Gotham FC defeats the UANL Tigres to become the first CONCACAF W Champions Cup winner
MONTERREY, México — Spain international Esther Gonzalez scored a late goal as Gotham FC defeated the UANL Tigres 1-0 on Saturday to win the first edition of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.
The 32-year-old striker Gonzalez secured the landmark win with a goal in the 82nd minute for the NWSL team.
Earlier, Pietra Tordin, Payton Linnehan, and Olivia Moultrie scored as the Portland Thorns beat Club America 3-0 to secure third place in the tournament.
Tordin opened the scoring just before half-time, Linnehan added a second in the 52nd and Moultrie sealed the win in the 81st.
Gotham FC defeated Club America 3-1 on Wednesday to advance to the final, while Tigres, who lost in the Mexican Clausura quarterfinals, defeated the Portland Thorns 2-0 in their semifinal.
The W Champions Cup is the region's annual women's club championship and will serve as the qualification event for the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, which launches next year.
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5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Not done yet: Christen Press embracing her role as Angel City's elder stateswoman
Angel City's Christen Press celebrates after scoring against Utah on May 9. Press is embracing her mentor role on the club. (Luiza Moraes / NWSL via Getty Images) It doesn't seem that long ago that Christen Press was helping the national team to consecutive World Cup titles. She was unstoppable then, a key cog in the greatest women's soccer team in history. Yet she played her 155th and final match for the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics. Advertisement It doesn't seem that long ago that Press, just 18 days removed from those Olympics, became the first player signed by expansion club Angel City. She was bringing the NWSL to her hometown and was being rewarded with what was then the richest contract in league history. Yet she's started just 10 games since then, losing most of the last three seasons to a stubborn anterior cruciate ligament injury that took four surgeries to repair. Read more: Angel City's Riley Tiernan used desire and opportunity to prove she belongs Press eventually will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, but she isn't ready for that trip just yet. If her body isn't always willing, her mind and her heart are still keen on the sport, so Press makes her most valuable contributions now in the quiet of the locker room. Advertisement At 36, she has completed the transition from wunderkind to elder stateswoman. And on a Angel City team with 13 players under the age of 25, her presence is being felt. 'It's a different role. I wasn't that type of person,' said Press, who admits she has grown into the job. 'When I was 20 I didn't have a relationship with a senior player like they have with me. I'm enjoying the presence that I have with these young players.' Press has paid special attention to Alyssa Thompson, the 20-year-old Angel City player whose early career may be most reminiscent of her own, taking the locker next to Thompson in the team's spacious dressing room. Advertisement Both are Southern California natives who played soccer and ran track in high school, led their teams to CIF titles and won national player of the year awards. Both committed to play for Stanford — Press went, Thompson didn't. Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson controls the ball during a match against Seattle in October. (Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press) But Thompson's career is just starting while Press is winding hers down. So the most valuable thing she can offer now is advice. 'The thing that I'm good at is scoring goals. It is an art and I love it,' Press said. 'I'm now kind of showing Alyssa how I trained to become a goal scorer. How you can think about goal-scoring in a very nuanced and methodical way. 'I'm learning as I teach her. I'm seeing the ways that she approaches it differently. It's just kind of a spirit of collaboration I see as a win-win for everybody.' Advertisement Thompson agrees, saying she appreciates the chance to learn from a master. 'She's definitely my mentor,' Thompson said. 'She's entering a new era of her career and she still wants to continue to play and stuff like that. But when she's not playing, she's able to [offer] her guidance and support.' Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, the team's vice captain and, at 24, a key member of Angel City's youth movement, isn't sure Press fully appreciates the impact she's having. The extra work Press puts in with Thompson, for example, has also made Anderson better. Read more: Japanese soccer players forming connections with L.A.'s Japanese American community Advertisement 'After training she'll pull me aside and say 'Hey, Ang, can you stay? I'm going to play a few balls through for Alyssa.' That alone, dealing with such an elite finisher, is making me better obviously,' said Anderson, who was recently called up to the national team for the first time. 'She's probably had to change a lot; just her mindset and mentality going through her injury and being older. I think she's embraced her role and she seems like she's in a really healthy spot.' Listen to Press for a moment and the depth of her wisdom, experience and intelligence is obvious. But that doesn't exactly make her rare in the Angel City locker room. Ali Riley, Press' former Stanford teammate, and Scottish international Claire Emslie also have played on multiple continents and in multiple international championships and have become mentors to the team's younger players. 'I enjoy that,' Emslie said. 