Is Angel City a surprise contender in NWSL? Plus, feeling ‘Unwell' about a brand activation
I get nervous every time I see someone do a backflip, no matter how cool it is. Emily Olsen here with Jeff Rueter and Meg Linehan — welcome to Full Time!
Angel City isn't waiting around
At this point, it feels like I can just copy and paste, 'Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride won again.' Both teams remained perfect this weekend, winning against Seattle Reign and San Diego Wave, respectively.
It appears the top teams from 2024 are rolling right into the new year. However, something less expected is Angel City's hot start (2-2-0). Especially considering:
Despite having one of the highest valuations in the league, Angel City has yet to find hardware for its cabinet in its first three seasons.
This offseason, the team added several young talents, including Savy King among more veteran names like Miyabi Moriya and Alanna Kennedy (the league's toughest player). The additions bolstered an already young roster with names like Kennedy Fuller and the Thompson sisters, Alyssa and Gisele. On Saturday, two rookies, Macey Hodge and Riley Tiernan, and Alyssa Thompson tallied goals.
There is little doubt that ACFC's future is bright, but how quickly things are working out is a pleasant surprise. The team sits in fourth in the league's table but also has the third-most goals scored this season — just behind the aforementioned league giants.
A good weekend to take a trip
The NWSL's return after the international break was especially joyous for the weekend's away teams. Six of seven matches saw the visitor leave with all three points, with Gotham FC being the sole host to take care of business in friendly territory. (The Bats took another win with the long-awaited return of Midge Purce, a year after she tore her ACL.)
For the traveling Chicago Stars, it was just the break it needed, finally securing its first points of the season while visiting Bay FC:
Ludmila was literally flipping out over the win.
Flipping out over this Ludmila goal for Chicago Stars! 🤸♀️ pic.twitter.com/s6P9HLM1QE
— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 13, 2025
The other away wins were a bit less surprising, especially from reigning finalists Orlando (1-0 at Seattle) and Washington (2-0 at Louisville) as well as fellow contender Kansas City (2-0 at San Diego). The Portland Thorns secured a big 1-0 win at Utah, while Angel City notched a statement 3-1 win at Houston. Even after a brief break, the NWSL remains delightfully unpredictable.
During the SheBelieves Summit in Los Angeles earlier this month, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman spoke about the league's partnership with 'Call Her Daddy' podcaster Alex Cooper's Unwell brand. During her panel, Berman pitched one of their planned activations to the crowd.
'Go with me here, a league supporter's group called Unwell FC that is going to be at select games throughout the season. They're going to have a full section with bespoke merch, and (Cooper) essentially leading those groups in their excitement and support of women's soccer,' Berman said before comparing it to actors Natalie Portman or Jennifer Garner leading the supporters' groups in chants at an Angel City match.
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Cue the alarm bells from the supporters' groups who have helped build this league across all the clubs. They're right. I've got a laundry list of why this activation is a bad idea, but let's go with the top three:
🚨 Sure, everything is up for sale in the NWSL, but this is grim confirmation. The culture of independent supporters' groups has existed long before this league; co-opting it for a brand is a terrible decision.
🚨 There's a reason why the Rob Lowe NFL hat meme came out in force. No one is doing 'Let's go NWSL' chants during a game. Portman hopping up as Capo for a chant for the team she co-founded is in a different universe from this idea.
🚨 Unwell FC, with its bespoke merch, does everything for Cooper. What does it do for the NWSL? Maybe some metrics will prove me wrong in a couple of years when the league gets a ton of new fans who actually stick around, but I have major doubts.
Hopefully, there's still time to scratch this idea and come up with something — anything — else.
IOC adds more teams to Olympic tournament
International soccer is expanding, again.
The Olympic women's soccer tournament will grow from 12 teams to 16 in 2028, making it larger than the men's tournament for the first time in the Games' history. The men's tournament — which is for players under 23 years old, with three exceptions per team — will be reduced from 16 to 12 teams.
The IOC said its effort to achieve gender equality was a key consideration for the additions. There are now 161 women's events, 165 men's events and 25 mixed events in the L.A. program.
In other international news, the USWNT will face China and Jamaica at the end of May and early June. Originally, the U.S. was set to face China twice. The change comes after China informed U.S. Soccer it could only make one match. They'll still face the USWNT at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, May 31.
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European update
Emma Hayes may no longer coach in the Women's Super League, but that hasn't stopped the U.S. coach from making waves there.
After the USWNT's first game against Brazil, Hayes said Manchester United didn't play a lot of build-up, alluding to it as a reason why U.S. and United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce might not be totally up to speed yet.
Well, United head coach Marc Skinner wasn't going to nod along to that. He defended his team's playing style and Tullis-Joyce ahead of United's 2-0 FA Cup semifinal win over Manchester City.
'I don't know if it's lost in translation or the way it was said, but for us, I'm really happy with the style that we play,' he said. 'You have to play the style you want that meet your fan base, meet your outcomes and I know that Phallon has such a high ceiling that she's going to be the best goalkeeper in the world.'
The goalkeeper position for the U.S. is up for grabs for the first time in three decades, but it's not the only position Hayes is looking at. She put her USWNT players in 'the frying pan' this past international window, as she looks for her core group. Who can handle the heat?
What to watch
📺 NSL: Vancouver Rise vs. Calgary Wild
Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+
The first professional women's soccer league in Canada kicks off on Wednesday. The six-team league was founded by former NWSL midfielder Diana Matheson. Before things get started, see how Full Time host Jillian Sakovits rates the new jerseys in the league.
📺 UWCL semifinals
Lyon vs. Arsenal
Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET on DAZN/YouTube
Barcelona vs. Chelsea
Sunday at 12 p.m. ET on DAZN/YouTube
The first games of the two-game series kick off this weekend with a trip to Lisbon, Portugal, with the May 24 Champions League final on the line.
Bella is back: The Thorns' first triumph of the season also saw the return of goalkeeper Bella Bixby. The NWSL champion was on maternity leave for the 2024 season. She capped her return with a clean sheet. Before the game, Baby Bixby also made a debut.
Another one: Debinha scored her 50th goal in NWSL this weekend, helping KC Current to victory and providing another option up top to take ~some~ of the pressure off MVP Temwa Chawinga. The 33-year-old is one of 16 Brazilians signed to an NWSL team. Asli Pelit asked why Brazilian players are finding success in the NWSL, and spoiler, it starts with Marta.
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International headache: Venezuela and Thorns forward Deyna Castellanos was unable to travel with her team during the past international window, citing the current 'political situation.' She is unsure when it will be safe for her to travel outside of the United States, given the uncertainty around looming travel restrictions that could be imposed on citizens from dozens of countries.
Not stopping now: Billie Jean King is 'the thread that runs through women's sports history,' as World Cup winner Julie Foudy says. Meg Linehan sat down with King shortly before her Hollywood Walk of Fame honor to discuss women's sports, player security and what's next
📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo's women's sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic. Also, check out our other newsletters.
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