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Many of the same culprits of the NWSL's transphobia flare-up in November are gleefully stoking the WNBA's current crisis. There's a lot to learn from Sarah Gorden & Angelina Anderson's responses then, and Brianna Turner & Cheryl Reeve's responses now. Both leagues need to follow suit.

The Anti-Trans Grifters Are Coming For The NWSL | DefectorIn July, the Guardian reported that the NWSL had quietly allowed its policy on the participation of transgender players, established in 2021, to expire. The scrapped policy used the testosterone level...defector.com

Sabrina D'Angelo, Shelina Zadorsky, and Mimi Alidou have come home. Last night, the Canadian national teamers, who have each played professionally in a dizzying array of countries, made their Northern Super League debuts. www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...

D’Angelo, Zadorsky, Alidou make NSL debuts | The IX SoccerAFC Toronto beat the Montreal Roses 2-0 as three Canadian national team stars made their Northern Super League debuts.www.theixsports.com

It's been a thrill to watch Leicy Santos's midfielding activities this season. She's taken on the Washington Spirit's no. 10 role with aplomb—that volley goal against NC was just the cherry on top. defector.com/leicy-santos...

Leicy Santos Is In The Right Spot | DefectorThe Boston Legacy is not known for being gentle. The expansion team has earned more yellow cards and committed more fouls than any other club in the NWSL this year. On Sunday, that didn’t matter for L...defector.com

If *waves hands* isn't enough American soccer drama for you, catch up on the NWSL's first matches after its summer break the off-field storylines that color them:

Only two of the five 2025 NWSL MVP finalists still play in the NWSL.

The NWSL is back tonight! At the beginning of the break, I took stock of the standings and looked at historic trends (with a lot of caveats) to predict who might make the playoffs come the season's end: www.thecutback.com/p/nwsl-playo...

The NWSL playoff picture after 12 gamesPast seasons suggest most of the playoff field is already in place. The question now is which contenders can rise above – or fall below – the line after the summer breakwww.thecutback.com

Anumita has a great rundown of what each NWSL team needs as the summer transfer season heats up:

The USWNT learned how to punch back in their not-so-friendly friendlies against Brazil, but what else they learned remains to be seen. The World Cup can't come soon enough!! defector.com/the-uswnt-an...

The USWNT And Brazil Stretched The Definition Of "Friendly" | Defector“Accept it. Accept it. It’s an uncontrollable. You cannot change it. Get over it. Get on with it.” Emma Hayes’s words may have aspired to equanimity, but her tone betrayed her. Coming off a 2-1 loss t...defector.com

In the weeks following the announcement of the NWSL’s expansion to Columbus, I spoke to 6 fans who plan to buy season tickets about their excitement for the team, their mixed feelings about how it came to be, and what comes next: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

‘It leaves a bad taste in my mouth’: Columbus embraces NWSL while questioning the costA $205m expansion team is a sign of the league’s rapid growth, but conflicts over funding and facilities show the tensions of public-private partnerships in sportswww.theguardian.com

I conducted a scientific evaluation of the Denver Summit, with a focus on the most important metric for expansion teams: Are they any fun to watch? defector.com/the-denver-s...

The Denver Summit May Not Be Good, But They Sure Are Fun | DefectorThere are many ways to measure the success of an expansion team. Are they filling stadiums? Do local fans seem engaged? Do they have an identity on the field? And, of course, are they any good?  It’s ...defector.com

we won 😭 defector.com/the-montreal...

The Montreal Victoire Make A Living As Champions | DefectorLAVAL, QUEBEC — I wasn’t close enough to hear Laura Stacey’s screams last Thursday, but I saw her wife’s panic clear as day. “When one of my teammates gets caught, I get fired up,” Marie-Philip Poulin...defector.com

In Portland, where soccer has long been political, a new USL W team brought on the local Planned Parenthood as a kit sponsor. I spoke with folks from the Cherry Bombs, PP, & the Rose City Riveters about the collab & how reproductive health impacts women's sports: www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...

Portland Cherry Bombs team up with Planned Parenthood | The IX SoccerThe USL W's Portland Cherry Bombs will step onto the pitch Sunday proudly championing reproductive health through unique kit sponsorship.www.theixsports.com

Michelle Cooper is good at soccer imo

I'm so happy I let the Montreal Victoire ruin my life for the past two weeks. ALLEZ VICTOIRE! defector.com/five-nights-...

Five Nights With The Montreal Victoire, Who Dragged Me To Hockey Heaven | DefectorLAVAL, QUEBEC — The crowd at Place Bell for Game 1 was wound tight, like a guitar string on the brink of snapping. Our Montreal Victoire, who had never won more than one game in a playoff series, let ...defector.com

I reviewed "Kicking," @julesboykoff.bsky.social's memoir-manifesto about soccer, politics, and care: defector.com/jules-boykof...

Jules Boykoff's 'Kicking' Is Clear-Eyed And Warm-Hearted | DefectorJules Boykoff loves soccer. He loves the feeling of the ball at his feet, he loves the rush of cheering on the Portland Timbers at the fortress that is Providence Park, and he loves the knowing hum th...defector.com

The Montreal Roses' home opener yesterday was a blast, with Tanya Boychuk's brace headlining the team's 4-0 win over the Vancouver Rise. My recap, with a meditation on language politics in Quebec, because why not: www.theixsports.com/the-ix-socce...

Montreal Roses thrill in 4-0 home opener win | The IX SoccerThe Montreal Roses dominated defending champions Vancouver Rise in the team's home opener with a brace from Tanya Boychuk.www.theixsports.com

For @www.thecutback.com, I wrote an ode to Sarah Gorden, Sofia Huerta, and other NWSL veteran defenders still playing full 90s. Here's to the mainstays who have made the league what it is and continue to contribute on the pitch: www.thecutback.com/p/nwsl-defen...

An ode to veteran NWSL defendersWhy experienced players like Sarah Gorden and Sofia Huerta are still delivering for clubs across the leaguewww.thecutback.com

I had the immense pleasure of interviewing @realdanyohannes.bsky.social, father of Aethan, Jayden, and Lily Yohannes. We discussed passing his love for soccer to his kids, parenting pro athletes, being active on soccer Twitter, the future of the women's game, and more: defector.com/whats-parent...

What's Parenting Lily Yohannes Like? An Interview With Her Dad | DefectorLily Yohannes plays soccer with an efficiency that would come off as mechanical if she didn’t have the vision of an artist, resulting in some of the most beautiful dribbling sequences and long through...defector.com

@catabush.com with a super fun interview with Ashlyn Puerta, a player you should definitely know about ⤵️

"'Women’s sports are just, like, objectively better and more entertaining and really gay—it's just beautiful,' Jane told me. 'I’m just tired of men’s sports in general. I'm just tired of men in general.'" Nobody gets better quotes than @heatherchen.bsky.social (the rest of the blog is great, too)