The NWSL is back on Friday! After a fun, but long, international break I’m feeling ready to come back to the domestic league.

Angel City has made a couple more moves since my Midseason Vibe Check. Below is a summary of the players that have been officially announced to have moved in or out of the roster over the course of the international break.

Sporting Director Mark Parsons has made some solid moves here. It’s nice to have a front office that seems competent in handling business. I wrote a bit about Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir, Hannah Seabert, and Evelyn Shores in my Midseason Vibe Check. The newest addition is that of Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh, a highly experienced German center back from Eintracht Frankfurt in the Frauen Bundesliga.

These moves point toward the future and address immediate needs. Jónsdóttir and Shores are exciting young talents that have been signed to see out the club’s full “three year plan.” Bringing Hannah Seabert into the Angel City’s goalkeeper union increases the experience of the group. Her contract expires before Angelina Anderson’s, so it’s clear that she is not meant to be the club’s long-term keeper. However, she will help Anderson’s development and increase the competition of the group. Importantly, if Anderson were to ever go down, Seabert has a lot more experience than Hannah Stambaugh. Signing Sara Doorsoun for the next year and a half brings in reinforcements to central defense, and gives Savy King as much time as she needs to return to play following her medical emergency and heart surgery.

Throughout the international break it seemed like the ACFC roster was growing, while only a couple of short-term contracts were expiring. Eventually it became clear where the roster space would come from.

Casey Phair extended her contract through the end of 2028, but with an immediate loan to Djurgårdens IF in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan for the remainder of 2025. I think this is an excellent move for the young forward. I think fans have expected to see more from Phair after she became the youngest player to score in a Women’s World Cup in 2023. She obviously has great potential, but I think the reality is that Phair just turned 18 last month and South Korea’s national team environment is not as professional or developed as the US, which may put her a bit behind some of her peers on the USYNTs. Furthermore, Angel City has always been stacked with forwards. She has shown promise in her minutes off the bench this season, and the loan should allow her to gain more professional experience and valuable minutes.

Congratulations are in order! On July 26th, Claire Emslie announced her pregnancy and a due date sometime in December. For several weeks leading up to the international break Emslie had been ruled out of both NWSL and the Scotland camps due to an upper leg injury. My guess is that following injury and by this time in her pregnancy she will go on maternity leave for the rest of the season.

As of July 29th, Ali Riley was removed from the Season-Ending Injury list. Even if Sophia Mattice has some time left on her short-term contract, the NWSL Availability Report for this weekend’s upcoming matches revealed that Elizabeth Eddy has been placed on D-45. This keeps Angel City within roster compliance, even if King’s medical leave isn’t considered an SEI.

I wasn’t sure how they would accomplish fitting in all these new players and managing players coming off of SEI, but they have and in fairly effective fashion for both the short and long term.

Over the break Angel City played two friendly matches, one against Bay FC and one against Carolina Ascent FC. As far as I know, neither were televised, so I don’t know much about the one against Bay FC besides the fact that Jun Endo scored her first goal since returning from ACL recovery and the game ended 1-1.

I was at the game against Carolina Ascent. It was nice to be back at BMO. The match featured appearances and starts for Shores and Jónsdóttir. Gisele Thompson did not appear and was not on the roster. The Availability Report lists her as OUT indicating that she has not yet returned from the injury she sustained at USWNT camp back in June. Straus also pulled Alanna Kennedy into the backline next to Sarah Gorden and started Madison Hammond in defensive midfield in her stead.

It wasn’t particularly comforting that the Ascent’s two goals came in the first and last few minutes of the game, however, for everything in between, Angel City was in the driver’s seat and they were back to looking fun. What a difference it made to have dangerous wingers on both the right and left again. Although she didn’t score, Jónsdóttir was threatening the entire game. It was fun to see her long throw-in in person. I look forward to when her connections with the rest of the team fully cohere. Shores seemed to have a good connection with Alyssa Thompson up and down the left channel. I liked how the attack looked with both Kennedy Fuller and Jun Endo playing creative roles. Fuller seemed to still be getting used to her slightly deeper role, but overall worked well next to Endo. Together they helped facilitate some dangerous passing sequences with the forward line close to goal and in tight spaces. Obviously this new attacking unit was still working out some kinks, but I think once they get used to each other they will be something scary.

Once Angel City started putting in substitutes things got messy quickly. It seemed like Straus perhaps saw what he wanted to see in the first 60 minutes and from there was just trying to get everyone an opportunity to get on the pitch. In those 60-70 minutes, though, A. Thompson scored four goals including a penalty kick, which had been drawn by Jónsdóttir. Overall, it was a fun time!

There will be growing pains as the group gets used to Straus’s principles and style of play, and new and returning players get used to each other. However, it feels like the club is definitively moving in a positive direction. Below I’ve tried to write out what I think the depth chart is at each position if all active players on the roster are healthy. The only player I’ve removed is King, as her timeline and roster status seems unclear. She would otherwise be among the first three picks for center back.

I only listed each player once, but there’s obviously flexibility here. Endo could play as a left winger or wingback, Fuller could obviously play as an attacking midfielder, Kennedy could play as a center back. Moriya has played on both sides and G. Thompson has featured as a winger when needed. We have also seen Riley Tiernan drift out to the left wing and A. Thompson move centrally when other substitutes come on. Based on what I have seen with Iceland, Jónsdóttir can play any position across the frontline. However, I think this is where the team is at for the most part with Straus likely wanting the strongest 11 on the pitch at the same time.

Needless to say, I'm excited to get back to NWSL action! It will be a tough road because the competition is so tight this season, but I think Angel City has a chance of sneaking into the playoffs. However, I think more importantly Straus and Parsons are putting the pieces in place to be successful in the seasons to come. The groundwork is being laid now and there will likely be bigger changes in the offseason with nine contracts expiring at the end of 2025. I’m excited for what’s being built here, and look forward to watching the kinks get worked out over the rest of this season.