failed to make their first NWSL playoff appearance with a 1-0 loss on the last day of the regular season, Lowdon is working to right the ship and infuse the team with a new energy.

“In terms of the dirty work, we’ve kind of built this gritty identity, but at the end of the day it’s just a concept,” Lowdon said. “We’re trying to define what that actually looks like on the field … We’ve kind of had to manufacture our mentality sometimes. At the end of the day, we’ve doubled our talent and it’s paying off.”

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

The NWSL’s first full month of regular-season play has come to an end, not without a whole host of surprises since the North Carolina Courage were crowned Challenge Cup champions.

Just Women’s Sports puts a bow on the NWSL in May with the first monthly Best XI of the season. The first-place San Diego Wave FC and second-place OL Reign each earned three roster spots, while Angel City FC, tied for second in the standings, has two. Overall, five of the league’s 12 clubs are represented.

Alex Morgan, F, San Diego Wave FC

The Diamond Bar, Calif. native, in her first season with the Wave, has reached a new peak in her career. Leading the league in scoring with six goals, Morgan became the second player in league history to record six goals in the first six matches of the season, joining Christen Press. She’s recorded 15 shots and nine shots on goal — both the third most in the league this season.

Mallory Pugh, F, Chicago Red Stars

Pugh played only two games in May, but in this case, quality trumps quantity. She returned from a concussion on May 22 to tally three goals and an assist in just two games. Her speed and ball movement are the difference-maker in Chicago’s dangerous attack, with Pugh directly affecting nearly half of their nine goals.

Christen Press, F, Angel City FC

The action shot of Press jumping over a frazzled Trinity Rodman while the Washington forward is lying on the ground basically sums up the Angel City striker’s month. The threat she poses to opposing backlines in one-on-three situations with her speed and shot placement consistently leaves defenders wondering what they can possibly to do to stop her.

Taylor Kornieck, M, San Diego Wave FC

Kornieck has been a key playmaker for the breakout Wave, who are second in the NWSL with eight goals so far this season. A standout on headers and long through-balls, the former Pride player is also a box-to-box midfielder who creates chances of her own in front of the net (she’s currently ranked second in the league with 16 shots).

Sam Coffey, M, Portland Thorns FC

In five starts through five games, the rookie has logged an impressive 86.1 percent passing success rate, and her distribution has been key to the Thorns’ strategy to spread the field. Used to more of an attacking role, Coffey has been a quick learner in the six position.

Rose Lavelle, M, OL Reign

Lavelle has successfully carried out her roles in both distribution and in the attacking third, recording two goals and a 93.3 percent success rate in long passes. She leads the league in shots (21) and shots on goal (12). Her dribbles up the middle continue to set the Reign up for dangerous chances in the box.

Sofia Huerta, D, OL Reign

Huerta was one of the most notable chance creators in the NWSL this past month, assisting on header goals by Lavelle and Bethany Balcer. With five chances created on Wednesday against the Kansas City Current, she is now the top creator in the NWSL since 2016, tied with Lynn Williams at 188. And since Sunday, she is just one assist away from tying Jessica McDonald as the league’s all-time assists leader.

Katie Naughton, D, Houston Dash

The Dash have recorded two shutouts and only three goals against on their current four-game unbeaten streak, and Naughton is a big reason why. A highly underrated defender, the 28-year-old has put up unbelievable numbers since the season started, including a 100-percent tackle success rate, an 88.9 aerial duels winning percentage, an 82.2 percent success rate in passes and a 73.7 success rate in duels.

Naomi Girma, D, San Diego Wave FC

It’s easy to forget that Girma is only a rookie since she has transitioned so seamlessly into San Diego’s starting lineup. The 2022 No. 1 draft pick has played every minute of the Wave’s six matches and recorded an exceptional 85 percent passing success rate. Her calmness and composure are paramount to a backline that has conceded only three goals this season.

Jasmyne Spencer, D, Angel City FC

Having played for five NWSL teams since 2013, Spencer has found consistency with Angel City, starting all five games on a backline that’s allowed just two goals in May. Her hustle stood out in the Challenge Cup and hasn’t slowed down since. The former attacker shuts down the top forwards in the league, while also putting her own attacking skills to use on the flank.

