It’s been two months since Amy Rodriguez was sent to North Carolina Courage from Kansas City. Now that she’s had time to settle in with her new team, the forward has a large role to play heading into the last six matches of the season.

Rodriguez was traded along with $60,000 allocation money in exchange for Kristen Hamilton, Hailie Mace and Katelyn Rowland on July 22 after seven and a half seasons with her former team. Fast forward to Saturday and the Courage will be stepping onto the pitch following a 12-day break, looking to crack their three-game goal drought as they take on NJ/NY Gotham FC.

North Carolina head coach Paul Riley wasn’t satisfied with the creativity and the ball movement of the offense coming into the break, but Rodriguez could become a game-changing factor.

“I do feel like I’m slowly getting my footing here,” Rodriguez said. “I was just saying outside to some of the girls that I really had to come in here and hit the ground running, and on a team like North Carolina, where technically we are so complex and there’s a lot of detail that goes into our game plan and our style of play, that has proven to be a little bit difficult for me, but I’ve really enjoyed it and I love this challenge.”

[NEWS] The North Carolina Courage have acquired striker Amy Rodriguez and allocation money in a trade with Kansas City for Kristen Hamilton, Hailie Mace and Katelyn Rowland.

📰: https://t.co/jKHa6vL3TH#NoFinishLine pic.twitter.com/k8hV42icSS

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) July 22, 2021

This season, the 2015 FIFA World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist has started 16 of 18 matches for Kansas City and the Courage combined. With four goals — two with KC and two with North Carolina — she’s netted a total of 45 throughout her NWSL career.

Goals are what the Courage need, but Riley has other priorities to address first.

“People are waiting for super goal production, but I think the more important thing is we get some kind of chemistry between her, between her and Lynn [Williams], between her and Jess [McDonald], and I think that’s the most important part at this point,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Rodriguez and Riley have represented the same team. Riley coached Rodriguez 13 years ago when she was 21, straight out of University of Southern California and playing for the Philadelphia Independence of the Women’s Professional Soccer League.

“A-Rod is one of the top forwards I’ve coached in my 30-year coaching career,” Riley said in a statement following Rodriguez’s trade to North Carolina.

And it seems she’s only gotten better.

“I think she’s already five percent better than she was last week, five percent every week, and I think mid-October, you’ll see the best of her,” he said on Thursday.

According to Riley, Rodriguez is a more mature and intelligent player now, and that it took him five weeks to get used to her not still being the 21-year-old he once knew. Before, her playing style was more about pressuring the opponent’s last line, whereas now she’s better at taking advantage of space on and off the ball. Her fitness levels have also improved.

One aspect that’s taken more adjusting has been the Courage’s formation. Rodriguez has always played in a front three, but North Carolina has two forwards, sometimes with an attacking midfielder.

But it shouldn’t be a problem to get those wrinkles smoothed out by the time playoffs come around. Riley considers her sharper now than she was when she arrived on the team in July.

“I’m excited to see what the future brings for her and what the next month brings,” said Riley.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins breaks down the newly reported indefinite absence of NWSL star Trinity Rodman from the Washington Spirit, with the 22-year-old attacker rehabbing an ongoing back injury that could reshape the prospects of both the Spirit and the USWNT.

Calling her "the face of the NWSL," Watkins details the Spirit star's long-term back injury, which has led Rodman to seek treatment with a team doctor in London — all while acknowledging that she doesn't think her "back will ever be 100%."

Watkins digs into the potential contributing factors to Rodman's current injury status, including the USWNT's heavy use of the forward during the 2024 Olympic gold medal-winning run in Paris — and whether the team will make different decisions going forward due to the fallout on players like Rodman.

"I'm really curious if [USWNT manager Emma] Hayes and her coaching staff will adjust the way they approach strikers in the future, or forwards in the future, or rotation — or if this is just one of those many stories of a player giving it all for the United States and living with the consequences," says Watkins.

As for Washington, Watkins note that — in the wake of copious injuries — the Spirit is still finding ways to win, with club owner Michele Kang and the coaching staff shrewdly managing the depleted roster.

"I think they would be a juggernaut if they were healthy, but they can win pretty, they can win ugly," notes Watkins.

