FootyPop: Gotham Win 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup

In this week’s women’s soccer news, Gotham won the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup; Alexia Putellas seems to have found her new club; Temwa Chawinga is staying with the Kansas City Current; and more!

High of the Week

Gotham FC are the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup winners after a 2-0 win over the Kansas City Current. The 2025 NWSL Champions added another trophy to their collection with the win. It’s the first time that the club has won the Challenge Cup.

The match was played in Columbus, Ohio, which will be the home of a new expansion team beginning in 2028. It was a rainy night for these two teams that were competing for a trophy. Gotham kind of dominated the statistics on paper with 10 shots and 55% of the possession, but Ann-Katrin Berger did have to come up with big saves to keep the Current off the board. Gotham got the scoring started thanks to an Esther González penalty kick after the Current’s Lo’eau LaBonta committed a foul in the box. The penalty came in the 37th minute, so Gotham was able to go into halftime with the lead. In the 79th minute, Jordan Dudley added the insurance goal that Gotham was looking for thanks to an impressive individual effort.

Low of the Week​

There was talk that a couple of NWSL clubs were at least attempting to be in the mix to sign two time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, but unfortunately for the NWSL, it seems that she’s agreed to join the London City Lionesses in the WSL. ESPN broke the news of the signing this week, but the team has yet to make the announcement. Bringing a player of Putellas’ caliber to the NWSL would have been huge for the league, but it’s likely that teams couldn’t match the offers made by clubs in England. It seems that the star player wanted to stay in Europe to be closer to home, which ultimately is why the NWSL missed out. Putellas had interest from many clubs, but her signing with London City is an interesting decision as opposed to the likes of Arsenal. It’s the first time that Putellas will represent a new club in 14 years.

London City is owned by Michele Kang, who also owns Olympique Lyon and the Washington Spirit, and she has pledged to really invest in the Lionesses both in facilities and by creating a championship winning team. The 2025-26 season was their first in the WSL, and they finished in sixth place with an 8-3- 11 record.

News of the Week​

There were two big contract extensions announced this week in the NWSL. The Kansas City Current announced that they’ve signed MVP Temwa Chawinga through the 2029 season. Since coming to the NWSL, Chawinga has been incredible. She’s been named the league MVP and Golden Boot Winner in back-to-back seasons, and resigning her is huge for the Current. In 61 games, she’s scored 47 goals, which is insane. For the 2026 season, she has scored seven goals in eight games so far.

Gotham also announced the extension of defender Emily Sonnett. She signed with the club through the 2028 season. Sonnett has been in the NWSL since she was the first pick in the 2016 NWSL Draft. She’s had stints with the Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, and OL Reign. Since joining Gotham in 2024, she has appeared in 77 matches for the club and helped them win the 2025 NWSL Championship.

Goal of the Week

The rookie, Jordan Dudley, added the insurance goal for Gotham in great fashion. Dudley showed off tremendous footwork as she dribbled into the box and went 1v1 with a defender before sending the ball into the side of the net. It was a great individual effort for the youngster.

Signing of the Week

AFC Toronto made a big signing this week by bringing goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo back home to Canada. She’s from Welland, Ontario, which is only about two hours from Toronto, so it’s a special homecoming for a player that’s been away for so long.

D’Angelo brings a lot of experience to the club after a long professional career. She was drafted by the Western New York Flash in the 2015 NWSL Draft. She played a massive part in the Flash winning the 2016 NWSL Championship, and she was named the Championship MVP. When the Flash relocated and became the North Carolina Courage, D’Angelo spent two seasons and won another NWSL title in 2018. She then moved to Sweden and played with Vittsjö GIK and spent four years there. In 2023 joined the WSL, spending two seasons with Arsenal and then, most recently, Aston Villa. The goalkeeper is also a part of the senior CANWNT after making her debut in 2016.

Save of the Week

Ann-Katrin Berger has been incredible for Gotham since joining the team, and she put up another big performance against the Current for the Challenge Cup. She came up with three saves to secure the shutout and the win for Gotham. One save was an impressive kick save off a close-range Croix Bethune shot. The play started with what could have been called a foul on Bethune, but they played on, and she was able to steal the ball and dribble into the box to get a shot off.

Social Media Post of the Week

This week, Venezuela suffered two devastating earthquakes. The natural disasters caused extensive damage to much of the country, and the death toll is still rising as rescuers are working to try to find people through the rubble. The country needs a lot of support, and Portland Thorns’ forward Deyna Castellanos, who is from Venezuela, is working to do what she can from far away. She’s been sharing information on her social media that people in Venezuela might need, as well as organizations that people can donate to. She also posted that with her Thorns teammates’ help and the community of Portland, she has collected a large truck full of supplies to send to those in need.