Phallon Tullis-Joyce, GK, OL Reign

With four clean sheets, the Reign’s new starting goalkeeper now leads the NWSL in shutouts. Tullis-Joyce is also second in saves with 24, two behind the Kansas City Current’s Adrianna Franch, helping the Reign move into a tie for second place in the standings with just four goals against.

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

To have to play a soccer game on Wednesday night while the country still reeled from the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday was a conflicting feeling for Kansas City Current midfielder Victoria Pickett.

“Although soccer is such a huge part of our lives, it seems a little bit insignificant when the lives of little kids and teachers are at stake, when really they should just be in a learning environment,” she said.

The Current and OL Reign held a moment of silence for the victims of the tragedy before their match Wednesday night, the only one on the NWSL calendar. After the Reign’s 1-0 win, their first of the season, players and coaches shared their thoughts on the tragedy at Robb Elementary, which left 19 children and two adults dead after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire inside a classroom.

“Honestly, at a loss of words,” Pickett said. “It’s very hard to understand when something like that is very preventable, but I guess people just need to start going to the governors and supporting more strict gun laws.”

“We’re living in an insane country when it comes to gun control and gun laws,” OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe said. “I mean, there’s literally a mass shooting every day. It actually struck me when we went to do a moment of silence today because we just did one three f–king days ago for a different mass shooting in a different city. It’s literally the definition of insanity. The entire country is being completely held hostage in a hostile environment where you can go to church, you can go to the grocery store, you can go to school and end up dead.”

Kansas City acting head coach Lloyd Yaxley, stepping in for Matt Potter as COVID-19 protocols left him and four Current players sidelined, urged the players before the match to call their parents and tell them they love them, then go on the field and do their families proud.

In his opening statement after the game, Yaxley said that wearing the black armband and offering condolences to the families wasn’t enough. Echoing the pleas of the players and Reign coach Laura Harvey, he called on U.S. politicians to tighten gun legislation.

With a 7-year-old second-grader at home, Yaxley said he couldn’t imagine getting a phone call on the other side of the country to learn that his child had been shot.

“For me, it’s just wild that these incidents keep happening and no change happens,” he said. “If it was any other walk of life — if it was the car manufacturers and the wheel kept falling off — that legislation would happen and change would happen. But when it’s gun laws, and the power that the NRA has and some of the greed that some of the politicians have, it’s hard for me to really understand.”

“It’s mind-blowing to me that this continues to happen,” Harvey said. “I’ve got a 3-year-old nephew who I just thought about immediately when I saw the news, and I’m sure everyone does that. And to think that he may go to preschool and never go home is heartbreaking. To think of all the families that are being affected every day by this craziness. It needs to change, it needs to stop. There’s no excuse. And we want that to change immediately.”

In a statement on their Twitter account Wednesday, the Reign advised fans to reach out to their U.S. representatives and encourage them to support legislation requiring background checks on all gun sales.

Rapinoe added after the game: “I urge people to use their voice and vote or to call their representatives or to badger their representatives, or to vote them out if they don’t change this, because we’re quite literally being held hostage in this country for no reason whatsoever. The only reason that an AR-15 exists is to murder human beings. It’s not used for anything else. And it’s obviously very effective and it’s just heartbreaking.”

The Reign get a three-day break before their next game against the league-leading San Diego Wave on Sunday. The Current have four days off before hosting Racing Louisville on Monday night.

“It makes it seem pointless to come play, really,” Rapinoe said. “It’s difficult to do that. I know everybody’s doing their job and having to show up today and trying to just sort of fake their way through it, but it’s so heartbreaking.”

Pickett paused in the postgame press conference after telling reporters that she had nothing else to say.

“Sorry, one more thing,” she said. “Just better gun rules. It needs to tighten up. That’s all there is to it.”

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

The NWSL landscape hasn’t gotten any clearer a month into the regular season. The two expansion teams are at the top of the standings, the 2022 Challenge Cup champions are at the bottom, and it’s a free-for-all everywhere in between.

Much has been made about the league’s unpredictable scheduling and refereeing, as many teams are finally starting to settle in after a busy Challenge Cup season.

