Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz each will suit up for the U.S. women’s national team one last time.

On Tuesday, the USWNT revealed the 27-player roster for its September friendlies against South Africa. Ertz and Rapinoe both feature on the list, and each will receive her own final hurrah — Ertz in the first match in Cincinnati on Sept. 21, Rapinoe in the second match in Chicago on Sept. 24.

Ertz announced her retirement from professional soccer at the end of August, but she is returning to play in one more match for the USWNT before she hangs up her cleats. It will mark Ertz’s 123rd appearance for the national team.

“I expected to just walk away after retirement, but to have the opportunity to say goodbye to my teammates and the fans one last time is something special that many players dream of,” Ertz said in a news release.

Rapinoe announced her impending retirement ahead of the World Cup. While her final USWNT appearance will come at Chicago’s Soldier Field, the OL Reign forward will retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season.

The USWNT’s September roster mirrors the 2023 World Cup roster, minus Sophia Smith and Kristie Mewis. Smith, the USWNT’s lone 2023 Ballon d’Or nominee, went down with an MCL sprain in late August during an NWSL match. Mewis also is recovering from an injury.

Mia Fishel, who is on the hunt for her first cap with the senior national team, joins the roster after signing with Chelsea this summer. And Jaedyn Shaw, the San Diego Wave’s 18-year-old phenom, received her first nod for the senior national team.

Chicago Red Stars defenders Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger, Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey and Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch return to the roster after missing out on the World Cup.

So far in 2023, the USWNT has a record of 9-0-3 (W-L-D), including the disappointing World Cup run. While the Round of 16 shootout loss to Sweden officially counts as a draw, it stands as the worst World Cup showing in program history and led to head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s resignation. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore will lead the team against South Africa.

USWNT schedule: September 2023

• Thursday, Sept. 21 — 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT, Universo, Peacock)
  • United States vs. South Africa (TQL Stadium, Cincinnati)
• Sunday, Sept. 24 — 5:30 p.m. ET (TNT, Universo, Peacock)
  • United States vs. South Africa (Soldier Field, Chicago)

USWNT roster: September 2023

Goalkeepers (3)

• Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit)
• Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage)
• Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders (9)

• Alana Cook (OL Reign)
• Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars)
• Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC)
• Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage)
• Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC)
• Sofia Huerta (OL Reign)
• Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars)
• Kelley O’Hara (Gotham FC)
• Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)

Midfielders (7)

• Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns)
• Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC)
• Julie Ertz (Angel City FC)
• Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyonnais)
• Rose Lavelle (OL Reign)
• Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit)
• Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)

Forwards (8)

• Mia Fishel (Chelsea)
• Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit)
• Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC)
• Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign)
• Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
• Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC)
• Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)
• Lynn Williams (Gotham FC)

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.