'I definitely find myself saying things to the younger players that I remember getting told and I think it's important to pass on that information and have those relationships. Advertisement 'I want to help them as much as I can because they're going to go on and have even better and more successful careers. If I can help them along the way, it's rewarding.' That approach seems to be working. Angel City (4-4-2) is in playoff position through 10 games despite starting six players younger than 25. 'It's important to have experienced players like Christen around. Especially when you've got so many players that are so young and exciting and dynamic,' interim manager Sam Laity said. How long Press continues to do that in person is uncertain. The one-year contract extension she signed in January ends when the season does and she has a budding business empire to manage, one that includes a wildly entertaining podcast and a social entrepreneurship company founded with former USWNT teammates Megan Rapinoe, Meghan Klingenberg and Tobin Heath. Advertisement Read more: NWSL commissioner confident league can grow by following 'do good, do well model' But if her playing days are indeed numbered, she's enjoying those she has left. And that may be the most important lesson Professor Press passes on to her young students. 'There's only one thing I haven't done in soccer and that's enjoy it,' she said. 'All of my peers retired and I'm still here. I'm still given this gift of being able to appreciate it, play with gratitude, be a role model. And when I think about Angel City and my legacy, I think about 'wow, what an opportunity to show the next generation that this can — and should be — fun and rewarding and it's a gift that we get to chase greatness. 'The truth is the other things that I'm doing, from a career standpoint, are more lucrative than playing for Angel City this season. [But] there's no better job in the world. We get so wrapped up in winning and greatness and titles and trophies that sometimes we don't just get to be there. Like, I run around for my job. And I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to do so.' Advertisement ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Not done yet: Christen Press embracing her role as Angel City's elder stateswoman
It doesn't seem that long ago that Christen Press was helping the national team to consecutive World Cup titles. She was unstoppable then, a key cog in the greatest women's soccer team in history. Yet she played her 155th and final match for the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics. It doesn't seem that long ago that Press, just 18 days removed from those Olympics, became the first player signed by expansion club Angel City. She was bringing the NWSL to her hometown and was being rewarded with what was then the richest contract in league history. Yet she's started just 10 games since then, losing most of the last three seasons to a stubborn anterior cruciate ligament injury that took four surgeries to repair. Press eventually will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, but she isn't ready for that trip just yet. If her body isn't always willing, her mind and her heart are still keen on the sport, so Press makes her most valuable contributions now in the quiet of the locker room. At 36, she has completed the transition from wunderkind to elder stateswoman. And on a Angel City team with 13 players under the age of 25, her presence is being felt. 'It's a different role. I wasn't that type of person,' said Press, who admits she has grown into the job. 'When I was 20 I didn't have a relationship with a senior player like they have with me. I'm enjoying the presence that I have with these young players.' Press has paid special attention to Alyssa Thompson, the 20-year-old Angel City player whose early career may be most reminiscent of her own, taking the locker next to Thompson in the team's spacious dressing room. Both are Southern California natives who played soccer and ran track in high school, led their teams to CIF titles and won national player of the year awards. Both committed to play for Stanford — Press went, Thompson didn't. But Thompson's career is just starting while Press is winding hers down. So the most valuable thing she can offer now is advice. 'The thing that I'm good at is scoring goals. It is an art and I love it,' Press said. 'I'm now kind of showing Alyssa how I trained to become a goal scorer. How you can think about goal-scoring in a very nuanced and methodical way. 'I'm learning as I teach her. I'm seeing the ways that she approaches it differently. It's just kind of a spirit of collaboration I see as a win-win for everybody.' Thompson agrees, saying she appreciates the chance to learn from a master. 'She's definitely my mentor,' Thompson said. 'She's entering a new era of her career and she still wants to continue to play and stuff like that. But when she's not playing, she's able to [offer] her guidance and support.' Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, the team's vice captain and, at 24, a key member of Angel City's youth movement, isn't sure Press fully appreciates the impact she's having. The extra work Press puts in with Thompson, for example, has also made Anderson better. 'After training she'll pull me aside and say 'Hey, Ang, can you stay? I'm going to play a few balls through for Alyssa.' That alone, dealing with such an elite finisher, is making me better obviously,' said Anderson, who was recently called up to the national team for the first time. 