Christine Nairn’s face was full of emotion in the 78th minute of the Houston Dash’s friendly against Tigres Feminil on Sunday. Teammates hugged her and fans gave her a standing ovation as she made her way across the field to where Maegan Rosa was waiting to sub in.

Nairn was stepping off the field as an NWSL player for the very last time. Her career as a firefighter would begin less than 12 hours after the final whistle.

Nairn, one of the NWSL’s original players, helped the Dash to a 5-1 win in her send-off at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Having played soccer since the age of four, Nairn, now 30, is ready for a new chapter.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the Maryland native said. “I’ve cried more than I think I ever have in my life. I think it just goes to show that I still love this sport, you know, getting teary-eyed again. I love this sport so much, I love this team so much and it’s a hard decision, but I’m excited about the next step, selfishly for myself.

“It was the perfect night for me, to have my parents in the stands and to be able to see them and to walk away with such a ceremony and walking away with my head held high with a win and my teammates hugging me as I come off the field. So for me, it was a perfect ending to my career.”

For the final time. Thank you #10. pic.twitter.com/HLqBgsOWia

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) September 20, 2021

The midfielder is one of just seven players in the league to record 20 goals and 20 assists, and she ranks fourth for most matches played with 168. In October 2019, she became the first NWSL player to reach 150 appearances. The following season, Nairn and the Dash won the Challenge Cup for their first league title.

Nairn’s teammates describe her as a legend.

“I came in and immediately kind of gravitated toward her because she is such a smart player,” Dash midfielder Makamae Gomera-Stevens said. “She knows a lot about the game. For me, I made sure to ask her a lot of questions during my little time that I have been here. She impacted me and I know she impacted the team a lot.”

Dash head coach James Clarkson remembers signing Nairn when he first took the job late in 2018.

“I couldn’t talk, I was crying,” Clarkson said after Sunday’s match. “That was pretty tough. I wanted to make sure she could come off and get the standing ovation that she deserves, and it’s been a very emotional week for her. I thought she played great and it was a lovely send-off for her.”

Following a short career with the U.S. women’s national team, in which she scored the winning goal against Canada in a 2009 friendly, Nairn entered the NWSL as the seventh overall pick of Seattle Reign FC in the inaugural 2013 draft. She has played for Seattle (now OL Reign), the Washington Spirit, Orlando Pride and Houston Dash over nine seasons.

Clarkson believes Nairn deserves more credit as a pioneer in the league.

“I think it’s very important, when we talk about the growth of this game, recognizing the players that were at the forefront of this,” he said. “The start of the league, sacrificing everything and for the players coming through [now]. She does it for the love of the game, not for money, and she has kept this league afloat.”

After the match against Tigres, Nairn said her teammates had placed a basket of flowers, cookies and cards for her in the locker room. In fact, since she announced her retirement on Instagram last Thursday, Nairn’s week was filled with supportive texts and conversations.

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Nairn will still be around to watch the Dash from the stands; she plans to remain in Houston for her new career as a first responder.

“She’s going to be a fantastic firefighter,” Clarkson said. “That’s all I can say, because everything she puts her mind to she is successful at.”

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.