To add to the chaos of it all, here are this week’s NWSL power rankings:

12. Kansas City Current (0-3-1) —

No one really deserved the last-place spot this week, but since the Current didn’t make a strong case to move up in the power rankings, they remain at the bottom. Considering head coach Matt Potter and four players were absent due to COVID-19 protocols, a 1-0 loss to Angel City FC off an own goal isn’t something to get caught up on. Their 2-2 draw with the Pride could have been a 2-1 win if not for Orlando’s penalty shot in the sixth minute of stoppage time. So, luck hasn’t been entirely on their side, but they’ll still need to show more urgency right from the kickoff to move up the rankings.

11. NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-2-0) -1

Gotham can blame the crossbar for being ranked 11th. They hit the woodwork five times in their only game in the last two weeks, a 1-0 loss to Racing Louisville on Sunday. Having struggled to break down Louisville’s transition game until the second half, Gotham could have easily come out of the contest with a point. And it would have been welcome for the embattled club, still looking for answers after acquiring several high-profile players in the offseason.

10. Orlando Pride (2-2-1) +1

Playing three games in eight days was not ideal, and yet the Pride came out of it with four points to move into fifth place in the NWSL standings. To stay there, they’ll need to be more consistent than in their 4-2 loss to the Red Stars four days after a lucky 2-1 win over the Challenge Cup champion North Carolina Courage. The Pride scored early in each of their wins, and they’ll find even more success if they can muster momentum in the games where they don’t manage those early leads.

9. Houston Dash (2-1-1) —

Houston went into a grueling stretch of three consecutive games on the road and attacked it head on, coming away with two wins and a tie. So far this season, the Dash have shown they can adapt to their opponents with formation and strategy adjustments. The Thorns, for example, often look to take early leads. In their matchup last Saturday, Houston went up 2-0 before the half and Portland looked lost. The Dash still have a lot of room to grow this season, but some of the foundational elements are there.

8. Chicago Red Stars (2-1-0) -1

One of just three teams that’s played only three matches so far, the Red Stars are already at six points and halfway up the standings — and that’s with eight players still ruled out on the availability report. Mallory Pugh returned from a concussion on Sunday and contributed two goals and an assist in Chicago’s 4-2 win over Orlando. A team’s potential shouldn’t be based off of one player, but Pugh’s energy on the dribble is a much-needed weapon for the Red Stars’ attack.

7. Racing Louisville FC (2-1-2) -1

For the first time in club history, Racing Louisville is on a winning streak. The 2021 expansion team followed up two draws with a mid-week shutout of San Diego Wave FC and a 1-0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC for a four-game unbeaten streak. After adding a number of new players to the 2022 roster, Louisville should only get stronger when Dr. Nadia Nadim rejoins the team following her recovery from a torn ACL.

6. North Carolina Courage (0-3-0) -3

The reigning Challenge Cup champions are walking a very fine line in their early contention for a playoff spot. Debinha was the only player with any strong chances in North Carolina’s loss to San Diego on Sunday, striking twice from distance. The Courage struggled with their defensive transition and swinging the play. Against Orlando last Wednesday, they took control in the final 20 minutes, cutting the Pride’s lead in half and finding the back of the net twice in stoppage time, but both goals were called offside. The Courage might consider inserting Brianna Pinto into the starting lineup and infusing their attack with energy from the opening whistle.

5. Angel City FC (3-1-0) +3

One spot behind San Diego in the standings is fellow 2022 expansion club Angel City, which has played one fewer match. With three wins and a loss, the Los Angeles-based club continues to exceed expectations, most recently recording 1-0 shutouts of the Kansas City Current and 2021 NWSL champion Washington Spirit. Head coach Freya Coombe has been looking for consistency from her team, and they’ve showed in the past two weeks that they have it. The next step for Angel City is to find momentum and take control of games in the first half.

4. Washington Spirit (1-1-2) —

Playing three games in one week, the Spirit recorded two draws and a loss to Angel City FC, which could have easily been a tie if the referee hadn’t called back Emily Sonnett’s goal due to a questionable offside. Considering the competitiveness of their games so far this season, the Spirit have plenty of talent to build upon and plenty of time to rebound.

