In this week’s women’s soccer news, Jess Fishlock announced her retirement at the end of the season; the NWSL will add a Columbus team in 2028; the Houston Dash got tough injury news; and more!
High of the Week
This week, the NWSL announced that Columbus, Ohio, will be the home of the 18th team in the league. They’ll begin play in 2028 alongside the Atlanta expansion team. It will be owned by Haslam Sports Group (HSG), Nationwide, and Drs Christine and Peter Edwards. When the club takes the field in 2028, it will be at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, which is a soccer specific stadium that was built in 2021 and has a capacity of just over 20,000. The club was awarded for a record high $205 million expansion fee.
Expansion teams have been finding a lot of success with attendance, and the cities are really buying into the league and their team, so it’ll be fun to see how Columbus embraces the newest club.
Columbus will get an early taste of NWSL play when the 2026 Challenge Cup is played at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on June 26th at 8 p.m. ET. They’ll see NJ/NY Gotham FC face off against the Kansas City Current.
Low of the Week
The game of soccer can be pretty cruel sometimes, and this week we got another glimpse of that. Makenzy Robbe is a veteran in the league and is a player who has bounced around teams a bit, but she has been in really great form for the Houston Dash. In the three games she started to begin the season, she registered a goal and an assist. Unfortunately, the Dash announced this week that Robbe suffered a season-ending knee injury in training. It’s tough to see a player go down, but especially tough when they’re playing really well. We’re wishing Robbe a speedy recovery.
We’re with you, Mak 🩵
We have placed forward Makenzy Robbe on the Season Ending Injury list after she suffered an knee injury at training. pic.twitter.com/GauqKSgVGn
— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) April 24, 2026
News of the Week
A women’s soccer legend has decided to hang up her boots after the end of the 2026 NWSL season. Jess Fishlock has been with the Seattle Reign from the very beginning of the league in 2013. She’s been a mainstay for Seattle, and seeing her hang up her boots will be the end of an era. Fishlock has appeared in over 200 matches for the Reign and scored 49 regular season goals while also tallying 30 regular season assists so far.
An original. A legend. A legacy that will last forever.
Jess Fishlock will retire at the end of the 2026 season 💙 pic.twitter.com/yJ9ZQUM73n
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 21, 2026
Win of the Week
Chelsea announced this week that next season all of their home matches will be played at Stamford Bridge for the first time in club history. Stamford Bridge is a historic location, and it’s also much larger than where they have been playing at Kingsmeadow. Kingsmeadow only holds 4,850, while Stamford Bridge holds just over 41,000. It’s an exciting move for a club that has been doing really well both on the field and off. Women’s sports deserve to be celebrated, so to see Chelsea get to make this move is amazing.
Chelsea FC Women will play all Barclays Women’s Super League fixtures at Stamford Bridge from the 2026/27 season.
Never Done.
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) April 22, 2026
Team of the Week
The Washington Spirit got a statement win at Audi Field, taking down the Kansas City Current 4-0. Leicy Santos got the scoring started in the 25th minute, and then just before halftime, Trinity Rodman doubled the lead with her first goal of the season. Then in the second half, Santos scored a second goal. In the 75th minute, Claudia Martinez got on the scoresheet as well. The Spirit dominated pretty much every statistical category with 17 shots and seven of which were on goal, while the Current only had three. Washington got off to a slow start this season, but now they’ve won two in a row, and they seem to have found their form.
Player of the Week
Lauren Milliet had a big game for Racing Louisville against the Orlando Pride. Louisville came away with a 3-2 win, and Milliet scored the first brace of her professional career. Her two goals led Louisville to its first win of the season. The first goal came in the 19th minute, while the second was at the start of the second half in the 50th minute. One of the goals was an absolute masterclass that we can watch on repeat. It was a long range shot that went soaring into the back of the net. Having Milliet playing at a high level is important for this Louisville team that’s trying to find their footing early on in the season.
Goal of the Week
Sophia Wilson scored her first goal since returning from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter, and it was a beauty of a goal. It was a long time coming for Wilson, who hadn’t scored since 2024, but this goal ended up being extra important because it was the game-winner for the Portland Thorns against Angel City. Wilson got the ball and then dribbled into the box, and despite her touch taking her to a difficult angle, she still blasted the ball into the back of the net.
Save of the Week
Sandy MacIver had to come up with some impressive saves to keep the clean sheet for the Washington Spirit against the Kansas City Current. One of which was a sliding save one-on-one to keep Croix Bethune off the scoresheet against her former team.