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  • Alex Morgan Retires from Professional Soccer ⭐⭐🥇🥉🏆

Alex Morgan Retires from Professional Soccer ⭐⭐🥇🥉🏆

PLUS: Sinead Farrelly’s incredible legacy honored, NWSL Matchday 19, European Roundup

It’s September 9, 2024. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Happy Monday, TWG readers! Today marks a new era as we all watched Alex Morgan play her final game last night with the San Diego Wave. Alex’s influence on the game has been nothing short of extraordinary. Her iconic goals and celebrations mark her talent on the field, but there are larger lasting changes to the women’s game off the field because of Alex. Alex’s popularity was a catalyst for the growth of this game and she used that platform for all of our benefits along the way. She fought for an anti-harassment policy to be implemented in the NWSL, she signed her name to the equal pay lawsuit we brought against US Soccer, and she constantly believed in a more professional game for female footballers in the US and around the world. 

Alex’s impact will be felt for years to come and it was with great respect that I watched her take off her boots one last time. When I think about athletes retiring, I always want to know how they have set their life up for the weeks, months, and years following their last game. Alex is someone who has nourished her family relationships, invested in her future, and ensured that life after football will be just as meaningful and rich as it was while she was playing. This says so much about her maturity, character, and wisdom and I wish her nothing but peace and contentment in this next phase of life.

Alex’s retirement has prompted many of us to share stories and well wishes for her, and we’ll discuss Alex in so much more detail on tomorrow’s episode of Good Vibes with Lynn Williams. (Who is back playing, winning, and assisting more Gotham goals, btw!). Then on Thursday, make sure you tune in to hear from Bay FC’s Racheal Kundananji, who tells us all about her experience growing up in Zambia and the decision to come to Bay FC earlier this year.

Thank you all so much for being here!

Love,

Sam

CALLING PHILLY CHEESESTEAK KNOWERS: Germany and Gotham goalkeeper extraordinaire Ann-Katrin Berger told Sam on Friendlies last week: “... that’s the best thing Americans do, Philly cheesesteak”. Send your recommendations to us [email protected] and check out the full chat HERE. 

I. Alex Morgan retires from professional soccer ⭐⭐🥇🥉🏆

One of the greatest to ever do it is hanging up the boots. The USA’s inimitable number 13, Alex Morgan, announced her unexpected retirement from professional football last week, alongside the joyous news that she’s pregnant with her second child. Days later, San Diego Wave celebrated the remarkable career of the 35-year-old striker from Diamond Bar, California that’s graced our stadiums and televisions for 15 incredible years. The Wave (who have struggled this season) fell 4-1 to North Carolina Courage in the emotional affair, but a loss on the night didn’t take away from the occasion, as a true legend of the game was honored. 

Morgan’s daughter Charlie walked her out before a crowd of 26,516 adoring fans. Teammates re-enacted the famous tea-sipping celebration after Morgan scored against England in the 2019 World Cup. San Diego awarded Morgan a special “63” jersey to mark her 63rd appearance for the expansion club (which is also her 150th appearance in the NWSL). And in the 13th minute, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, Morgan walked off the field for a final time. With that, Morgan closes a storied career that includes two World Cup trophies, a gold medal, a bronze medal, the NWSL Championship trophy, 123 goals in 224 games for the USWNT, and an immense impact on the fight for equality in women’s sports.  

As Morgan told the press, “It’s not adios forever, it’s hasta luego” (see you later). With hopes to continue her advocacy for the game in her retirement, fans may miss seeing Alex Morgan on the field, but we’ll all look forward to her continued influence on the game in the future. 💜

And this: ESPN has come under scrutiny for announcing AI-generated match recaps for NWSL and Premier Lacrosse. This weekend, their AI-generated recap of Alex Morgan’s last professional football match failed to actually mention “Alex Morgan”. 

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II. Sinead Farrelly’s incredible legacy honored in retirement ceremony by Gotham 

There was another retirement of incredible significance yesterday in the NWSL, as 34-year old Haverton, PA native, Sinead Farrelly, was honored by Gotham FC on Women’s Empowerment Night at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. The Gotham and Republic of Ireland midfielder retired in June due to concussive-injury syndrome, and leaves a hard-fought legacy off the field after coming forward with allegations of sexual coercion against her former manager, Paul Riley. Together with Mana Shim, Farrelly’s bravery helped ignite a series of investigations across the league, which unearthed more widespread instances of abuse in the NWSL.

The abuse she suffered during her time in the NWSL led Farrelly to initially retire in 2016 before returning in 2023 where she went on to win the NWSL Championship with Gotham FC. Watching Farrelly’s return to the beautiful game, where she achieved such incredible moments of success at the club and international level has been among football’s greatest joys in the past few years.💙

And this: Worth a watch: the moment Sinead Farrelly received her medal and embraced NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, before hugging teammate Mana Shim after winning the NWSL Championship with Gotham last year.

III. NWSL Matchday 19: Undefeated Orlando confirm their playoff spot; Alyssa Thompson can’t stop scoring for Angel City; Temwa Chawinga continues her record-setting goal streak with Kansas City Current ⚽⚽

a. Orlando Pride remain undefeated after beating Chicago Red Stars 1-0 in Illinois this Sunday, complements of Marta’s sweet strike from outside the box in the 37th minute. The Brazilian legend, who just recently got engaged, celebrated her sixth goal of the season and her eleventh match-winning goal for Orlando Pride (a club record) by kissing her ring finger. That’s not the only thing the Pride have to celebrate: After Angel City lost to Seattle Friday evening, Orlando became the first team to officially qualify for the playoffs, marking their first postseason appearance since 2017. 

b. 19-year-old U.S. forward Alyssa Thompson scored in her third straight game for Angel City FC, bringing her recent run of form to four goals in three games. USWNT veteran Sydney Leroux scored in a second straight game for Angel City as well, marking her 47th all-time career goal. Leroux is now tied in eighth place with Angel City teammate Christen Press in NWSL’s all-time goalscoring charts. But Thompson and Leroux’s goalscoring form wasn’t enough to overcome Seattle Reign in a 2-3 defeat at home in Los Angeles. Seattle set a new record with their comeback victory, becoming the first NWSL team in history to fall behind in the first 10 minutes of two straight games before winning both of them. They’re also undefeated in their last seven regular season games, and have won all three of their matches since the season resumed. 

c. Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga scored in her eighth straight NWSL match for Kansas City Current, building on the record she set last week with her seventh straight goal. Chawinga’s goal made the difference in a 1-0 win over Utah Royals, marking Kansas City’s first win since the league resumed this August. 

d. NBA legend Magic Johnson has joined the investor group for Washington Spirit, and was in attendance this weekend to see his team beat Portland Thorns 2-1 at home. USWNT star forward Trinity Rodman scored the equalizing goal for the home team, and did a slam dunk celly in front of Johnson to mark the occasion. In stoppage time, the recently signed Colombian midfielder Leicy Santos scored a stoppage time goal to seal the win for a second-ranked Spirit. 

IV. European Roundup: Liga F starts a new season in Spain, England’s second division begins a new campaign & more 🇪🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

a. International women’s footy leagues are starting— or continuing— brand new seasons worldwide. Last week, we wrote about the start of Germany’s top flight Frauen Bundesliga. Their regular season took a break this past weekend, as they played the second round of the DFB Pokal, the country’s main domestic cup competition. While some matches featured big victories for giants of German football (Bayern Munich beat Bundesliga 2 team SC Sand 6-0, and Wolfsburg beat Bundesliga 2 team Hertha BSC 6-0), some closely fought contests include Bundesliga 2 side Union Berlin’s 1-0 upset of top-flight team RB Leipzig. That wasn’t the only upset. Bundesliga 2 team Mönchengladbach beat top flight FC Köln in penalties after finishing 1-1 in regulation. The competition continues with the Round of 16 at the end of November, and Frauen Bundesliga Matchday 2 resumes next weekend. 🇩🇪