3. OL Reign (0-1-3) +2

Three seems to be the magic number the Reign: three points, three goals, three draws and one of three teams with no wins. The results don’t reflect the team’s dangerous attack and possession abilities. In the past two weeks, they’ve battled the Thorns and Spirit in back-to-back draws. Their consistency will be tested in the next couple of weeks against the Current and the league-leading Wave.

2. Portland Thorns FC (1-1-2) —

Since the last edition of our power rankings, the Thorns have had two draws and a loss, snapping their seven-game regular season unbeaten streak, which dates back to 2021. They might be looking back on this stretch later in the season wishing they had taken better advantage of four straight games at home. Portland’s main issue has been finishing, but it should only be a matter of time before the forwards start gelling and connecting on Janine Beckie’s countless crosses.

1. San Diego Wave FC (4-1-0) —

The 2022 expansion club sits atop the standings for the fourth straight week. The Wave also lead the league in goals behind Alex Morgan’s six. The Wave uncharacteristically weren’t able to set up any dangerous attacks against Racing Louisville, who handed the club their first loss of the season off of a free kick. Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and the Wave’s backline have made big strides since the Challenge Cup and are making a case as one of the best defensive units in the league, conceding just two goals and recording three shutouts already this season.

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

Making her 2022 NWSL debut wasn’t the only thing U.S. women’s national team defender Becky Sauerbrunn was celebrating on Wednesday. Just as she was ready to return to the field for the Portland Thorns following a two-month recovery from knee surgery, the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) and the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) announced a historic collective bargaining agreement Wednesday morning, guaranteeing equal pay for the men’s and women’s teams.

As USWNTPA president, Sauerbrunn has been an integral part of that journey, starting in 2016 when she and four teammates — Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo — filed a lawsuit against the USSF for gender inequity.

Now 36 years old, Sauerbrunn spent a lot of days wondering if an agreement would be reached while she was still playing.

“A lot of things had to come together and a lot of people had to work together,” Sauerbrunn said. “There were definitely days where I was wondering if it was going to happen sooner or later and luckily it happened sooner.”

The ratified CBAs, which will run through 2028, are the first in the world to include equal FIFA World Cup prize money for the men’s and women’s teams, long the sticking point in the USWNT players’ legal battle for equal pay. The teams will pool their respective bonuses from each World Cup and split it equally among them, a significant step considering how wide the gap in prize money is between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The groundbreaking accomplishment would not have been possible without the former USWNT players who negotiated the first CBA, demanded better playing facilities and fought for gender equity throughout the last three decades. The fight started in 1995, when a group including Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers and Kristine Lilly sat out of Olympic training in protest of their pay.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without all the generations of women’s national team players that came before that decided to fight for better everything,” Sauerbrunn saud. “So much credit needs to go to them, and I hope they feel pride in what they did because we wouldn’t be here without them.”

Orlando Pride coach Amanda Cromwell was training with the national team when players boycotted training camp in 1995. She was a young player fighting for her roster spot at the time.

Cromwell and Akers, now an assistant coach with the Pride, can fully appreciate the significance of Wednesday’s announcement, knowing where the group started 27 years ago. From the sideline of the Pride’s 2-1 win over the Courage on Wednesday night, Cromwell wore her “Equal Play” shirt, which she fortuitously brought with her to North Carolina without knowing the CBA would be announced while she was there.

“I love everything about it,” Cromwell said of the agreement. “It makes sense to have that kind of pay equity. It is a dream come true for all these players and the future of our sport is very bright, and I think we’re in good hands now with U.S. Soccer and the NWSL CBA. There’s a lot of positives happening in our country and around the world with our sport, and as a former national team player, I’m very thankful for that.”

USWNT and Gotham FC midfielder Midge Purce noted the non-economical parts of the agreement, like child care and safe work environments, as setting a standard for women in any workforce.

“I think it’s game-changing,” said U.S. national team defender Abby Dahlkemper. “It’s going to affect not only women’s soccer in the U.S., but throughout the whole world and will just continue to keep driving the standard and passing the torch down, and I think it’s exciting for the future generation.”

Part of that next generation is 21-year-old Sophia Smith, who has 15 caps and four goals so far with the USWNT and will get to reap the benefits of the CBA for years to come.

On Wednesday, she was filled with nothing but gratitude.

