What to know before National Women's Soccer League kicks off
The National Women's Soccer League kicks off its 2024 season this weekend after an action-packed offseason. Fourteen teams will compete to determine the champion with two — Bay FC and the Utah Royals — debuting as expansion franchises.
Here's what we're keeping an eye on before the season begins:
Gotham FC's star power: Americans Kelley O'Hara, Lynn Williams, Crystal Dunn, Emily Sonnett and Rose Lavelle are suiting up for New York's Gotham FC alongside international stars Bruninha of Brazil and Esther González of Spain. It's the most talented lineup we've ever seen in the NWSL.
Gotham won the championship in 2023, but its path to victory was anything but straight.
It began the season as the worst team in the league and clawed its way into the playoffs before dispatching Seattle's OL Reign in the closely-run title game. The team's mission is clear: win its second trophy with a bit more conviction than it won its first.
Expansion teams: Northern California's Bay FC and Salt Lake City's Utah Royals join the league with decades of soccer heritage behind them. Both aim to shake up the order of things and prey upon complacent legacy franchises.
Northern California is one of the hubs of professional women's soccer in America, and Bay FC's leadership team proves it. Retired former U.S. Women's National Team standouts Aly Wagner, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Brandi Chastain were instrumental in bringing the team to the NWSL.
Zambian striker Racheal Kundananji will lead Bay FC into its first professional season. She became the most expensive transfer in women's soccer history ($788,000, per The Guardian) when she signed with from Real Madrid in February.
"I am not putting myself under any pressure," she told The Guardian.
The Utah Royals, meanwhile, aren't new to the NWSL. They played from 2018-2020 but folded during the pandemic and transferred their players to Kansas City. Years of research, fundraising and lobbying resurrected the Royals. They start their second stint in the league with top college draft pick Ally Sentnor.
Young players with plenty to prove: Some of the NWSL's most exciting prospects are its least experienced.
Bay FC's Savy King, 18, turned pro after just one year of college soccer, becoming the third-youngest draft pick in history.
"Savy for us is someone that we see as being the future of our organization and of this league," Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya said. "She has not only the physical qualities but also brings composure and sophistication to her game."
Fans of the USWNT will no doubt be thrilled to see 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw suit up for the San Diego Wave. Shaw was the breakout star of this winter's CONCACAF Gold Cup. Her four goals made her the USWNT's top scorer and pushed the team all the way to the trophy.
More must-reads: