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How the benches can help Thorns or Current win NWSL title

The Thorns’ bench is deeper on paper, but the Current have relied on their crafty substitutes all season. (Craig Mitchelldyer/USA TODAY Sports)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — If there’s anything the public has learned from this year’s NWSL playoffs, it’s that you have to keep playing right up until the final whistle. Three of the last four postseason games have featured game-winners in either stoppage or extra time, with substitutes making an outsized impact. In a high-transition league, legs begin to tire around the 60th minute, and the decision to insert the right player for an infusion of energy can bend a match in a team’s favor.

On Saturday, the NWSL Championship could come down to the final half-hour of the game. The Kansas City Current and Portland Thorns have both done the work over the last eight months to be prepared for that moment.

“It’s hard to establish yourself as a coach and earn trust, and all you can do is try your best to be as consistent as possible,” said Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson. “And I think in that way from the beginning of the year, I’ve tried to use our depth.”

Throughout the season, the Thorns had to rely heavily on squad rotation while Christine Sinclair and others were away competing in international tournaments. Recent midfield starter Yazmeen Ryan thinks that experience not only helped them finish second in the league, but carried them into the championship.

“There’s not anything like it. I mean, I feel like this is just Portland, like this is who we are,” she said.

Those best-laid plans could be a difference-maker on Saturday evening, with the matchup between Portland and Kansas City culminating one of the most competitive seasons in NWSL history. Behind the strength of strong rookie classes joining cores of young and veteran talent, both the Thorns and the Current have players who can come in with fresh legs and new ideas.

“I’ve tried to use our players not just to rest other players or perceived starters, but to make sure that no matter who’s called upon and when, they have had game experience,” Wilkinson said.

The Current were dealt a tough hand to their starting XI early in 2022, losing both Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis to injury after making some of the splashiest signings of the offseason. While Mewis and Williams were missed, other members of the roster stepped up to take the club from the league basement in 2021 all the way to the last game of the year.

Kansas City head coach Matt Potter instills his team with the confidence that any player can contribute when called upon, like Elyse Bennett did against OL Reign last Sunday when Cece Kizer left the match as a concussion substitute.

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Rookie Elyse Bennett has been a key sub for the Current during the playoffs. (Amy Kontras/USA TODAY Sports)

“I feel like everyone on our team is worthy and deserving of minutes, and I feel like everyone’s gonna be ready when their name is called on,” Bennett said on Thursday.

Potter agrees: “It basically gives you many positive problems because so many players are ready to play. It’s hard to leave a player out — that’s one of the hardest things of the job. But we fully trust it, when they come into the game, they will change the game.” He mentioned subs like Chardonnay Curran, Izzy Rodriguez and Taylor Leach coming into the match in Seattle and putting the finishing touches on a late-game, 2-0 shutout victory to advance to the final.

“When we’re on the bench, we see things, we say things, and then when we go on, we actually do it,” Curran said, while Rodriguez cited the ability to exploit gaps she’s noticed while on the bench.

While the Current get the fresh legs and perspectives of younger players eager to make their mark on a big game, Portland has to manage the work of a number of established stars. In their semifinal against San Diego, the names on the bench came with years of top-level international and club experience. Asking Crystal Dunn, Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie to come in to close out a match isn’t an easy task to manage, but the Thorns have made the balance work.

“There’s a lot of ego and a lot of outside attention on starts, but I’m a big believer in who’s going to finish,” said Wilkinson, acknowledging that the trust required to ask a high-caliber player to be patient until their number is called comes with time. Dunn’s insertion into the match against San Diego resulted in the game-winner, and Wilkinson specifically called out a defensive action by Sinclair that helped close out the game after she was subbed in late.

Working her way back into full-90 fitness after giving birth to son Marcel in May, Dunn takes her job in stride. “I think you have to be adaptable. When people reach this level, you can’t only handle one role,” she said Friday. “When players see us adapt to fulfill new roles, I think it just helps younger players to step outside of their own self and say, ‘Hey, maybe this isn’t the role that I love, but I’m gonna do what I need to to help the team.’”

While Portland’s high-profile game-changers might give them an edge on paper, Kansas City’s ability to overcome deficits and fight to the finish has a lot to do with the tenacity of their substitutes.

“Those players have come into games that we’ve been losing 2-0 a few times throughout the season, and have come back to get results that we might not have been able to get without them,” Current forward Kristen Hamilton said.

No matter what, Bennett says, you can’t count anyone out until the last minute.

“Our bench is going to be just as ready as Portland’s bench,” she said, “and it’s going to be an accumulation of all the players on the team and the roster that ultimately deserves to win.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

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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