“I don’t think we can even begin to understand the hours that went into fighting for this, the players that came before us who have dedicated their lives to fighting for equal pay for not only themselves but for us and for the next generations that will benefit from it,” she said.

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

When Heather O’Reilly joined the North Carolina Courage through a trade in 2018, Meredith Speck couldn’t resist telling her how much she looked up to the World Cup champion 10 years earlier, when Speck was playing youth soccer.

O’Reilly, a longtime midfielder with the U.S. women’s national team, helped establish a standard of excellence in North Carolina. During the two years she was on the team from 2018-19, the Courage won back-to-back NWSL championships and NWSL Shields.

With O’Reilly now retired and in the broadcasting booth, calling her first game as an analyst for North Carolina’s home opener Wednesday night, Speck and the other Courage veterans are carrying on the winning tradition. The team enters the regular season as the winningest club in the NWSL after defeating the Washington Spirit in the Challenge Cup final earlier this month.

Even now, Speck looks up to O’Reilly, influenced by her commitment to putting forth 100 percent effort at all times.

“I think sometimes people think it’s cool to not try your hardest, because if you’re not trying your hardest, then you can’t necessarily fail,” Speck said. “And what I love so much about Heather is she’s never too cool to work her hardest, and if she trains her hardest every day and doesn’t make the lineup, that’s just not embarrassing for her.”

Speck has been with the Courage since 2017, but she hasn’t always been a consistent starter. In four seasons with the club, excluding Challenge Cups, the midfielder has started 12 of the 45 games in which she’s played. But the Courage are a winning team not only because of the players they field on game day. Speck and her teammates fight for their starting spots in training.

“Game day is one day a week, and the other five days of training are so imperative to preparing the team,” she said. “So for myself, I’m not necessarily looking at preparing for a game in that moment — I’m looking for, how can I be my best every day? Because every day that I’m my best, my teammates are going to be able to be their best and whoever gets to go on the field, whatever 11 that is, they’re going to be the most prepared. If the team wins, we all win.”

The Courage are known for their player-driven, highly competitive culture. Speck, tied with teammate Abby Erceg as the winningest field players in the NWSL, sets the example for the younger players. She cited rookie midfielders Haleigh Stackpole and Frankie Tagliaferri as standard-bearers of that mentality in training.

“Everyone needs a Meri Speck,” said Courage head coach Sean Nahas. “She’s a massive glue piece for us. She’s a piece that keeps everything together. She’s that lightheartedness but focus as well. She’s a true pro, and I say that because for five years she never saw the field, but Meri never complained. Meri never lost her way. She never thought, ‘I’m not coming back because I don’t approve of my role.’”

Speck, 29, is part of a Courage veteran group that includes Erceg, Debinha, Carson Pickett, Denise O’Sullivan, Merrit Mathias, Katelyn Rowland, Kaleigh Kurtz and Ryan Williams. They have had to ramp up their energy since the Challenge Cup ended on May 7, helping the team overcome a stretch that included a seven-player COVID-19 outbreak and a postponed match against Gotham FC. With smaller numbers at practice, they’ve focused on specific parts of their game and kept the intensity high.

After dropping their regular season opener 2-1 to Angel City FC, the Courage are riding the momentum from their Challenge Cup win into Wednesday’s match against the Orlando Pride. Their early success came as a surprise to some people after all of their roster changes in the offseason, including losing U.S. women’s national players Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis in trades with the Kansas City Current, but the Courage had their eyes set on the trophy from the beginning.

“This team has been, from day one, super focused and ready to get down to business, and that’s why we won the Challenge Cup,” Speck said.

“We proved so many people wrong,” said Nahas.

After dealing with last September’s bombshell report in The Athletic detailing allegations of emotional and sexual abuse against former head coach Paul Riley, Nahas wanted the team to experience winning again, especially the veterans.

“It’s revitalized some players,” Nahas said of the Challenge Cup title. “It’s brought a new light to some things. It’s allowed the veterans to have a new sense of energy because they have other players around them working and representing the crest the way we want it to be represented.”

For an example of what that representation looks like, the players need look no further than Meredith Speck.

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

Kelley O’Hara had a big decision to make when a stranger called her up in 2019 and asked her to be an athlete ambassador for an unknown sports media startup.

