NWSL moves galore — The USWNT yearly awards candidate list is out — College Cup — Emily Fox talks USWNT
The IX: Soccer Monday with Annie M. Peterson, December 6, 2021
It’s another busy week in WoSo, from moves to awards!
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First off, there’s been a flurry of NWSL moves. The key here is roster protection!
- Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan traded from Gotham to San Diego for roster protection and $130,000 in allocation money.
Sheridan posted her goodbye to Gotham on social media.
“I will always be grateful for my first 5 years as a professional being at this club. Thank you for drafting me back in 2017 and believe in me over the years! I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs with with you which has helped me grow as a player and person. Thank you to all the staff, coaches and especially all the players I’ve gotten the chance to play with over the years. I will always consider jersey to be a home for me and truly hope all of our paths will cross again. To the fans, thank you for your constant support and love throughout the years. Cloud 9 you have never given up on us and me, and have always been like a sister helping us get through the rough patches! This club has grown so much over the years and I will always be one of its supporters. I know it will only continue to grow and be a successful. To my friends and family, thank you for always being my biggest support system, constantly showing up to in the stands and helping me through tough times!“
- This one has got to sting: Julie Ertz and Sarah Gorden and an international roster spot have been traded from the Chicago Red Stars to Angel City for full roster protection.
- Sam Mewis was traded from the North Carolina Courage to the Kansas City Current in exchange for defender Kiki Pickett and a first-round pick in the draft. North Carolina also received the discovery rights to Malia Berkely.
- The Wave have acquired the rights to Kelsey Turnbow, Katie Johnson and Makenzy Doniak from the Red Stars
- The Wave also brought in Jodie Taylor from the Orlando Pride. Orlando get the Waves’ 2023 natural second-round pick and possibly a third-rounder.
- We’re still waiting on confirmation that Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are headed to Gotham, as Meg Linehan reported for The Athletic.
- The Washington Spirit sent Tegan McGrady, an international spot a a first-round draft pick to the Wave for roster protection.
- Lynn Williams headed to the Melbourne Victory on loan.
- Allie Long re-ups with Gotham for two more years.
I’ll be honest, I thought there would be more. The expansion draft is Dec. 16 and the draft is Dec. 18.
This dropped yesterday morning: the nominees for NSWNT Player of the Year are: Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Carli Lloyd, Alyssa Naeher and Megan Rapinoe.
The Young Player of the Year Nominees are: Emily Fox, Jaelin Howell, Catarina Macario, Mia Fishel and Trinity Rodman.
Voting opens today!
Speaking of Jaelin Howell, tonight is the NCAA College Cup final between Florida State and BYU. The game in Santa Clara was originally set for Sunday, but in recognition of BYU’s religious observance, the game was moved to Monday.
Howell scored for the Seminoles in a 1-0 victory over Rutgers in the semifinals. Here’s our AP story.
The more exciting semifinal was between BYU and defending champion Santa Clara. It went to penalties and BYU emerged the victor.
I’m kind of rooting for BYU here. What a great story. They’re also something of an offensive juggernaut, averaging nearly four goals a game, best in the NCAA.
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Links!
There are several offseason trackers you can follow!
Here’s one from The Equalizer.
The Athletic has a tracker, too.
Of course, the mother of all trackers: Keeper Notes has a database of teams and moves.
Interesting story from Steph Yang for The Athletic on a community approach to team ownership.
Yang and Linehan with a good look at the USWNT players who we’ll likely see more of in 2022.
I wrote about the Women’s ICC Best XI for this year for The AP. This honor not only goes to players, but also others involved with the game. This year Mana Shim, Sinead Farrelly and Kaiya McCullough were named as recipients.
Courage remove interim tag for coach Sean Nahas
Caitlin Murray wrapped up all the NWSL moves for ESPN.
Murray also has a “stock watch” for the USWNT following the trip down under
Tori Huster talked to the Washington City Paper about the Spirit’s ownership situation.
Mallory Pugh and Dansby Swanson are engaged!
Goal.com’s Seth Vertelney wrote a really nice story on Bethan Balcer.
Suzanne Wrack with the Guardian details Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal for the FA Cup. Sam Kerr!
The Equalizer had this take on the match.
The Deseret News in Utah does a nice job of previewing the NCAA College Cup final.
The IX Interview: Emily Fox
Question: What are your feelings on your performance in the game, especially against Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso?
Emily: I mean, I think there’s some good parts and I definitely think there’s some things that I can work on. Like you said, those two are great players. So I knew that I had to be aggressive, and I had to be on the front foot because of their speed and just combining on the flank. So I think defensively I knew I just had to get in there and had to tackle first. And then I think for me, I could have done a little better with the simple things. So some good things and then some things that I want to work on when I get back home.
Question: Do you think that you could have done better in the last touch?
Fox: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think in the game mistakes are gonna happen, obviously, with touches and passes and final decisions. It’s things that you have to think of like right in the second. So yeah, I definitely agree that I could have done better on some touches and some tasks for sure.
Question: As you get forward, you’re able to do so pretty frequently, we’ve seen that with Racing and in other settings, how conscious are you of how high you might drift and then how you might get back?What does that kind of look like in the moment mentally?
Fox: I feel like a lot of it at first is a guessing game. You have to see whether the forward that you’re supposed to mark is coming with you, or if they’re staying high, so a lot of it is just being able to read the game. For me I feel like the higher I am and if that forward is following me the less defending I have to do and the more running they have to do. So it is kind of like a cat a cat and mouse game, deciding, kind of gambling, to go forward or to be more conservative in the back.
Question: Vlatko talked about the young players getting experience on the trip. Anything that you took away from these games and being able to play in this setting?
Fox: I feel like each game and each camp I get the opportunity to play for the U.S., I’m learning. Especially playing Australia. They’re an amazing team. So for me, each game I’m gonna watch and then see what I can do better. But I feel like no matter what, I’m always going to keep learning and try to grow and get better. So every time I get a chance to be here that’s one of my goals.
Question: I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your inverted fullback role in buildup and linking up with one of the 8s, whether it’s Lindsey Horan or Rose Lavelle when they kind of occupy that space that you vacated coming inside.
Fox: I mean, it’s just kind of something we have like up our sleeves. I feel like a lot of times, especially playing Australia, we noticed that they were man marking. So having Linds pull out wide and then me coming into the middle, it just kind of made it hasove me variety. Again cat and mouse, you see how they respond to our change in movement. So I feel like we did it just to keep adding a variety and kind of seeing what they respond to.
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| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
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