It’s official: Katie Stengel is back stateside for good joining NJ/NY Gotham FC on a permanent deal through 2025 from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee. The move was announced Wednesday morning and was first reported by BBC Sport on Tuesday.
“When I came to Gotham FC, I wanted to give everything I had to this temporary opportunity,” said Stengel. “I feel incredibly fortunate to continue at a club that is building the foundation of something special through professionalism and an exciting style of play.”
Stengel had initially joined Gotham FC earlier this summer on a loan from Liverpool which was set to expire on September 3rd. While with the Reds last season, Stengel was the top scorer notching 10 goals in 27 matches.
“Katie is a dynamic attacking player for us, who can create scoring chances for herself and her teammates due to her quality and work ethic,” said Gotham FC Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós. “She has impressed us from day one and has adapted really well to our style of play. We are excited that she will remain with the club and help Gotham FC to keep growing.”
Stengel provided a much needed spark to Gotham’s front line during the World Cup break and quickly became an integral part of the squad. Across all competitions this season, Stengel has scored three goals and appeared in eight games.
“Katie Stengel has provided another key element to our attack, and we are pleased that she will continue to be a strong contributor to our talented roster of players,” said General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations Yael Averbuch West.
Gotham FC will face the Washington Spirit at Red Bull Arena on Saturday, September 16th.
Canadian women’s national team and Portland Thorns forward Janine Beckie will be hitting the six-month mark post-ACL surgery at the end of the month.
She just started running on turf again a few weeks ago, an emotional moment for her in the recovery process.
“I thought I was gonna start crying,” Beckie told The Equalizer. “Running is one of the biggest milestones that you have in [this] injury.”
The Equalizer sat down with Beckie last week to talk about her rehab journey, finding strength in community and maximizing her platform to shine a light on important issues.
Beckie is 29 and only now facing her first major injury. “I’m really lucky that I’ve gotten this far without having other issues.” She continued, “[t]he isolation was new for me, especially being in a team sport, you’re so used to being surrounded by a large group of people all the time so that was definitely a bit of a shock.”
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Heading into last year’s offseason, Racing Louisville FC midfielder Jaelin Howell knew she could do better.
Her rookie year hadn’t gone as well as she hoped and her club ended the season near the bottom of the table in ninth place. That wasn’t good enough, so the defensive midfielder spent her time off consulting with nutritionists to improve her diet, working with strength and speed coaches to improve her speed of play, and continuing to see a sports psychologist to strengthen her mental game.
“I didn’t want anybody to have a doubt in their mind about who I was as a player, as a person, or a leader,” the defensive midfielder told The Equalizer. “I wanted to do a 180 with all of that. And so having that mentality going into the offseason, knowing that I’m going to have to change a lot of things but it’s going to be worth it because when I step onto that field I’m going to be a different player.”
Howell’s hard work paid off. Not only did she come into the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season revitalized, but her growth mindset and desire to improve herself for the betterment of the team ultimately helped her earn the captain’s armband. Being named captain at only 23-years-old, while in only the second year of her professional career, may have come as a surprise to some, but Louisville head coach Kim Björkegren was confident in Howell’s leadership capabilities.
“For me, it doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or 35,” Björkegren said. “The most important thing is that you do your best every single day for yourself but also for the club and yourself, and that’s Howell.”
Five months into her captaincy, Howell has shown a marked improvement on the field despite wrestling with nagging injuries. She also helped lead her club to to their best overall performance in their three-year history. In this exclusive conversation with The Equalizer, the defensive midfielder shares how she’s been adjusting to her new role, what it takes to build a winning culture in a young team, and how she’s working to balance helping her club reach greater success while still achieving her own goals.
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The National Women’s Soccer League will return to Boston in 2026, the league announced on Tuesday, ending a nine-month wait to confirm its 15th team. The NWSL Board of Governors approved the bid of the expansion group — led by Juno Equity founder and Boston Celtics minority owner Jennifer Epstein — in January, with contingencies on the finalization of some key items, including a stadium.
On Tuesday, the group known as Boston Unity Soccer Partners confirmed that it intends to play home matches at George R. White Stadium in Franklin Park in Boston as part of a revitalization of the dilapidated city facility. The ownership group will help fund a renovation of existing stadium infrastructure, along with the construction of a new track around the field and temporary seating that would cover it for NWSL games. Boston Unity Soccer Partners presented the only formal bid to the City of Boston’s request for proposal on a public-private partnership to revitalize the stadium.
“Boston is the greatest sports city in the world, and we are thrilled to bring the NWSL back to this passionate fan base,” Epstein said. “Our goal is to build a championship-caliber franchise that the city can be proud of, both on the pitch and in the community. We will be relentless and daring in our quest to add another chapter to the city’s unrivaled sports legacy. We thank Commissioner Berman and the NWSL board for believing in us and in Boston and are grateful for the unwavering support of Mayor Michelle Wu and her team, who have been instrumental in bringing professional women’s soccer back to Boston.”
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Epstein is joined in ownership of the NWSL team by strategic marketer Stephanie Connaughton, Women’s Foundation of Boston co-founder/CFO Ami Danoff and Flybridge Capital general partner Anna Palmer. The group says that 95% of its invested capital comes from women, and 40% from investors of color. Monarch Collective, which was founded by Kara Nortman, also invested in the team. Nortman is co-founder and co-owner of the NWSL’s Angel City FC.
White Stadium is expected to hold about 11,000 fans for NWSL games following renovations. Boston Public Schools will have priority access and their athletic programs will be regular, day-to-day tenants, according to the city’s requirements for proposals. Boston Unity Soccer Partners must also identify land for and build a training facility for the team. The prospective owners previously presented their vision to city officials and local residents at a community meeting in July. There are meetings next week to address local residents’ concerns about transportation.
“As the City of Champions, Boston sets the standard for athletic excellence and fans’ devotion to our teams,” Boston mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. “It’s fitting and absolutely thrilling for Boston to be a home for women’s soccer, hosting a franchise that will partner so closely with our community and especially our schools. I look forward to the revitalization of White Stadium and the partnership of this team and league to create new opportunities in Franklin Park and for our student-athletes citywide.”
A return to Boston brings the NWSL back into another top-10 U.S. media market ahead of a new broadcast rights deal, which commissioner Jessica Berman said last week that she hopes to have finalized in the next two months.
“I’m excited to expand the NWSL’s footprint and continue its transformative growth in our return to Boston, one of the world’s most iconic sports cities,” Berman said. “We are very proud to welcome Boston Unity Soccer Partners to our ownership group. They bring an impressive roster of business leaders committed to continuing Boston’s legacy of sports excellence and delivering a successful team to a very passionate fanbase. We are thrilled for their entry to the league in the 2026 season and add a new chapter to the storied history of Boston sports.”
Boston’s full name and branding is expected to be revealed next year. The “launch crest,” as the team describes it, is green and black and depicts the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge.
The team is expected to be joined by one other expansion team for the 2026 NWSL season. Bay FC and Utah Royals FC will begin play in 2024, bringing the league to 14 teams.
Boston Unity Soccer Partners paid a $53 million expansion fee, the same as Bay FC, whose entry into the league was also approved by the NWSL Board of Governors in January. The NWSL was previously in the Boston market from launch in 2013 through the 2017 season. The Boston Breakers, who have no ties to the new Boston group, folded in early 2018 after a deal to sell the team collapsed.
