Alex Loera becomes the first player to join NWSL expansion club Bay FC, arriving via trade from the Kansas City Current.

The 24-year-old defensive midfielder won the 2020 NCAA championship during her college career with Santa Clara, and she is thrilled to return to the Bay Area, she told reporters Wednesday. Bay FC cofounders Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton and Leslie Osborne also played for Santa Clara before starring for the USWNT.

“As soon as I heard that Bay FC could be a potential team in the league, I was so excited,” Loera said. “I was like, ‘Yep, I’m going to end up back here at some point.’ … So I am so excited. I cannot wait.”

Bay FC is set to start play in 2024, and Loera’s contract runs through 2025.

The Current received $175,000 in allocation funds and protection from Bay FC in the NWSL expansion draft on Dec. 15 in exchange for Loera. Bay FC and the Utah Royals will have the opportunity to select up to 12 players through the 12-round expansion draft, but the Current and the Orlando Pride already have acquired protection from Bay FC.

Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton acknowledged that the team is excited to find a player with “Bay Area ties.” She also sees Loera as the perfect player with which the team can begin to build its roster.

“Alex is a competitor,” Rushton said. “She’s a winner, and she’s a leader in how she plays. So as a founding piece of our team, she really does epitomize everything that we’re looking for.”

THE WAIT IS OVER.

Bay FC signs its first player in Club history, @alexisaloera! 🫧

NEWS: https://t.co/Ipe3iUAWCe#BayFC #WeCameToPlay pic.twitter.com/E2vzcw36AT

— Bay Football Club (@wearebayfc) November 15, 2023

Concerns over faulty NWSL officiating again took center stage this week, after Sunday's 3-3 draw between the Portland Thorns and Racing Louisville FC saw a league-record 41 fouls called — with only one card handed out in regulation.

In the chippy, physical showdown, Louisville took a 3-1 first-half lead only to see it shortened to 3-2 after referee Corbyn May awarded Portland a penalty kick just before halftime. Portland then drew level with another converted penalty, this one awarded late in second-half stoppage time.

Angered by May's controversial calls, Racing Louisville's Ary Borges garnered a post-match red card for dissent after confronting the officials on the field.

"I do think that match can't keep happening in this league. I think it's embarrassing — it alters the match, it alters the sport," said Portland's Jessie Fleming after the game, remarking on Louisville's aggressive play and the officials' lack of response.

"It's embarrassing for the league, and I think it's embarrassing for Louisville as a club, and very frustrating for us as players."

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Following the match, Borges apologized for her outburst via social media, going on to note, "I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame."

"For those who had two questionable penalties and spent the whole game throwing themselves in and around the penalty box, please take a moment to reflect and not talk about my team," she continued, accusing the Thorns of contributing to the issue by over-selling fouls.

With the puck dropping on the league's second postseason next week, the PWHL unveiled the Minnesota Frost's 2024 Walter Cup championship rings on Monday.

The reveal came as part of the league's multi-year partnership announcement with Paris Jewellers Canada, a family-owned jewelry brand that the PWHL has tapped to create its championship rings for years to come.

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In order to personalize the championship jewelry, the design of the 2024 title-winning rings included input from inaugural victors Minnesota.

Fashioned from sterling silver, the rings feature an image of the Walter Cup. Surrounding the trophy are 74 diamonds, in honor of the goals scored by the team throughout their first season, as well as 18 purple amethyst stones representative of the squad's total 2023/24 wins.

The rings also bear inscriptions of the May 29th, 2024, championship game date and 3-0 winning score, the Frost's "Win One Game" motto, and each athlete's name and jersey number.

The champs received their rings in a private celebration on Sunday.

"This group will always carry the honor of being the first team in PWHL history to win the Walter Cup," said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.  "Now, we will forever have these special championship rings that encapsulate the journey to the top."

With the 2024/25 PWHL regular season closing on May 3rd, the Frost are locked in a battle with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge for the two remaining playoff spots.

For a shot at defending their 2024 title, Minnesota must win their final two games by defeating both Ottawa and Boston this week.

Though rolling blackouts across the region suspended play at the 2025 Madrid Open on Monday, many top US talents are working their way through the clay court competition to great success.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff dispatched Switzerland's No. 42 Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 in Monday's Round of 16, exiting the court just before the arena lost power.

"I feel like, at this point, this is only a situation you can laugh at if I was on court," Gauff said after her post-match interview was cut short by a deadened mic. "Because it's probably not going to happen ever again, and we'll always remember the day the power went out at Madrid Open."

Gauff next faces No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, where a win could see her swap places with the now-ousted Jessica Pegula in the WTA rankings to reclaim No. 3 — and resume her title as the highest-ranked US player.

The rest of the Round of 16 resumed early Tuesday morning, with fellow US star and world No. 5 Madison Keys taking down Croatia's No. 21 Donna Vekić 6-2, 6-3 before No. 2 Iga Świątek eked out a win against No. 13 Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Keys and Świątek will now square off in the quarterfinals — their first meeting since Keys upset the Polish star in January's Australian Open semifinal.

How to watch the 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals

The 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals kick off at 4 AM ET on Wednesday. Coverage of the tournament will continue to air live on the Tennis Channel.

The NWSL has submitted a formal application to US Soccer to launch a Division II league in 2026, with CBS Sports first reporting the league's move to strengthen player development in a shifting domestic landscape early last Friday.

Similar to the academy system overseas, the lower league would serve as both a testing ground and feeder system for the top-flight NWSL, keeping talent in-house while also providing professional resources and competition.

Eight NWSL clubs — North Carolina, Kansas City, Louisville, Gotham, Orlando, Bay FC, Seattle, and Washington — will participate in the second-tier league's inaugural year. The NWSL intends for all clubs to join within Division II's first four years.

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Rapid growth reflects increased demand for women's soccer

Pro sports in the US have long relied on the NCAA to prepare future prospects, but with more young players forgoing NCAA soccer to sign pro contracts directly — not to mention the abolishment of the NWSL draft last season — new leagues are emerging to meet the development demand across North America.

Division I operations like the USL Super League and Canada's Northern Super League offer fully professional opportunities, while the amateur-focused WPSL will launch its own second-tier league, WPSL Pro, in 2026.

That said, the NWSL's Division II league would be the only secondary system sharing ownership, infrastructure, and staffing with top NWSL sides.

According to The Athletic, the NWSL has yet to agree upon full details for the new venture, with the submission primarily intended to meet a sanctioning deadline.

Should the application prove successful, club soccer in the US will see a rapid expansion, growing from a single pro league in 2023 to two Division I and two Division II leagues by 2026.