In what became a pandemic trend among US women’s national team players, Christen Press joined the American exodus this fall in electing to move to the FA Women’s Super League and join Manchester United alongside fellow national teamer Tobin Heath. Earlier, Manchester City signed Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis, another USWNT duo, shaking up the soccer world while also setting up an epic Manchester derby, which will finally kick off this Saturday.

There she is ????????#MUWomen @ChristenPress pic.twitter.com/cb99thSIxY

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) September 24, 2020

“I’m really excited to be joining Manchester United this season,” Press said of her signing. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to play for such an elite club and beyond ready to get back on the field. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to continue to strive to be my best and to compete for trophies this year.”

I’m excited to share that I am joining Manchester United this season! I’m grateful to have the opportunity to play for such an elite club and beyond ready to get back on the field! @ManUtdWomen pic.twitter.com/JH9viQu5E4

— Christen Press (@ChristenPress) September 9, 2020

In an exclusive interview with Manchester United TV, Press indicated that her entrance into the Women’s Super League will offer a unique test of her skills. “It’s going to be a huge challenge. It always is when you’re changing culture. It’s not just the lifestyle culture, it’s the football culture, it’s the approach in training.”

Lights ????
Camera ????
Action ????

It's time for a peek at @ChristenPress's first #MUWomen interview! ✨ pic.twitter.com/j1Xi0QrEYI

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) September 24, 2020

Press is known for her lethality up top, boasting impressive stats in stints with the Chicago Red Stars, with whom she spent four seasons, the Utah Royals, with whom she spent two seasons, and the US women’s national team. Press has also spent time playing professionally in Sweden during her career.

While with the Red Stars, Press made 60 appearances, notching 35 goals and captaining the team in 2016 and 2017. She was then acquired by the Utah Royals in June of 2018, where she tallied 10 goals and 4 assists in 25 matches. Named to the NWSL Best XI in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019, Press certainly left her mark on the National Women’s Soccer League. Likewise stellar with the USWNT, Press is a two-time World Cup champion and has netted 58 goals and assisted 37 in 138 caps for her country.

It’s heavier than it looks ????@SInow pic.twitter.com/Kp9i21kiFX

— Christen Press (@ChristenPress) July 12, 2019

Most recently, she was awarded the honorary Golden Ball at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament and named to the tournament’s Best XI. Many believed this performance marked a turning point in Press’s career on the national team. Under new coach Vlatko Andonovski, she was given the chance to start after largely coming off the bench at the last World Cup under former coach Jill Ellis. And her CONCACAF performance provided all the evidence needed that she should likely keep that starting spot at next summer’s Olympics.

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It was never a question of if Press would become an impact player for Manchester United, only a matter of when. Her speed, footwork, and goal-scoring abilities alone make Press an asset for any team fortunate enough to add her to their offense — a fact that is certainly not lost upon Manchester United manager Casey Stoney, who had high praise for the 31 year old.

“Christen is a world-class player and we are thrilled to have her on board at the club. She has a proven record and her stats speak for themselves; she’s a ruthless striker who scores so many different types of goals, and I know she can add some real quality to our squad,” said Stoney, “Christen is also hugely experienced and for me it’s fantastic to add another senior figure like her in the dressing room.”

Thus far, Press has made four appearances for Manchester United during the 2020/2021 season, opening her scoring account in her third match with the club to lift United to a 4-2 win over West Ham United. By chance, fellow USWNT star Tobin Heath scored her first United goal in the very same match. Most recently, Press was commended for her role in Manchester United’s win over “big three” squad Arsenal to take first place in WSL standings, in which she connected with Tobin Heath on two scoring opportunities and made her presence known to the Arsenal defense, leading the charge in the attacking third.

Another from a @USWNT team member? Another indeed!

Christen Press gets on the @ManUtdWomen score sheet to make it 4-2!

Watch live: https://t.co/5gD9M8JxFB pic.twitter.com/WPnqzgv7hy

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 18, 2020

Since the addition of Press and Heath, it has been smooth sailing for Manchester United, who have scored 15 goals in six matches to hold onto a 5-1-0 record, remaining undefeated on the regular season with 16 points. But this is no time for United to catch their breath —still hot on their heels are Arsenal and Chelsea, who currently sit at second and third place in the league with 15 points and 13 points.

The #BarclaysFAWSL table after gameweek 6️⃣ ????@ManUtdWomen ???????? pic.twitter.com/GoY45UX3MG

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) November 8, 2020

On the horizon is this weekend’s much-anticipated Manchester derby, in which Christen Press, Tobin Heath, and a talented Manchester United squad will take on the reigning FA Women’s Cup champion Manchester City, featuring national teammates Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle. It will be well worth getting up early to witness the showdown between these two Manchester units this Saturday, November 14th at 7:30 a.m. EST — set your alarm accordingly! And catch a livestream of the game at AtaFootball.com.

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FA WSL:

 

November 14th 

Manchester United vs. Manchester City @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Everton vs. Reading FC @ 11:30 a.m. EST

Bristol City vs. Tottenham @ 1:30 p.m. EST

November 15th

West Ham vs. Brighton & Hove Albion @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Arsenal vs. Chelsea @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Manchester United has a chance to bounce back from their first 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League defeat — a 5-2 rout at the hands of Wolfsburg last month — as the UWCL league phase continues with a series of exciting matchups this week.

