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Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel, Angel City bridge the gap across borders

Angel City’s Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel defends against Tigres during the friendly match Wednesday night. (Courtesy of Angel City Football Club)

LOS ANGELES — “Futból Sin Fronteras, ¡Una Sola Pasión!” read a sign in the supporters’ section during Angel City FC’s match against Tigres Femenil on Wednesday night. The club’s first international friendly was a celebration of the increasing interconnectedness of the women’s soccer world. In the words of the sign, the match was “soccer without borders” in action.

ACFC forward Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel may have felt that sentiment most strongly. The 23-year-old has played competitive soccer in four countries (Spain, the United States, England and Mexico) and was facing her old team on Wednesday. Afterward, she said the best part about playing her former teammates was having the opportunity to hug them and catch up after the game.

In her first start for ACFC, Ferrer Van Ginkel was named Player of the Match despite having a beautiful assist called back after rookie Hope Breslin was ruled offside. Head coach Freya Coombe praised Ferrer Van Ginkel’s ability to “show some class on the ball in possession” throughout the game. The midfielder played the bulk of the match, which Angel City won 1-0 on Savannah McCaskill’s goal in the 79th minute.

Next year, ACFC will visit Tigres in Monterrey, Mexico to culminate the two-year home-and-home series. On Tuesday, the clubs held a festival that included a youth soccer clinic, a five-on-five tournament and player appearances. Tigres will also host events for fans ahead of next year’s game to promote women’s soccer and engage their community.

Ferrer Van Ginkel understands as well as anyone the unique way sports can connect people. She was born in Brazil and began playing soccer in middle school to make friends after moving to Spain and not yet speaking Spanish. She and her two sisters were adopted by a Spanish family after their mother could no longer take care of them. What began as a way to fit in became an obsession and ultimately a career for the young footballer.

After spending last season in Liga MX Femenil with Tigres, Ferrer Van Ginkel signed a one-year deal with Angel City on Feb. 1 through a transfer agreement between the clubs. Now months into her first NWSL season, she describes the U.S. pro league as more physical and Mexico’s as more technical. Coombe believes the pace of play is faster in the NWSL, but what made Wednesday’s game a good test is that Tigres is one of the faster teams in Liga MX Femenil.

Four players born in California started the game for Tigres, including three with Southern California ties. Defender Anika Rodriguez and forward Mia Fishel were teammates at UCLA, Ammanda Marroquin was born in San Diego, and Bianca Sierra hails from the Bay Area.

In total, nine of the 21 players on Tigres’ roster attended universities in the States, including San Diego State, Washington State, Oregon State, Auburn, Toledo and South Florida. Nigerian-born forward Uchenna Kanu scored 115 goals in 55 games with Southeastern University (Florida) before scoring 17 times in 12 appearances for Pensacola in the Women’s Premier League. Ferrer Van Ginkel became the first international player to sign with Tigres last season, and this year’s team boasts six foreign players (four Americans, a Colombian and a Nigerian).

Rodriguez, a Los Angeles native, said that the partnership between the clubs was important to her personally as a Mexican-American and to the women’s game.

“It’s challenging the boundaries of this sport and crossing borders,” Rodriguez said. “Soccer is universal and knows no boundaries. This partnership is just one step closer to that ideal.”

After signing with the Portland Thorns in 2020, Rodriguez did not make an appearance and instead went to play for a Dutch team for two seasons before joining Tigres. She said the partnership with ACFC benefits her team by expanding its viewer and fan base and reaching the Latinx community in Los Angeles.

Ferrer Van Ginkel predicted the match would also have the effect of growing soccer in L.A., since many other professional sports may steer American fans’ attention away from soccer. In Monterrey, by contrast, the community is “100 percent attentive to soccer,” she says. Ferrer Van Ginkel has found Angel City’s robust, league-leading attendance impressive given all the other choices sports fans have in L.A.

“Maybe other teams in the NWSL now are going to follow and do the same thing,” she said of her club’s partnership with Tigres. “Or maybe it’ll become even bigger and we’ll become a league like a Copa. I think it’s huge for women’s soccer, to always be growing and doing new things like this.”

Before the game started, the teams exchanged scarves and took photos together, which Tigres head coach and three-year NWSL veteran Carmelina Moscato said signified a “football friendship.”

“It’s celebrating the spirit of women’s football, how it’s growing, how two clubs are pushing boundaries, how two clubs are first movers in their respective countries,” Moscato said.

For Coombe, too, the partnership exceeds far beyond the pitch.

“It it is more about how we are able to learn from each other,” Coombe said. “How we are both looking to take the best points from each other’s clubs and implement those to grow the game in our communities.”

Both head coaches said the goal is to push women’s soccer forward and agreed that, in the absence of a Champions League in the Americas, partnerships like this are needed to elevate the game. Last month, the women’s Euro final between England and Germany easily broke the attendance record with 87,192 fans watching the Lionesses win at Wembley Stadium.

“I think (this partnership will) inspire other leagues to get moving,” Moscato said. “When you start to see the game growing and connecting in these ways, people want to be part of this. It’s unique.”

Moscato said that a few Concacaf leagues are invested in and pushing boundaries for women’s soccer. She identified the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil as leaders among this group.

“The women’s game is growing rapidly, globally and regionally, which has been happening in almost an accelerator for the past decade,” said Moscato, specifically referencing the visibility that stems from every major international tournament. “It’s the years between those international events where club football does the heavy lifting.”

Angel City and Tigres Femenil are doing the heavy lifting, and they’re doing it without being bothered by arbitrary national borders.

Joshua Fischman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering Angel City FC and the Los Angeles Sparks. He has covered basketball for Vantage Sports and Hoops Rumors and served as co-host of “On the NBA Beat” podcast. Joshua received his master’s in Sports Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @SportsCommsJosh.

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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