NWSL Stars Join the 2024 NWSL Championship Party at ‘Fast Friends’ Live
NWSL stars Ali Riley and Merritt Mathias join hosts Lisa Leslie and Kelley O'Hara on stage. (Just Women's Sports)
Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie!
Fast Friends brought the party to Kansas City on Thursday, as co-hosts Lisa Leslie and Kelley O'Hara, plus a roster of superstar guests, kicked off the 2024 NWSL Championship Weekend in style.
Retirement, goal cellies, NWSL title predictions, and more dominated conversation as league heavy-hitters Ali Riley, Merritt Mathias, Lo’eau LaBonta, and Kate del Fava — plus reps from each of the two championship contenders, Orlando's Carson Pickett and Washington's Croix Bethune and Ashley Hatch — took to the stage in front of a live audience.
The intrepid hosts also recapped the NWSL semifinals, including a mixup that saw Leslie texting O'Hara at exactly the wrong moment.
"I didn't really understand that they were going to add more time to the clock," Leslie explained, referencing her confusion over Washington's stoppage-time equalizer against O'Hara's Gotham FC.
"I got a text that was like, 'LETS GO!,'" laughed O'Hara. "And I'm like, 'Is she cheering for the Spirit?'"
About Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie
Coming off the success of JWS's Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women's sports every week.
UNC Lifts 2024 College Cup with 22nd NCAA Championship Win
With the 2024 College Cup trophy, UNC again has more national titles than all other DI programs combined. (Ryan Hunt/Getty Images)
UNC won their 22nd NCAA soccer title last night, beating Wake Forest 1-0 to lift the 2024 College Cup and end the Tar Heels' 12-year championship drought.
After a first half spent largely chasing the Demon Deacons, who outshot UNC 5-1 in that time frame, North Carolina broke through in the 62nd minute after a curling free kick from sophomore Olivia Thomas banged into the side netting.
Thomas, who only scored five regular-season goals after spending a large portion of 2024 nursing a hamstring injury, hit the gas in the postseason, ultimately tallying four goals in the NCAA tournament.
Her championship-winning strike earned Thomas the 2024 College Cup’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player award, while UNC goalkeeper Clare Gagne's trio of saves in last night's match snagged her Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors.
With last night's victory, the UNC women's soccer dynasty once again owns more NCAA soccer hardware than all other Division I programs combined, an accomplishment made even more impressive by the hurdles the Tar Heels faced in their 2024 campaign.
After 45 years as head coach, UNC's program founder Anson Dorrance retired four days before this season's kick-off. Longtime associate coach Damon Nahas was handed the interim reins, stepping in to helm the now-champion squad.
On top of the late coaching swap, the Tar Heels were still reeling from a 2023 mass exodus in which 11 players turned pro and nine transferred out of Chapel Hill.
"We call it the great migration," remarked Thomas after the win. "Transfers came in, club players came up, and we all just meshed together so well… It could've gone any direction [but] here we are and we won it all."
Last night's trophy was ultimately both a retirement gift to Dorrance and a welcome present to Nahas, who received the official nod for the permanent head coaching position just hours before the championship match.
Nahas, who now just needs approval from the UNC Board of Trustees before signing his contract, remains steadfast that the job is merely icing on this season's cake.
"This is a unique season of an extraordinary accomplishment from a group of 27 girls that most people would never have gambled on," Nahas said about his team. "I just love coaching them."
"This national championship is... a greater gift than the head coaching position here at North Carolina. I get to share this with them for the rest of our lives."
Dee Lab
Dec 10, 2024
USWNT Sets Olympic Rematch With Brazil
The USWNT hasn't lost to Brazil since 2014. (Harriet Lander - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The USWNT is challenging Brazil to an Olympic rematch in the form of two April 2025 friendlies, with the 2024 gold medalists kicking off against their silver counterparts on April 5th in Los Angeles before closing out the two-match series in San Jose on April 8th.
The rivals' opening LA clash will be SoFi Stadium's first-ever women's professional sporting event. The state-of-the-art NFL venue, which opened in 2020, is gearing up to host the 2026 Men's World Cup and will test its first natural grass installation in March, prior to the USWNT's visit.
"These are matches against a top team in fantastic stadiums that will be as fun for the players as they are for the fans," US boss Emma Hayes said in a statement. "To play the first ever women’s professional match at Sofi Stadium is a great honor and one worthy of this team."
The USWNT has a long history with the 2027 World Cup hosts, and April's matches will mark their 42nd and 43rd meetings with the world No. 8 team.
That said, the No. 1 US hasn't lost to Brazil since 2014, and holds a 33-3-5 all-time record against the South American powerhouse.
Their two 2024 bouts both ended in 1-0 US victories, each in a title-clinching final. First, the USWNT claimed the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup off a game-winning Lindsey Horan header in March, before Mal Swanson's lone goal snagged August's Olympic final win.
How to buy tickets to see the USWNT vs. Brazil
Tickets for both of April's matches are available now via presale, with general sales opening at 1 PM ET on Friday.
The April 5th LA match will kick off at 5 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT. San Jose's game is set for 10:30 PM ET on April 8th, and will air on TBS.
JWS Staff
Dec 9, 2024
NWSL Free Agency Shakes Up Gotham Roster
Standout midfielder Delanie Sheehan left Gotham FC for the Houston Dash last week. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Three players exited Gotham FC in NWSL free agency last week, putting the NJ/NY club's superteam status in question as the early offseason brings a slew of roster shakeups.