"The Wolfsburg game, we gave away too many simple goals," Manchester United manager Marc Skinner said on Friday. "That's something we need to fix."

The Champions League debutantes have another difficult opponent waiting for them in their fifth league-phase match on Wednesday, when the Red Devils will contend with eight-time European champions OL Lyonnes, who have yet to suffer a loss in this season's competition.

That said, the return of USWNT goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce to the European competition will bolster United this week, with the 29-year-old officially available to play as she continues recovering from a fractured eye socket that kept her out of the final US training camp of 2025.

While Manchester United and their Wednesday opponent OL Lyonnes have all-but-guaranteed themselves at least a playoff spot in the 2025/26 UWCL knockout rounds, other top sides like the reigning six-time WSL champions Chelsea and current Champions League title-holders Arsenal chase them in the standings.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal face intriguing matchups during this week's UWCL competition, as the Gunners play Dutch club Twente on Tuesday before the Blues take on Italian side Roma on Wednesday.

How to watch this week's 2025/26 Champions League action

The fifth matchday of the 2025/26 UWCL league phase kicks off with Austria's St. Pölten against Italy's Juventus at 12:45 PM ET on Tuesday, with Arsenal taking the pitch against Twente at 3 PM ET.

Both Manchester United's clash with OL Lyonnes and Chelsea's bout with Roma will begin at 3 PM ET on Wednesday.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The 2025 College Cup locked in its finalists last Friday, with the NCAA soccer tournament's overall No. 1-seed Stanford and No. 3-seed Florida State advancing past the competition in the semifinals to book an all-ACC championship match for the third straight year.

Stanford kept to their winning ways by ousting No. 2-seed Duke 1-0 on Friday, with senior midfielder Jasmine Aikey burying a 10th-minute free kick to take down the Blue Devils with her 21st goal of the season.

Florida State similarly landed a single strike to end the championship run of No. 2-seed TCU in their semifinal, benefitting from a second-half breakthrough from sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson in the game's 73rd minute.

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A full half of the last 14 NCAA titles have gone to either the Seminoles or the Cardinal, with Florida State edging Stanford 4-3 in national trophies thus far.

On Monday, the Cardinal will hunt their first national title since their epic penalty shootout victory in 2019, when Stanford narrowly defeated NCAA women's soccer dynasty North Carolina 5-4 from the spot after a 0-0 draw.

Florida State, on the other hand, won the 2023 title with a 5-1 thrashing of the Cardinal.

Stanford arguably holds the advantage over their ACC rivals entering Monday's match, having handed FSU a 2-1 defeat on their own Tallahassee pitch less than two months ago.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup final

No. 1 Stanford will face No. 3 Florida State for the 2025 NCAA women's soccer championship at 7 PM ET on Monday, airing live on ESPNU.

The NWSL may be forcing Washington Spirit superstar Trinity Rodman to "look elsewhere" for her next contract, after the league vetoed a multi-million dollar offer from her current squad last week, Rodman's agent told CBS Mornings last Friday.

"We worked really hard to put together an agreement that we felt complied with the CBA and would keep Trinity in the league for the foreseeable future," said Rodman's rep Mike Senkowski.

"With no certain way to get her fair market value within the NWSL, naturally, that forces you and encourages you to look elsewhere," he continued.

While the fight to keep Rodman Stateside is not over, with the NWSLPA filing a grievance last week arguing that the league office's mandate to reject the Spirit's back-loaded contract — worth more than $1 million per year — is a free agency violation, the NWSL appears unwilling to budge.

In a weekend clarification to The Athletic, an NWSL source noted that commissioner Jessica Berman contests that the Spirit's offer to raise Rodman's compensation in the contract's later years would pull Washington out of salary cap compliance in 2028, with the league disagreeing with the club regarding the potential cap growth under a new broadcast deal.

The league source also noted that the offer has a built-in buyout clause, which the NWSL believes signals an admission of possible salary cap circumvention.

As the Washington Spirit and NWSL fans hope for a win from the union's grievance, the door to recruit Rodman elsewhere seems to be wide open for overseas clubs — particularly those with deep pockets.

The San Diego Wave are closing out 2025 with a title, defeating Liga MX Femenil side Tigres UANL 3-0 to lift the World Sevens Football (W7F) trophy on Sunday.

Wave attacker Makenzy Robbe opened the scoring in the 7v7 venture's championship match, before forward Adriana Leon tacked on a second-half brace to put the game out of reach — and secure the $2 million winner's share of the $5 million prize pool for the NWSL side.

"I think in sevens it's a lot more emphasis on the individual, and so I think players who maybe don't play [as much in NWSL matches]...get to show their creative side," noted Robbe. "It was definitely an element to this, which was really fun."

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In a showcase of club talent across the Americas, the San Diego Wave finished the second-ever W7F tournament undefeated, scoring 14 goals while only conceding three en route to becoming the champion of the competition's first-ever North American iteration.

"It was so fun, and honestly, I would love to be back again," said San Diego goalkeeper and the tournament's golden Glove winner DiDi Haračić. "And we got the bag."

Wave midfielder Gia Corley took home the Breakout Player award, and while Tigres fell just short of the trophy, forward María Sánchez earned the competition's Golden Ball and Golden Boot with her six goals and two assists.

Club América of Liga MX Femenil earned a third-place finish, winning $700,000 in prize money as the bronze medal winners.