b. In Spain, Liga F started on Friday evening with a 5-0 win for Real Madrid at Espanyol. 29-year-old Scotland international Caroline Weir is back in the squad after recovering from an ACL injury. The technically gifted midfielder collected a brace of goals as well as an assist in the opening game. European juggernauts Barcelona also picked up a win away at Deportivo this Sunday. The 3-0 victory featured a brace of goals from Polish striker Ewa Pajor, who signed for the Spanish giants this summer from Wolfsburg. Pajor was the leading scorer in Frauen Bundesliga last season. 🇪🇸

c. England’s second division the Women’s Championship also started over the weekend, with multi-club investor Michele Kang in town to see her London City Lionesses draw Newcastle 1-1 at Hayes Lane in London (the day after seeing her Washington Spirit play Portland Thorns in the U.S.), featuring a goal from Swedish star player Kosovare Asllani. Asllani signed for London City Lionesses this past summer as a free agent, after playing for AC Milan last season. Her addition to a second-tier team was a massive move made by owner Michele Kang, and will be key to their ambition of getting promoted. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

V. Champions League Qualifying starts in Europe 🌍

As domestic club seasons start new campaigns across Europe, so does the qualification phase for 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). 

a. The current phase of competition determines the 12 teams that will join the four automatically qualified teams (reigning UWCL & Liga F champions, Barcelona; UWCL runners-up and Division 1 Féminine champions Lyon; Frauen Bundesliga winners, Bayern Munich; and WSL champions, Chelsea) in the 16-team Champions League group stage this November. 

b. After the first round of qualifying games this past week, 15 teams progress to play in the second qualifying round, where they’ll be joined by nine teams that enter at this stage to determine the final 12 spots. The draw for each two-legged tie took place today. Arsenal, who lost to Paris FC in Round One of last year’s Qualifying, will face Swedish side Häcken this time. German side Wolfsburg, who lost to Paris FC in the following round last season, faces Italian team Fiorentina. As for Paris FC, they’ll play Manchester City. 

VI. News and Notes 📰🗞️

a. The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominations are out for women’s football, and five U.S. players are in the running. That includes all three members of the triple espresso forward force of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, and Sophia Smith, who together combined for 10 of the USA’s 12 goals at the 2024 Paris Games, as well as team captain and Lyon midfielder Lindsey Horan, and essential veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. While the full list of nominees are all deserving of acknowledgment, it’s a massive snub to miss a nomination for 24-year-old San Diego Wave defender Naomi Girma, whose grace and skill in the U.S. backline was pivotal to their gold-medal winning run this summer.  🇺🇲

b. USWNT manager Emma Hayes took 84 days to win a gold medal with the U.S. after collecting her last of many titles with Chelsea Football Club. Hayes is nominated for Women’s Team Coach of the Year. This week, Hayes has spoken out about the reluctance to have women coach in the men’s game. 

c. The inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup continued its group stage this week. In the US, Portland Thorns hosted Liga MX Femenil giants Club América in Portland, defeating the Mexican side 3-1 with a brace of goals from Canadian legend Christine Sinclair. In Costa Rica, NWSL’s reigning champions Gotham FC beat Alajuelense 4-0 with four goals from four players. 🌎

d. The U20 Women’s World Cup wrapped up its group stage in Colombia this weekend. The U.S. team, which features eight NWSL players, lost to Spain 1-0, before beating Morocco and Paraguay to finish second in Group C. With that finish, the team will progress to the Round of 16. They play Mexico next this coming Wednesday, September 11 in Bogotá. 🇺🇲

VII. Parting Shots 🥃

“Special night. What a rollercoaster the last 11 months have been. Thank you to all the people around me who helped me through the tougher days and who were there to celebrate the small wins. So happy to be back with this team and to kick off the season with 3 points.” — Scotland and Real Madrid midfielder/forward Caroline Weir on her social media, after scoring two goals and collecting an assist in her return for Real Madrid after suffering an ACL injury last season. ❣️

VIII. Good Reads 📚

a. From Miranda Sawyer in The Guardian, ‘A different goal: how women’s football is changing the beautiful game’

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