There was no lazy Monday return to work for NWSL 2021 expansion team Angel City FC. Today, they announced their head coach and first player, both with strong NWSL ties. Current Gotham FC head coach Freya Coombe and United States international, and former Utah Royal, Christen Press were headline stealing names coming out of the weekend. Angel City, Press and Coombe made history to start the week.
Freya Coombe Swaps Clubs
Sunday evening, the Equalizer reported the new coach. Of the two announcements, Coombe’s hire was the most shocking. Coombe’s success at helping revitalize Gotham FC is no question, but the timing is perplexing.
Gotham sits in a playoff position with 10 matches remaining in the regular season. Their fifth-place position is a vast improvement over previous seasons where the formerly known Sky Blue FC sat at or near the bottom of the NWSL table.
The Athletic reported that Gotham allowed Coombe to interview mid-season, leaving the athletes in an odd predicament. Players now know they’re playing for a coach that they know will coach against them next season. Also, Gotham’s leadership has a coach that will soon be part of choosing players from their squad in the upcoming expansion draft.
Time will tell if it becomes a distraction for the squad in the final months of the 2021 regular season. The other Angel City move comes with a lot less drama, and a big win for Racing Louisville.
Christen Press Makes Angel City History
Another breaking news development came Monday morning. The Equalizer also broke that Press was traded to Angel City; well her rights at least. Press has 45 goals in six NWSL seasons. The forward also took her athleticism to Europe, scoring eight goals across time in Sweden and England.
With the United States Women’s National Team, Press is a two-time World Cup winner and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist. In Press’ 155 international appearances, she’s netted 64 goals.
Press is a California-native that brings immediate name recognition to Angel City FC. Both on the field, and in the team shop, Press’ impact will be huge. Once Angel City releases their jerseys, supporters across the league will come flocking. Actually, they could run presales, jersey unseen, and likely break records. Louisville may be the surprise winner of this deal, competitively.
Louisville’s Jackpot
Racing Louisville selected Press’ rights in the 2020 expansion draft, which wasn’t a guarantee that the World Cup winner would join the Kentucky side. Instead of seeing Press on the field in lavender, Racing Louisville gets a haul to strengthen, and maintain, their current roster.
Louisville receives full expansion draft immunity, Angel City FC’s first round NWSL draft pick (the first or second selection in the college entry draft) and $75,000 in allocation money.
Expansion draft immunity is arguably the biggest win of them all. Racing sits in ninth place in the standings but are a side that’s shown potential throughout the year. Louisville added English defender Gemma Bonner, a phenomenal young striker in Ebony Salmon and NWSL veteran Nadia Nadim, all after the beginning of the regular season.
They haven’t had time for all the pieces to come together and are currently on a three-match unbeaten streak in NWSL play. Also, they won the inaugural Women’s Cup against Bayern Munich on penalty kicks. Keeping Louisville together gives them more time to gel and improve as a unit.
The first or second selection, which hasn’t been determined between Louisville and 2022 expansion side San Diego, also gives them another college prospect who can make an immediate impact. Last season, Louisville selected fullback Emily Fox with the first pick, who’s started in the role since day one. If Racing’s position in the standings doesn’t improve, they’re looking at two of the first five selections in the 2022 NWSL draft.
Oh yeah, Louisville also still has the rights to US International Tobin Heath, who could reunite with head coach Casey Stoney of San Diego, whom she played for with Manchester United in 2020/21. A similar type of deal protects Racing fully from losing a player this fall. However, The Equalizer reports that Heath is weighing options in England.
On top of Heath, Racing holds rights to Alanna Kennedy and Caitlin Foord, both Australian internationals. Kennedy is currently without a team and Foord plays for Arsenal in England’s Women’s Super League.
While there’s a lot of uncertainty throughout the NWSL in 2021, one thing’s for certain: Angel City FC isn’t waiting around to build a winning team. They’re getting ready now.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more from the NWSL. Thomas is on Twitter @1ThomasCostello.
