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Lynn Williams approved Gotham FC trade with three minutes to spare

Lynn Williams celebrates after scoring for the USWNT in her first match in 10 months. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Snacks is back, with Lynn Williams opening up about her trade to NJ/NY Gotham FC in the first episode of the new season of the podcast from Just Women’s Sports.

Speaking with her fellow co-host Sam Mewis, Williams described how she learned of the potential trade. The 29-year-old forward was in New Zealand with the U.S. women’s nation national team, in her first camp and her first time playing soccer in almost a year.

“It was an emotional time,” she said. “It was the day of the draft, and I was so oblivious that it was that day. I feel like normally when it’s draft day you’re like, don’t look at your phone. If you get news, especially when you’re in camp, you’ll get it later on in the day so you can focus.”

But Williams was on the treatment table when her agent messaged her about “time-sensitive information.” She thought she was getting a new deal with the Kansas City Current. Instead, her agent informed her that the Current were pushing for a trade.

“My heart sunk, my face dropped. My initial reaction was, ‘No, I’m not going,’” Williams said, noting that she had “veto power” over the trade. Gotham, she said, didn’t want her if she didn’t want to be there.

Still, she was worried about what would happen in Kansas City if she said no: Would it be awkward? Would she play? She talked with USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski, and she also spoke with Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, who made it clear just how much the team wanted her.

“Basically the decision I had come down to was: I don’t want to be at a place that doesn’t want me. And if Gotham really wants me, then I wanna go there,” Williams said.

With three minutes to spare before the deadline for the trade, she agreed to the deal. The trade was announced announced minutes later, giving her just enough time to call her mom and let her know before her new teammate Kelley O’Hara was blowing up her phone in excitement.

“She was like, ‘Let’s go!’ And I was just distraught,” Williams said. “It was pretty devastating at the time. Not necessarily because I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t wanna go to Gotham.’ It was more like, my life was, in a moment, flipped on its head.”

Throughout the entire trade process, Williams felt unsettled, she said on Snacks. She would have to move, again, during a World Cup year, as she was still trying to rehab the hamstring injury that kept her out through almost all of 2022. That, she said, was the most stressful part.

“I feel like every trade is unique in its own way. It’s hard,” she said. “You would like to think that teams would know a little bit more in advance that they’re going to trade you or not. And maybe they do.”

Of course, Williams hasn’t wasted time in getting acclimated on the field. She scored in Gotham’s season opener, which also marked her debut for the club, and is off to a good start to the year with the USWNT.

Both Williams’ and Mewis’ journeys will be documented through Snacks, as well as more in-depth insight into what’s going on around the league in this new season. Mewis remains under contract with the Current, but she is not expected to play in 2023 as she continues to work her way back from a knee injury.

Of course, there will be special guests – including O’Hara in this week’s premiere episode – and more discussion about not just the U.S. league but about women’s soccer as a whole.

“I can’t wait for this new season. This league is constantly moving and shifting, and giving fans an inside look at it all that they can’t get anywhere else is our secret sauce,” Mewis said. “Even with everything we’ve accomplished on the field, Snacks is one of our greatest joys because it provides us with such a unique opportunity for us to share our experiences around the game we love and provide a platform for others to talk about women’s soccer in a way that hasn’t been done before.”

And in a new partnership with iHeartPodcasts, Snacks has an opportunity to reach more people than ever for and drive larger conversations that transcend sports.

“We’re excited to bring ‘Snacks’ back for another season as it’s one of the most important platforms in women’s sports right now,” said Haley Rosen, the founder and CEO of Just Women’s Sports. “Women’s soccer has been on such an incredible growth trajectory over the past decade, and on this show, two of the game’s most decorated and accomplished players are not only providing their authentic perspective every week as professionals but also as burgeoning media personalities adding to the almost non existent conversations happening about women’s soccer games week to week.”

Las Vegas Aces Star A’ja Wilson Headlines 2025 All-WNBA First Team

A graphic displays the five athletes named to the 2025 All-WNBA First Team.
Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson garnered unanimous selection to the 2025 All-WNBA First Team roster. (JWS)

Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.

Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.

Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.

The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.

All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.

Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.

Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.

Seattle Reign Legend Lauren Barnes to Retire at End of 2025 NWSL Season

Seattle Reign defender Lauren Barnes gives high-fives to fans while entering the pitch to warm up for a 2025 NWSL match.
Seattle Reign defender Lauren Barnes is one of four remaining players from the NWSL's inaugural 2013 season. (Soobum Im/NWSL via Getty Images)

Seattle Reign captain Lauren Barnes is calling it a career, as one of the last remaining original members of the NWSL announced plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season.

"From day one, Seattle has been home," the 13-year Reign alum said in Monday's club statement. "I've grown up here — as a player, a leader, and a person. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and the culture we've created.... This chapter of my life has been a dream."

"Lu has been the heartbeat of this club since the very beginning," added Reign head coach Laura Harvey. "She has been the glue that has held us together through the ups and the downs. Everything about who we are, whether it's our standards, our values or our resilience, Lu has her fingerprints on it all."

Barnes exits the pitch with more caps and minutes played than any other athlete in league history, with the standout defender also helping to anchor the Reign's backline to the tune of three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, and 2022).

Those accolades, however, are the least of what makes Barnes exceptional, according to Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore.

"What makes Lu so rare isn't just her longevity or her records, it's her humanity," said Gallimore. "She's been a leader, a role model, and a constant source of strength for this club and the community. You simply don't see players spend their entire career in one city anymore, and that loyalty speaks volumes about who she is and what Seattle means to her."

The 36-year-old isn't the only league veteran hanging up her NWSL boots this year, with Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton, Angel City defender Ali Riley, Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat, and Barnes' Seattle teammate Veronica Latsko also set to retire.

Coco Gauff Defeats Fellow U.S. Star Jessica Pegula to Win 2025 Wuhan Open

US tennis star Coco Gauff smiles while holding her 2025 Wuhan Open championship trophy.
US tennis star Coco Gauff earned her second title of 2025 WTA season by winning the Wuhan Open on Sunday. (Zhang Chang/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.

With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.

Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.

"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."

Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.

Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.

Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.

US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.

Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.

South Carolina Star Chloe Kitts Out for 2025/26 NCAA Season with ACL Injury

South Carolina junior Chloe Kitts muscles up a shot during the 2025 NCAA basketball championship game.
South Carolina senior forward Chloe Kitts will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season due to a torn ACL. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.

"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.

"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"

A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.

Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.

Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.

Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.

"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.

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