Headlining the Gotham defectors is starting midfielder Delanie Sheehan, who notched two goals and logged the third-most minutes for the NWSL semifinalists last season. Sheehan will join the Houston Dash, inking a two-year contract with an addition option for the 2027 season last Wednesday.
Joining Sheehan in signing contracts with new clubs are defenders Maitane López, who joined the newly rebranded Chicago Stars FC on a two-year deal last Thursday, and Sam Hiatt, who inked a two-season contract with a 2027 option with the Portland Thorns on Friday.
Though Gotham has seen the biggest exodus since the end of the 2024 NWSL season, they're not the only club suffering losses. Last Wednesday, defender Madison Curry, who led Angel City in tackles by a mile with 45 in her 2024 rookie season, signed a three-year deal with the Seattle Reign.
ACFC tackle specialist and new free agent Madison Curry signed a three-year contract with Seattle. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
NWSL salary cap, new CBA fuel player movement
Under the NWSL's new CBA, all players out of contract automatically become unrestricted free agents, giving athletes greater control over their professional and geographical futures as their careers progress.
Pay hikes, more playing time, and other personal and professional considerations influence player movement, encouraging league parity in light of the college draft's dissolution.
Along with individual athlete preferences and an exploding pool of free agents, NWSL front offices must still contend with the league's current salary cap. Illustrated by Sheehan's choice to join 2024 last-place Houston rather than stay with a Gotham side that won the 2023 championship and finished third last season, it can be difficult to maintain such hyper-talented rosters under the current salary cap.
This lineup reshuffling will only accelerate under the NWSL's planned two-team 2026 expansion, further burgeoning this new era of league-wide change.
JWS Staff
Dec 9, 2024
Golden State Valkyries Stack Roster in WNBA Expansion Draft Results
The Valkyries selected 11 players in Friday's expansion draft. (Mike Rasay/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Golden State Valkyries began building their 2025 debut roster on Friday, when the first WNBA expansion draft since February 2008 saw the league's incoming 13th franchise select its first players.
Other than each team's six protected players, the Valkyries were allowed to choose a maximum of one player from each of the league's 12 current squads, including one total unrestricted free agent.
Golden State selected 11 notable 2024 contributors, leaving only the Seattle Storm's current roster intact.
Loaded with a barrage of both established and international talent, the Valkyries chose seven players who are at or over the WNBA's average age of 27, signaling the new franchise's interest in leveraging veteran talent to form a team who could immediately contend for a championship title.
Ultimately, Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin wants her new draftees "to be happy. I want them to understand the opportunity that they have to come and be historians. Once you get to put on that jersey and you get to sit in front of a packed Chase Center, your whole experience is going to change."
Golden State snagged stellar talent on Friday, including some of the league's top bench contributors, like 2024 WNBA champion Kayla Thornton. The forward, who was likely only unprotected due to New York's incredibly deep roster, appeared in every 2024 Liberty contest, logging the franchise's second-most minutes off the bench.
Other new Valkyries include Phoenix forward Monique Billings, Golden State's lone permitted unrestricted free agent pick, and Connecticut guard Veronica Burton.
Perhaps the most surprising Golden State acquisition was Indiana center Temi Fagbenle, who proved a solid pairing with 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark in the Fever's 2024 campaign. Her availability in Friday's draft was a shock, giving the Valkyries a solid veteran two-way performer in the paint.
Also on the move is Las Vegas' fan-favorite guard Kate Martin. The surprise second-round 2024 WNBA Draft pick saw her playing time decrease as the Aces' injured roster got healthy last season. This move to the Bay Area, where she'll rejoin former Las Vegas assistant and new Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase, will likely give the guard more opportunities to develop and contribute.
In her live post-draft interview, Martin told ESPN, "I'm really excited. This league is all about opportunity and you just need one shot, right? I'm very thankful for the Aces and everything that I got to learn there, but I am really excited for this new beginning and to build something from the ground up with the Valkyries."
New Golden State draftee Julie Vanloo led Washington in assists per game last season. (Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
Valkyries roster leans on international talent
Joining the five US-born new Valkyries are six international standouts, with three from last season's WNBA courts and three from various European leagues.
Making intra-league moves are Australian forward Stephanie Talbot and Italian forward Cecilia Zandalasini, selected from the LA Sparks and Minnesota Lynx, respectively. Similarly, guard Julie Vanloo, who's first WNBA season at 31 years old had her leading the Mystics in assists per game, will relocate to the West Coast after Golden State claimed the Belgian sharpshooter.
The Valkyries secured the rights to two athletes who've never played in the WNBA — French guard Carla Leite and Spanish forward María Conde from Dallas and Chicago, respectively. French center Iliana Rupert, who helped the Aces win their 2022 championship before joining Atlanta, also earned a Golden State nod despite opting to play in Turkey rather than the WNBA last season.
The Valkyries front office will continue roster building via free agency. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Golden State's next steps
While last week's expansion draft is an important first step in building new squads, expect even more pieces to fall into place early as free agency and the trade market heat up next year.
Though free agency remains frozen until February 1st, Valkyries will have a significant amount of salary cap wiggle room with which to negotiate, as few expansion draft selections are arriving already under contract for 2025.
Golden State will also add to their roster coffers in April's college draft. The Valkyries have been granted the No. 5 overall pick, plus the fifth pick in both the second and third rounds.
The Golden State Valkyries expansion draft selections