The person on the other end of the phone was Haley Rosen, founder and CEO of Just Women’s Sports, on a mission to give women’s sports more media coverage. As O’Hara picked Rosen’s brain about her goals and vision for the company, an idea for a podcast was floated — one that would give athletes an opportunity to share their stories in their own words.

“Oh, I love podcasts,” O’Hara told her at the time, merely making conversation. “I’ve always thought it would be fun to host one.”

“Do you want to host this one?” Rosen asked.

A few minutes turned into an hour-long conversation, and by the end, O’Hara figured she’d give it a go, despite wondering if she’d even be good at it. Never mind that she had no way of knowing where this venture would end up.

It was the fact that women’s sports received only 4 percent of sports media coverage that convinced O’Hara she had to take the opportunity.

“I like to say I’m an optimistic realist, but also am pretty, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work, but it’s something I want to be a part of because it sounds like something that is going to address a problem that I see and that affects me and a lot of other people,’” said O’Hara. “Therefore, I want to be part of it … You can’t be waiting around, looking for someone else to do it.”

Taking initiative during moments of unpredictability has also defined O’Hara’s career as a soccer player. In her first year with the Washington Spirit last season, the veteran defender built a reputation as a locker-room motivator and on-field leader, helping the young team overcome tremendous adversity to win the NWSL championship. Instilling a “never-say-die” mentality in the Spirit, O’Hara was critical to the team’s 12-game winning streak and come-from-behind victory in the title game, scoring the winning goal off of a header in extra time.

Nowadays, to hear O’Hara talk about her approach to her teams and her podcast feels like one in the same.

“There’s no point complaining. It’s just wasted energy,” O’Hara said. “For me it was like, I want to be part of the solution. I think this is an issue. I think this is something that if addressed and done properly, can take women’s sports to the next level.”

Learning from the best

O’Hara learned to embrace challenges head-on during her early days with the U.S. women’s national team. As a rookie in 2010, she looked up to the older players and the sacrifices they made on and off the field to push women’s soccer forward.

Through her podcast, rebranded this year as The Players’ Pod, O’Hara has had the chance to interview athletes at the top of their games and at the forefront of effecting change inside and outside of their sports.

Within hers, O’Hara has been a leading advocate in the U.S. women’s national team’s fight for equal pay. Nearly two decades after USWNT players sat out of a 1996 Olympic camp in protest of their bonus money, O’Hara was a part of the USWNT Players Association’s bargaining committee that reached a historic settlement in February with U.S. Soccer, which committed to equal pay rates for the men’s and women’s teams across tournaments.

The USWNT’s performances on the field — including four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals — have been just as impactful in growing women’s soccer in the U.S. O’Hara cited Brandi Chastain’s game-winning penalty kick in the final of the 1999 World Cup, followed by her ripping her jersey off in celebration, as influencing her own journey.

“One of the most iconic pictures in sports history, in my opinion. A picture that elicits so many emotions in me,” O’Hara said. “Now, having gone through the career that I have and talking with her, I’m like, she’s just incredible. I definitely looked up to her when I was a kid, for sure.”

A key contributor to two of the USWNT’s World Cup championships, an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and a bronze last year, O’Hara cares deeply about upholding the program’s winning mentality and ultra-competitive culture.

Passing the torch

The USWNT roster looks very different now than it did just last summer at the Tokyo Olympics. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has ushered in a new wave of talented, young players, who are vying for roster spots on next year’s World Cup roster and leaving many to wonder what that means for veterans such as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Christen Press.

O’Hara was the only player on the USWNT’s April roster with more than 100 caps, giving her the responsibility of passing on the values she learned from her older teammates when she was a rookie.

“I’ve always looked at it as this sacred team,” O’Hara said. “I have a responsibility that I didn’t used to have to create the culture, contribute to the culture to make sure the team stays here, and not just stay here, but keep taking steps forward.”

Since moving to the Spirit in a trade from the Utah Royals in December 2020, and teaming up with USWNT newcomers Trinity Rodman and Ashley Sanchez, O’Hara has regular opportunities to impart those principles.

