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Lynn Williams can’t be denied for Gotham, USWNT in 2023

Gotham’s Lynn Williams has six goals across all NWSL competitions in 2023. (Jonathan Jones/USA TODAY Sports)

The first third of the 2023 NWSL season has brought a few surprises, with clubs that finished at the bottom of the standings last season rising into the top four thanks to turnarounds in form.

Some of these shifts came from coaching changes or key acquisitions in the offseason. For Gotham FC, it’s been a little bit of both. The combination of new manager Juan Carlos Amorós and marquee acquisition Lynn Williams has the New Jersey club sitting in third place after seven matches played.

Williams is coming off the longest absence from the game in her professional career after recovering from a hamstring injury. What she’s been able to achieve so far this year not only has her club team on the rise, but could secure her a debut trip to the World Cup with the U.S. women’s national team in July.

A welcome return

After Williams suffered an acute hamstring injury before the 2022 regular season, the striker fell into a state of flux. Without ever getting serious time on the pitch with the Kansas City Current, she was traded to Gotham FC in the offseason, and no one knew exactly what to expect from her in 2023.

But in the last month, the forward has reminded the league why she’s near the top of the NWSL’s all-time leaderboard. Williams sits alone in second place with 61 regular-season goals in her NWSL career, only 16 behind the all-time tally set by Sam Kerr. She also recently surpassed Kerr for the all-time goal contributions record (combined goals and assists) with 103.

Williams crossing those milestones in 2023 is no small feat; with an injury as severe as a hamstring tear and a change in club environment, her return to top form was never guaranteed. As it stands, the 29-year-old is in the 92nd percentile of non-penalty goals per 90 forwards in 2023, and in the 75th percentile in non-penalty xG generated and total shots.

Leading Gotham with four goals in seven regular season games (and six in nine games across all competitions), Williams has helped the New Jersey club get off to a strong start after a down year. She’s already matched the regular-season scoring output of any Gotham player in 2022, and has done so with fellow forward Midge Purce limited due to injury.

All the same fundamentals

In addition to her offensive prowess this season, Williams’ defensive work rate has returned in full force. She’s in the 92nd percentile for NWSL forwards in tackles, interceptions and aerial duels won in 2023, and her willingness to be disruptive in key areas is fundamental to the ways Gotham has found success.

Those intangibles are a big reason why Williams has been a consistent call-up to head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s USWNT, which also excels when pushing a higher line of contention to force mistakes. Williams is the type of player who provides an attacking outlet on the wing and the ability to track back on defense, allowing the teams she plays for to get their outside back forward.

Gotham plays with this ethos to an even more aggressive degree than the USWNT. They go all-out in a high press to try to gain an edge early on in games. That approach requires intensity and commitment from the first whistle as well as a sense of discipline as legs begin to tire.

Growing into a new role

Williams said on a recent episode of Snacks that she feels she’s still growing in her ability to influence a match in Gotham’s system.

“Honestly, no. I don’t,” she said, when asked if she thinks she’s playing at the highest level of her career. “I feel like I am scoring at a higher percentage, which is great.”

She went on to explain that in the dominant, early years of her career, she was used to playing in a two-front system (North Carolina’s 4-2-2-2 box midfield was well-known as the team steamrolled to multiple titles in 2018 and 2019). Williams was known as a high-volume shooter and a high-scoring striker, meaning that the Courage’s overwhelming number of shots made for lower accuracy numbers, but a higher volume of chances that led to results.

With Gotham, Williams plays in more of a lone striker role, with support on the wings from the midfield. Sometimes this requires Williams to dip into the central midfield to receive service, but she’s also frequently tasked with sitting on the opponent’s backline and taking her chances when they arrive.

“I feel sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, I just barely touched the ball,’” Williams said on Snacks. “But I guess that’s just how the system works.”

What should excite both Gotham and USWNT fans is that a system change that could have derailed Williams’ return to sharpness hasn’t seemed to slow her down at all. Williams has scored from both inside and outside the box, manipulating her stride to place the ball with her favored right foot. She’s also getting more experience playing centrally, mirroring the nuances of 2022 NWSL MVP Sophia Smith’s roles for club and country

“​​I feel like I’m getting back to myself, but I’m not there yet,” she said “So I feel like every game I’m like, ‘OK, my fitness is getting a little bit better. The taking on people is getting a little bit better. My shot’s better.’ But it’s been like a year, so … it’s baby steps.”

Williams feels she still has room to improve, but the way she’s been able to reshape her skill set not only boosts her case for inclusion on the 2023 World Cup roster, but also solidifies the argument that she should be starting. Time will tell if Andonovski prizes the new facets of her game or chooses to rely on Williams’ established reputation.

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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