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Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger are ready for their encore

Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are divorcing after four years of marriage. (Jesse Louie/Just Women’s Sports)

Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are still up for a challenge, even after eight years in the NWSL and two FIFA World Cup titles.

Harris and Krieger’s shared drive has led the couple on their latest adventure, up the coast to NJ/NY Gotham FC for the 2022 season. After playing with the Orlando Pride since 2016, the two were traded to Gotham in early December.

Both Harris, 36, and Krieger, 37, acknowledge how hard it was to leave Orlando after building roots there for six years, but they’re energized by the prospect of a fresh start with Gotham FC.

“I feel like we are going to get a certain excitement that I don’t think we’ve had for a while playing,” Krieger tells Just Women’s Sports.

The Pride finished eighth in the NWSL standings last season, above only expansion clubs Racing Louisville and Kansas City in points with a 7-7-10 record. The team also weathered a mid-season coaching shakeup after Marc Skinner left Orlando to coach Manchester United and was replaced by Becky Burleigh, who departed at the end of the season.

After four losing seasons and just one trip to the NWSL playoffs during their Pride tenure, Harris says she and Krieger needed to make a tough decision for their mental health and happiness.

“I don’t think it was easy to walk away from Orlando, but if you’re not enjoying what you do, you have to make a change even if it’s a little bit hard and drastic,” Harris says. “We were just becoming too resentful, and I think that’s when you know we made the right decision.”

Off the pitch, Krieger and Harris weren’t content to compromise either, looking for a more favorable environment in which to raise their daughter, Sloane.

“I’d be lying if I said if Ali and I don’t think big picture with Sloane,” Harris says. “It’s really hard living in Florida as a gay couple with a Black child who has a really difficult governor (Governor Ron DeSantis) who isn’t progressive and isn’t accepting of our community and every day it’s something new and something harmful.”

Striving to put their child in the “best possible position,” Harris says that New York and New Jersey’s reputation as a “progressive place to live” factored into their move to Gotham.

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(Jesse Louie/Just Women's Sports)

This isn’t Harris or Krieger’s first trade, and both have seen how teams can wield their power over players during their professional soccer careers. Harris recalls teams making her empty promises to stick around and hearing their dead-end assurances about investing in the women’s game.

This time, Harris and Krieger feel that things different. Gotham’s owners invited the players to dinner after the trade, and Harris and Krieger both left the meeting optimistic about the club’s future.

“They are in the process of building something special, and in doing so, it’s funding, investment, it’s making your players feel wanted, needed, special, all the things that they deserve,” Harris says.

Krieger adds that they both “felt super supported and valued and appreciated right from the get-go.”

Harris, now a seasoned veteran,  says she needs to see “actionable steps” from a team, which means hiring the best of the best. To her, head coach Scott Parkinson, assistant coach Beverly “Bev” Goebel Yanez and general manager Yael Averbuch West fit the bill.

Gotham overhauled their front office and coaching staff last season. After GM Alyse LaHue was fired in July, Averbuch West filled the interim role and was permanently installed as GM in December. Parkinson, a former assistant with the Chicago Red Stars, was named head coach halfway through the 2021 season after Freya Coombe left to take the helm at Angel City FC.

“They get where they are at, but they also get where they need to be, and we are just trying to play a small role in that,” Harris says.

Krieger and Harris are joining a stacked roster that includes MVP nominee Midge Purce, Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco, second-leading goal scorer Ifeoma Onumonu, among other stars. After Gotham also added U.S. women’s national team midfielder Kristie Mewis in a trade following the expansion draft last week, it would appear the club is in “win-now” mode.

Krieger and Harris are not backing down from the pressure.

“We’re not showing up anywhere to just be average. We want to win games,” says Harris, adding that she is careful not to fixate on the future in a league where every match counts. “We need to make sure we are nailing our short-term goals and that’s having a really good preseason, having a really good preseason tournament.”

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(Jesse Louie/Just Women's Sports)

Still hungry for success, Harris lights up when talking about her determined mindset, explaining that she approaches almost everything in her life with the same intensity she brings to the pitch.

“I value showing up and giving everything for the people around me, and that’s just who I am,” she says. “I don’t like to sit in complacency. I like to sit in pressure pockets where I am pushed to learn, and I think that’s why I have always loved the position because I am constantly in pressure situations.”

The award-winning goalkeeper says she thrives in uncomfortable situations, knowing those are the times when she will learn and grow the most.

Krieger can relate as a defender, especially coming from a Pride team that gave up the third-most goals in the league in 2021. She relishes the opportunity to join Gotham’s backline, which finished the season second in goals conceded per match and fifth in shutouts.

“I just want to be around players that value defending just as much as me and I know this is a place where that exists,” says Krieger, who started all 23 of her appearances with the Pride last season, notching two assists.

Harris did her part to keep the Pride in games in 2021, surpassing the NWSL career saves record with 469 stops and going on an unprecedented penalty kick-saving streak.

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(Jesse Louie/Just Women's Sports)

It’s clear that Harris and Krieger will make an impact on the pitch, but the couple also provides value to the club off the field. When announcing the trade, Averbuch West said in a statement, “I know they’ll have a tremendous impact on the field and in the locker room while also helping us cement our presence in this market.”

Their popularity among fans is something Krieger and Harris embrace, especially in a market like New York and New Jersey, where sports, culture, politics and media often converge.

“We want this game to grow in a positive, healthy direction where one day women in our sport can retire at 35 and live out the rest of their life and not have to work again,” Krieger says.

“They (the fans) feel like they are in our lives, they feel like they are connected with us, that we are friends, and I really enjoy that because that keeps bringing them back, that keeps them buying season tickets.”

Harris and Krieger have also not shied away from speaking candidly about social issues, using their platforms to bring attention to matters that are important to them.

“We are activists through and through, and I think that will never change,” Harris says. “For us, we are always going to give everything to our community and for the things we stand for and believe in.”

While Krieger says the couple’s outsized public-facing role can be overwhelming, it’s worth it to her when she sees an NWSL stadium packed with fans. With the growth of the league, Harris sees an opportunity to engage supporters in a way that matches the enthusiasm fans have for the USWNT.

The synergy between the club and its new stars is perhaps best epitomized by Gotham FC’s pre-match runway, a ritual Harris is eager to participate in as one of the most fashionable athletes in sports. While she doesn’t have her looks planned out just yet, Harris can guarantee that fans won’t be disappointed.

“I am going to bring the heat,” she says, “so just get ready.”

Clare Brennan is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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