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O'Hara and the 19-year-old Rodman have formed a close friendship. (Robert Mora/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Spirit head coach Kris Ward says they joke all the time that O’Hara and fellow defender Emily Sonnett latched onto Rodman and Sanchez at the end of the 2021 season, helping them prepare for call-ups to the national team. Rodman and Sanchez were both invited to the November camp in Australia, which took place the same week they won the NWSL championship, and they have been named to every USWNT roster since then.

O’Hara, 33, is aware her career will wind down eventually, and she has begun to encourage some of the younger veterans to step into more vocal roles. Mallory Pugh, 24, and Rose Lavelle, 26, are two players Andonovski cited as emerging leaders during the most recent USWNT camp.

“It is not hard to see how much Kelley influences this team and how much of an example she is for this team and a leader,” Andonovski said in April.

“I think there are a handful of players who are waking up now, who realize that they are veterans, who might not have thought about it before but they are now,” O’Hara said. “I think it’s very exciting. I’ve told those players, ‘Guys, this is now your responsibility. You’ve got to take ownership of where this team goes.’”

Primed for success

The Spirit learned a lot about what they were capable of last season, finding success even as external factors — Richie Burke’s firing, a public ownership dispute, an investigation into workplace culture and multiple forfeits due to COVID-19 — continued to emerge and threaten their progress.

Now in a more secure environment, with Ward as head coach and Michele Kang as the new majority owner, O’Hara feels she can more easily channel her energy into winning games. It helps that on the field the Spirit are “really friggin’ good,” as O’Hara describes them.

As Washington transitions from the Challenge Cup final into the regular season and tries to make a run at a repeat NWSL championship, O’Hara has allowed herself more freedom in the attack, pushing into the opponent’s box from her position on the backline more frequently.

“She’s feeling that, and that’s emanating throughout the entire team to make them really feel like they’re building into something special,” Ward said.

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(Ruth Annan/@annanproductions/Just Women's Sports)

Meanwhile, The Players’ Pod, now in its fifth season, continues to grow and reach new listeners. Always looking for ways to use the platform to push women’s sports forward, O’Hara has tapped into a vision she had from the first season: interviewing people like general managers, investors and coaches, who offer a wider range of perspectives and experiences within women’s sports.

O’Hara’s responsibilities as a host, teammate and leader are keeping her busy, and fueling her drive even more.

“Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with where I’m at in terms of my professional career and the team I get to play for,” she said.

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

For the first time since the NWSL regular season began on April 29, we are back with our Just Women’s Sports power rankings.

The first two weeks of the season have been chaotic, and that’s exactly what these rankings reflect. Wonky scheduling has left some teams playing one game while others play three in one week, contributing to tired legs and unexpected results. The expansion clubs’ stadiums have been electric, refereeing has come under fire, and the underdogs are so eager to prove doubters wrong that they’re beating some of the best teams from the Challenge Cup.

Taking into consideration both the Challenge Cup playoffs and regular-season performances, here are the first power rankings of the NWSL season.

12. Kansas City Current (0-2-0)

From the Challenge Cup semifinals to the bottom of the regular-season standings, the Kansas City Current have had a rough couple of weeks with two losses and no goals scored. In their most recent game against the Dash, they managed to keep 60 percent possession and outshoot Houston 15-9 despite losing 2-0. This team has ample potential, but they’ll have to start finishing their chances to live up to it.

11. Orlando Pride (1-1-0)

Finding some rhythm with players in new positions, the Pride claimed their first victory of the year against Angel City on Sunday. Megan Montefusco played in the six and Carrie Lawrence shifted to center back, helping hold down a backline that head coach Amanda Cromwell raved about. Their first regular season game produced a very different outcome, with Orlando falling to Gotham FC despite finishing with 50.5 percent of the possession and a 15-7 shots advantage.

10. NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-1-0)

Going from a 3-0 win over the Pride to a 4-0 loss to San Diego Wave FC is quite the swing for a team that is full of veteran experience. The midfield has been shaky lately, but head coach Scott Parkinson said after the Wave match that its’ the defense and attack that need work. Gotham, first in the league in assists and second in goals, will be put to the test against the Courage on Saturday.