'She's probably had to change a lot; just her mindset and mentality going through her injury and being older. I think she's embraced her role and she seems like she's in a really healthy spot.' Listen to Press for a moment and the depth of her wisdom, experience and intelligence is obvious. But that doesn't exactly make her rare in the Angel City locker room. Ali Riley, Press' former Stanford teammate, and Scottish international Claire Emslie also have played on multiple continents and in multiple international championships and have become mentors to the team's younger players. 'I enjoy that,' Emslie said. 'I definitely find myself saying things to the younger players that I remember getting told and I think it's important to pass on that information and have those relationships. 'I want to help them as much as I can because they're going to go on and have even better and more successful careers. If I can help them along the way, it's rewarding.' That approach seems to be working. Angel City (4-4-2) is in playoff position through 10 games despite starting six players younger than 25. 'It's important to have experienced players like Christen around. Especially when you've got so many players that are so young and exciting and dynamic,' interim manager Sam Laity said. How long Press continues to do that in person is uncertain. The one-year contract extension she signed in January ends when the season does and she has a budding business empire to manage, one that includes a wildly entertaining podcast and a social entrepreneurship company founded with former USWNT teammates Megan Rapinoe, Meghan Klingenberg and Tobin Heath. But if her playing days are indeed numbered, she's enjoying those she has left. And that may be the most important lesson Professor Press passes on to her young students. 'There's only one thing I haven't done in soccer and that's enjoy it,' she said. 'All of my peers retired and I'm still here. I'm still given this gift of being able to appreciate it, play with gratitude, be a role model. And when I think about Angel City and my legacy, I think about 'wow, what an opportunity to show the next generation that this can — and should be — fun and rewarding and it's a gift that we get to chase greatness. 'The truth is the other things that I'm doing, from a career standpoint, are more lucrative than playing for Angel City this season. [But] there's no better job in the world. We get so wrapped up in winning and greatness and titles and trophies that sometimes we don't just get to be there. Like, I run around for my job. And I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to do so.' ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
FAQs about the Spirit's coaching shuffle. Plus: USWNT meeting Hayes' deadline
Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is 's weekly women's soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. Meg is off today enjoying a rare sunny day in Vermont, so it's me, Emily Olsen, here with Tamerra Griffin — welcome to Full Time! Spirit's Shuffle Another coaching change in Washington Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Washington Spirit have changed coaches. Advertisement Two-time UEFA Champions League-winning coach Jonatan Giráldez is headed to OL Lyonnes, another club under owner Michele Kang's umbrella. Let's start with the news. After just 377 days in charge of the Spirit, Giráldez will join the eight-time champions of Europe starting this summer. The 33-year-old is leaving the NWSL club halfway through the season. Sources close to Kang told The Athletic this was not a preplanned move and that it came about when Lyonnes' former coach, Joe Montemurro, made it clear he was going to leave the club after just one season. The Australia women's national team announced it hired Montemurro earlier today. Assistant Spirit coach Adrián González, who led the team through a successful 15 matches last season while Giraldéz finished his Champions League run with Barcelona, will step into the managing role on July 18. Advertisement I've covered the Spirit in some capacity since 2015. If I had a nickel for every coaching change I've seen in that decade, I'd have nine. NINE! Sure, it's not enough to afford the new Inciardi art prints the team sells on game day, but that's still a lot of change for one team. Those changes include coaches dismissed for misconduct, interims, a single-game stint by Angela Salem in the ill-fated 2022 season and now the give-and-go situation happening with Giráldez and González. Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, one of the faces of NWSL, has yet to have a single coach for more than one season at her club. When I asked her at the end of last year how the team was able to get to two NWSL championships (winning one), she took an approach à la Bane's 'I was born in it' comment in 'The Dark Knight Rises': 'It's almost scarier when it's smooth sailing,' she said. What to expect from González González is no stranger to Washington. In fact, he might be one of the most consistent head coaches in the last few years, even if some of that time was spent as both an interim and assistant coach. Advertisement González led Washington through preseason last year and to a 10-1-4 record through the first fifteen games. He helped the team to some of its best expected goal stats since 2021. (He did so with a healthy roster, something the Spirit haven't had recently.) During the Olympic break last year, Giráldez took over. He built on González's strong start to lead the Spirit to the 2024 NWSL Championship, which they lost 1-0 to the Orlando Pride. Now, a year later, the reverse will happen. The Spirit have dealt with a spate of injuries this season, headlined by Rodman, but are currently fourth in the NWSL table with a record of 6-1-3, five points behind No. 1 Kansas City Current. González will have the international break, starting June 23, to reset with the team. However, the organization saw his familiarity with the players as a positive. Kang said González 'knows the team and has earned