FootyPop: Sam Kerr Is Leaving Chelsea

In this week’s women’s soccer news, Bunny Shaw completed the three-peat; Sam Kerr is leaving Chelsea; Mallory Swanson is back on the field; and more!

High of the Week

Bunny Shaw finishes an incredible season with her third straight Golden Boot award and it’s her third straight season winning the award. Manchester City has had an incredible season in the WSL, and Shaw played a massive part in that success. Shaw finished the season with 21 goals and became the first player in WSL history to score over 20 goals in three straight seasons. She scored a brace in their season finale against West Ham United to secure the Golden Boot title.

Shaw joined City in 2021, and in 92 appearances, she’s scored an astounding 81 goals. She’s a large part of City’s success in recent years, and she led them to the WSL Championship this season. The last time Manchester City won the league was 10 years ago. City’s offense as a whole has been incredible this season, scoring 62 goals in 22 matches. It has been a historic season for City, and they can cap it off with an FA Women’s Cup Final win on May 31 against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Manchester City could be losing their star striker, though, at the end of June when her contract is set to expire. With her performance, City should be trying to do anything in their power to keep Shaw with the club, but it’s looking like she could be on the move. Her next destination hasn’t been revealed yet, but it has been reported that Chelsea has offered Shaw a contract.

Low of the Week

With the WSL season ending, there are a lot of player departures, but perhaps the biggest is the fact that Sam Kerr is leaving Chelsea, with her next destination to be determined. Kerr has been one of the most prolific goal scorers in the game, and she continued that throughout her career at Chelsea. The Australian forward joined The Blues in 2020 and has spent six and a half years with the club. In that time, she scored 116 goals in 157 matches, which is an absurd number. Her 116 goals are also tied for the most by any player all-time at Chelsea. While with Chelsea, she also helped the club win the WSL five times, the FA Cup three times, and the FA Women’s League Cup three times.

For Chelsea to lose Kerr it signals the changing of the guard for The Blues, who are going to try and get back on top of the WSL next season. There are some thoughts that Kerr could potentially make her way back to the NWSL, but that is far from confirmed. It’s possible that she’ll stay in the WSL or move leagues completely. We’ll have to wait to find out, but whichever team can sign Kerr, they’ll boost their offense by bringing her in.

News of the Week

Chelsea and Sam Kerr have been the headline, but Arsenal have also lost two of their staple players, with Katie McCabe and Beth Mead not returning next season.​

McCabe joined Arsenal in 2015, and she finished her long career with the Gunners with 305 appearances. She was also the captain of the club, so her absence will surely be felt both on the field and off. McCabe had a decorated career helping Arsenal bring in a lot of silverware. In her time, they won the Champions League, WSL title, and an FA Cup, to name a few. The Irish international is a veteran player who will likely get a lot of offers to join other clubs, but there hasn’t been an official announcement of her next move.

Arsenal’s other mainstay, Beth Mead, will be leaving the club as well after six years with the club. Since joining them in 2017, she has appeared in 265 games and scored 86 goals. She’s a bit of an underrated player who has played consistently well for the Gunners.

Between losing McCabe and Mead, Arsenal will have big shoes to fill. It has been said that Manchester City has offered both players a contract, but there’s been no official signing.

Return of the Week

This week, the Chicago Stars announced that they have moved forward Mallory Swanson to their active roster after being on maternity leave. Swanson and her husband, Dansby Swanson, welcomed their baby girl named Josie, in November. In the 75th minute of Chicago’s match against the North Carolina Courage, she entered the match, marking her return. It’s the first time that she’s been on the field since November 2024. 559 days later, she was able to represent Chicago again, and unfortunately, they didn’t get the result they wanted, but seeing Swanson back on the field is a huge boost for this team that is struggling.

Goal of the Week

Tierna Davidson scored her first goal since 2019 in NJ/NY Gotham’s 2-0 win over the Seattle Reign. The goal started with a Gotham corner kick that was sent into the box and then bounced around a bit. The ball was then deflected and landed at Davidson, who was able to take a perfect touch and blast it into the net.

Player of the Week

Temwa Chawinga has been on fire since returning to the field this season. At the end of the 2025 regular season, Chawinga suffered a season-ending hip adductor injury. Since returning, she’s appeared in five games and scored five goals with all five coming in their last two matches. She got a hat trick last weekend against the Chicago Stars, and this weekend she came out and scored a brace against the Houston Dash, propelling the Current to their third straight win.

Assist of the Week

Haley McCutcheon did the defensive work to create a turnover from the Denver Summit with her pressure, and from there she was able to slip a ball through three defenders to the feet of a speedy Barbra Banda, who was able to slide it into the back of the net.

Social Media Post of the Week

The San Diego Wave got an impressive 2-1 win over the Washington Spirit, but their final score graphic was a really clever one. The Spirit has adopted the mascot of Jose the Coyote, which is a fake plastic statue that they’ve been carrying to each game. San Diego decided to use that in their graphic by putting Wile E. Coyote and the classic “that’s all folks” with the final score. It was a fun troll that gave a good laugh.

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