9. Houston Dash (1-1-0)

The Dash had some unexpected adjustments to make after head coach James Clarkson was suspended ahead of the regular season based on initial findings in a joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSL Players’ Association. After a 1-0 loss to San Diego to open their season, the Dash struggled to maintain possession in their second match against the Kansas City Current. In the end, they added more numbers in the midfield and built enough momentum to come away with a 2-0 shutout.

8. Angel City FC (1-1-0)

The 2022 expansion club had an electrifying start to its regular season, defeating the eventual Challenge Cup champion Courage 2-1 in front of a sold-out crowd at Banc of California Stadium. In quite a turn of events, Angel City lost to Orlando, the bottom team in the Challenge Cup standings, in their second regular season match. The club boasts individual talent across its lineup with players like Jun Endo, Jasmyne Spencer and Christen Press, but they need more time to build chemistry and dominate consistently in this league.

7. Chicago Red Stars (1-0-0)

Playing just one regular-season match so far due to Challenge Cup scheduling, the Red Stars earned three points at home against Racing Louisville FC. Despite the 2-1 result, the club struggled to respond to Racing’s high pressure and stay in control of the game. The Red Stars were without some key players, including Challenge Cup leading scorer Mallory Pugh and forward Yuki Nagasato, who was ruled out with an illness just before the match.

6. Racing Louisville FC (0-1-1)

Results aside, Racing Louisville FC has not had a bad start to the season. They dominated Chicago with 61 percent of the possession and a 14-8 shots advantage in what turned out to be a 2-1 loss, and then they earned a point in a 2-2 draw with Challenge Cup No. 1 seed OL Reign. They’ve succeeded so far at applying pressure and forcing giveaways. Against Chicago, they broke two league records with 47 total crosses and 43 crosses from open play. Alyssa Naeher and Phallon Tullis Joyce are two of the best goalkeepers in the league, but that will only get them so far if they don’t improve their finishing in front of net.

5. OL Reign (0-1-1)

The Reign have taken the hit for a lot of the problems that have plagued the NWSL lately, from poor scheduling to questionable calls. They then had overcome physical fatigue to play three games in one week while other teams, like Portland and Chicago, had just one. They came close to a win in the Challenge Cup semifinals, but lost after two rounds of penalty kicks and Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury’s heroics. The Reign still have plenty of time to recover and play like the team that earned the top seed out of the Challenge Cup group stage.

4. Washington Spirit (1-0-0)

The Spirit’s 20-game unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday in the Challenge Cup championship game. An emotional 90 minutes of physical play and multiple injuries, the match was not necessarily an accurate representation of what the Spirit are capable of. On any other day, Washington’s creativity on the attack can be lethal, such as in their two wins over OL Reign ahead of the final. When midfielder Ashley Sanchez has the ball, good things usually happen, but it took them a while to find that rhythm on Saturday.

3. North Carolina Courage (0-1-0)

After an unexpected 2-1 loss to Angel City in their regular season opener, the Courage outlasted the defending NWSL champions in the Challenge Cup final. The attacking duo of Kerolin and Debinha showed why they will give other teams nightmares this season. New to the NWSL, Kerolin has mastered the art of setting up goals and drawing penalty kicks in the box. Days after Kerolin was named Challenge Cup Finals MVP, Debinha earned tournament MVP honors. The veteran leadership of players like Abby Erceg, Meredith Speck and Merritt Mathias has helped establish a winning standard in North Carolina.

2. Portland Thorns FC (1-0-0)

It might seem unfair that the Thorns are in second after playing only one match since April 30, but a 3-0 shutout over the Current, the Challenge Cup semifinalists, shot them up the power rankings. The Thorns dominated in the match, outshooting Kansas City 19-5 and setting a league record for the most shots in the first half of a regular season match (10). They reached that mark even without star forward Sophia Smith on the field until the second half.

1. San Diego Wave FC (2-0-0)

The 2022 expansion team is wasting no time in living up to the NWSL’s #CueTheChaos slogan. The Wave have gone from the second-most losses in the Challenge Cup to the most wins so far in the regular season. Outside of the improvements they need to make in the midfield, they’re getting used to each other’s strengths quickly and showing why they could be serious contenders this year. This week, they dominated preseason favorite Gotham FC as Alex Morgan became just the third player in league history to score four goals in one game.

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