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Three things I want to see from the USWNT to start 2023

MONTERREY, MEXICO – JULY 7: Trinity Rodman #6 of the United States celebrates scoring with Mallory Pugh #9 during a game between Jamaica and USWNT at Estadio BBVA on July 7, 2022 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The USWNT kicks off their packed 2023 calendar this week with two friendlies against the Football Ferns in New Zealand.

The games are outside of the FIFA international window, which means the U.S. will be much closer to full strength than New Zealand, who are currently No. 24 in the FIFA rankings. Regardless, the trip allows the U.S. to get a feel for 2023 World Cup travel and provides New Zealand with a stern opponent as it prepares to host the tournament with Australia later this year.

Vlatko Andonovski’s roster for the January friendlies held few surprises, but here’s what I’d like to see from the team this week.

More attacking opportunities

The USWNT is missing 2022 Player of the Year Sophia Smith for these friendlies. The 22-year-old is rehabbing an old injury that the team decided would be best fully healed going into next month’s SheBelieves Tournament.

Smith was a consistent spark for the U.S. in 2022 and will surely be a locked-in starter going forward, but her absence allows the team to cycle in a few players who haven’t gotten as much playing time. Alex Morgan can handle the center-forward position (backed up by Ashley Hatch if necessary), and Mallory Swanson likely will still be the first choice on the left wing, but the right wing is open. Andonovski can take advantage of the opportunity to rotate players who are pushing for playing time.

Trinity Rodman should start one of this week’s friendlies. The Washington Spirit forward has had ups and downs while trying to break into the front three rotation after a good performance against England in October. Rodman’s instincts increasingly include dropping closer into the midfield to progress the ball, which suits Andonovski’s system of having the attack linking up with the players behind them.

This is also Margaret Purce’s chance to remind Andonovski what she can do on the right side. The Gotham FC forward returns to the squad after being left off for what Andonovski described as form in late 2022. Purce brings energy as a substitute that’s difficult to replace, and if she gets a start, she can establish chemistry with the attacking players around her.

Finally, with the understanding that New Zealand might sit back in a lower block, Ashley Sanchez should get more time to partner with Rose Lavelle as dual-attacking midfielders. Sanchez is one of the USWNT’s most creative players, but Andonovski appears to be reluctant to insert her into high-stakes games. The New Zealand friendlies are an opportunity for her to shine.

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Rose Lavelle could use more support in the attacking midfield in 2023. (Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

More variety, in spades

Sometimes in 2022, watching the USWNT meant watching the same actions over and over again. Even the things the U.S. does well, like forcing turnovers and moving quickly on the counterattack, felt like they belonged to a single script.

It’s good to have a game plan, but the U.S. needs to move away from some of the tactical rigidity that has permeated Andonovski’s tenure and let the playmakers simply play.

That sentiment is perhaps easier said than done, but the U.S. could make a few adjustments to re-balance the squad, particularly against a team unlikely to press high up the field. The USWNT currently plays with attacking-minded outside-backs, who are instructed to make overlapping runs and cross the ball into the box with frequency. It’s a good option to have, but a lack of patience in the midfield can turn into route-one soccer, with long balls sent over the top or wide and lobbed back centrally in the air. The tactic has been exposed against top competition, creating gaps behind the outside backs that leaves the defensive structure vulnerable and the USWNT’s wide attacking players tracking back to provide help.

The answer lies primarily in the midfield, where strict roles have hindered the team’s ability to progress the ball and simultaneously make runs that open up space. Solutions? Solidify the distributive relationship between the No. 6 and the two center backs, let Lindsey Horan float box to box, and don’t rely too heavily on Lavelle to create in the attack and leave her on an island.

With the focus on results, the U.S. looked too nervous to introduce freedom at the end of 2022. These friendlies should give them the space to try new things.

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Naomi Girma should continue to make her case for a starting center-back role this month. (Roy K. Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Clean sheets

With the advantages of roster cohesion and and the expectations for the No. 1-ranked team in the world, defensive lapses leading to goals against would be a disappointment for the USWNT this week. There’s no shame in being beaten on your best day, but too often last year, the U.S. missed marks on set pieces and showed a lack of urgency on recovery runs, leading to chances that never should have happened.

Part of the reason for traveling so early in the year is to see how the squad handles the ebbs and flows of the mental side of the game. If the defense looks flat-footed while holding a lead or pushing forward in numbers, the same questions about the team’s ability to stay focused when results matter will linger.

Watch for who Andonovski selects at center-back: The final game 2022 marked a departure from his favored pairing of Alana Cook with either Becky Sauerbrunn or Naomi Girma. Emily Sonnett is also back with the team, and likely eager to make her mark on these games with the returns of Tierna Davidson and Kelley O’Hara looming in the near future. This week’s friendlies should also allow Crystal Dunn to keep building her minutes at left back and for Sofia Huerta to hone her defensive positioning on the right.

A year out from a World Cup, it’s not necessarily fair to expect any team to be 100-percent mentally focused as they begin the slow build toward the group stage. But the U.S., now seven months away from tournament kickoff, is in the middle of that slow build. At this stage, we can expect players and their manager to be progressing toward the best version of what the USWNT can be in 2023.

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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