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'An NWSL breaking point'

Watkins also points out that she thinks Rodman's choice to seek treatment in London could be significant, as the forward is currently in a contract year.

With multiple NWSL standouts recently defecting to European clubs, Watkins argues that the US league is hitting a "breaking point" when it comes to retaining top players.

"I am just really, really curious if, by the end of this season, this situation has led Rodman back to the Spirit or if this is the beginning of a player having to progress forward in a different environment," Watkins sums up.

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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There's a traffic jam in the middle of the NWSL standings, with this weekend's slate bound to create some distance among mid-table teams jockeying to break free from the pack.

Between rising underdogs and top-dog rivalries, expect the 2025 NWSL season's sixth matchday to leave it all on the field:

• No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 6 Angel City, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): With both teams coming off demoralizing losses last weekend, the 2024 NWSL champs will fight to bounce back against the LA upstarts in Friday's marquee matchup.

• No. 10 Houston Dash vs. No. 11 Utah Royals, Friday at 8 PM ET (NWSL+): Tied up at four points apiece, the pair of struggling teams just below playoff contention on the NWSL table will battle for a boost above the cutoff line as the recently sold Royals take a trip to Texas on Friday.

• No. 3 Washington Spirit vs. No. 4 Gotham FC, Saturday at 1 PM ET (CBS): This week's top-table showdown features two injury-struck East Coast rivals getting rowdy at Audi — can Gotham turn things around or will Washington keep persevering?

• No. 9 Bay FC vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Saturday at 10 PM ET (ION): Seattle holds a slim tie-break over Bay FC as both teams hug the playoff line, with the Reign looking to build on last week’s Cascadia Clash victory over Portland.

This weekend has the potential to divide the contenders from the pretenders, while the league's top three clubs continue to hold court over the rest of the field.

Saturday's soccer lineup underlines a brewing East Coast rivalry, as the Washington Spirit hosts Gotham FC for the first time since knocking the Bats out of the 2024 NWSL semifinals.

"Just playing against them, you feel that fire," Spirit forward Makenna Morris told JWS this week, with Washington's Audi Field anticipating a large crowd for Saturday's match.

Both clubs know each other well, with 2021 NWSL champions Washington and 2023 trophy-winners Gotham seeing a number of big-name players migrating between New York and DC in recent years.

After finishing 2024 in the league's top four, both teams continue to lurk near the top of NWSL table this season, cementing the idea that the best rivalries blossom between winning sides.

"The [team] that poses the most challenge to you, it just makes you want to beat them so bad," said Washington midfielder Gabby Carle.

"You hate to play them because they're good, but you also love it because it's so competitive," echoed Morris.

Ultimately, familiarity is breeding healthy resentment between two of the NWSL's winningest sides, providing a little extra incentive to secure all three points in this weekend’s matchup.

How to watch NWSL rivals Washington vs. Gotham this weekend

The Spirit will host East Coast rival Gotham at 1 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage of the 2024 NWSL semifinals rematch airing on CBS.

As the 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) wraps up its two-leg semifinals on Sunday, the English teams still in the running find themselves on the brink of elimination from Europe's most prestigious club competition.

Facing a 4-1 deficit against reigning champs Barcelona, Chelsea will aim to close the gap — and keep their historic quadruple hopes alive — at home this weekend.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will try to overcome a more manageable 2-1 deficit against eight-time Champions League winners Lyon, traveling to France to keep their UWCL campaign alive.

An English side hasn't won the UWCL since 2007, when Arsenal took home the WSL's lone European championship trophy.

"Huge respect for their history and what they have been doing and producing in the Champions League, in Europe," Arsenal manager Renée Slegers said of Lyon. "I think they're still a very strong side."

"Subconsciously, you always have that thing when you fall short, like last year," said Lyon midfielder and USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps, reflecting back on last season’s title loss to Barcelona. "You lose a game, you lose a tournament – the feeling is there until you're back in the the games that can fix that feeling."

How to watch the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals

Sunday's second leg of the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals kicks off with Chelsea vs. Barcelona at 9 AM ET, before Arsenal faces Lyon at 12 PM ET.

Both matches will air live on DAZN.