this organization's trust.' Advertisement Is this a bad thing? Multi-club models have long been seen as corporate cash grabs at best and sportswashing at worst (on the men's side). Kang has been well aware of that perception since she first looked to create Kynisca Sports International, a multi-team global women's soccer organization, by purchasing OL Lyonnes in 2023. She later purchased the only independently owned team in England's second tier of women's soccer, and her investment helped the team get promoted to the WSL. The businesswoman told Forbes last year that the multi-club model is a 'necessity' in the women's game, especially when it comes to resource sharing. However, Kang has made it clear that players don't fall into that category. Advertisement Despite the awkward optics here, González has a strong track record as Washington's coach, so Kang seems to be keeping up her promise not to sacrifice the good of one team for the other. And she isn't the only one expanding, as Kansas City Current owners Angie and Chris Long showed last week with their investment in Danish club HB Koge. Whether women's soccer is paving a new way forward or adopting the bad habits from the men's side will take time to become clear. MORE: Watch Matt Slater answer whether multi-club ownership is here to stay on 'The Athletic FC Podcast' in March: 'It's an unproven thesis. It feels like we are living through an experiment.' USWNT's Core Values Hayes' team 'on track' for June deadline Head coach Emma Hayes said last week that the USWNT is still 'on track' to meet her June deadline for establishing a core group of players that will lead the U.S. in World Cup qualifying next year. She's even found the space to start developing the under-23 group the way she hoped she could at the start of the year (more on that in a sec). Advertisement Despite not having Triple Espresso (Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson), this team isn't totally without its caffeine. Sam Coffey scored her second U.S. goal with a wonder strike in the team's 3-0 win over China on Saturday. Coffey — who leads with devotion, as she recently told Tamerra — is part of a midfield that's finally jelling, alongside Lindsey Heaps and Lily Yohannes. The team also has its 'security blanket' back with the return of Naomi Girma. A fun aside: Coffey's game-worn jersey from the match, along with several other U.S. players' jerseys, were up for auction during the game (and there's still time to bid). Coffey's jersey is currently a great value pick for a goal scorer. Advertisement Keep an eye out for the youths Hayes has been as adamant about developing this younger national team as she has been about narrowing down her group for 2027 World Cup qualifying. She sees the two projects as interdependent. That's why players like Jaedyn Shaw (20 years old), Korbin Albert (21) and Mia Fishel (24), who have senior caps (and in Shaw and Albert's case, Olympic gold medals), were named to this camp. This is your reminder to start paying attention to the U-23s, made up almost entirely of professional players, during this camp. They played in two very fun (and refreshingly well-attended!) matches against Germany near Stuttgart on Friday and again today. The teams split results, each side claiming a dramatic 2-1 victory sealed in the final minutes. Ironically, in the May 30 match, it was Evelyn Shores — the only collegiate player on the roster — who netted the go-ahead in the dying seconds of stoppage time to give the U.S. the win. Advertisement Today, in the second fixture, Albert converted a penalty drawn by the Portland Thorns' Caiya Hanks to get the U.S. on the board. But this time, German midfielder Tuana Mahmoud was the national hero with a soaring strike that U.S. and Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz managed to only get a few fingers on. Props to the German Football Federation for streaming both matches on YouTube. What to Watch 📺 USWNT vs. Jamaica The U.S. closes this window with a friendly against Jamaica at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Mo. The game was originally scheduled to be a second against China but had to be changed due to a scheduling conflict for the Chinese. Advertisement 📺 Spain vs. England UEFA Nations League continues tomorrow with the final round of matches before this summer's European Championship in Switzerland. And after an emphatic 6-0 win over Portugal to silence the Mary Earps chatter from the public, England take on Spain for a final test before Sarina Wiegman unveils the squad she's taking to the Euros. Full Time First Looks Never too late: USWNT midfielder Lo'eau LaBonta became the oldest player to debut for the U.S. women when the 32-year-old took the field in place of the 17-year-old Yohannes on Saturday. Meg Linehan caught up with the KC captain last week to discuss her first call-up. Teaming up: The Mexican Football Federation will join the U.S. as co-host for the 2031 Women's World Cup, a federation spokesperson confirmed to on Friday. The two nations originally went in on a 2027 bid before backing out. Brazil will host that year's tournament. Advertisement Tears, anger, end of hope: Blackburn Rovers' senior Women's team have been demoted from the Women's Super League 2 after the club decided against meeting the required licensing criteria to retain their tier-two status, plunging the women's set-up into an uncertain future. Megan Feringa reported on the anger, sadness and loss of trust from those impacted by the decision. 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo's women's sports hub, in partnership with Also, check out our other newsletters. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Women's national team, NWSL, Full Time Newsletter 2025 The Athletic Media Company
