She changed the club. She defined an era.

One last season to watch her write the final chapter. 👑

Jess Fishlock will retire at the end of the 2026 NWSL season, closing one of the greatest careers in NWSL history.

➡️ rgnfc.com/4cCwzhE

USWNT christens Lumen Field's World Cup grass with a rainy return to Seattle Though the U.S. lost to Japan on Tuesday, the grass picked up a win after withstanding the first of many games on the newly installed hybrid surface.

One last item from last night’s USWNT game — I wrote about the debut of the newly-installed, World Cup-ready grass at Lumen Field.

sports.yahoo.com/soccer/artic...

Emma Hayes cites development and 'preparation' as USWNT falters in 1-0 loss to Japan behind young lineup: 'We cannot always simply play just for the result' 'I'm a developer of players and they need to go through these things.'

The USWNT fell to Japan in a 1-0 loss in Seattle on Tuesday. But postgame, Emma Hayes pointed to games like this as a chance for the team to improve.
"I’m a developer of players and they need to go through these things," she said.
sports.yahoo.com/soccer/artic...

36,128 is the announced attendance in Lumen Field, surpassing the Seattle record (34,130) set by the Reign at Megan Rapinoe's retirement game in 2023.

And now Lindsey Heaps comes on for Lily Yohannes in the 71st minute, and retakes the captain's armband from Claire Hutton.

Hayes makes her first batch of USWNT substitutions in the 65th minute, bringing on Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman, Tierna Davidson and Gisele Thompson.
Emily Sonnett, Emma Sears, Olivia Moultrie and Lilly Reale are subbed off.

Japan holds a 1-0 lead at halftime after a great goal from Maika Hamano, who gets around the USWNT back line in the 27th minute.
On the other end, this young U.S. lineup hasn't been able to get a lot of quality chances on offense either. I'm curious if Hayes will make any changes at halftime.

Emma Hayes swaps out the full starting XI for today's game, featuring Captain Claire Hutton and Phallon Tullis-Joyce (a former Reign goalkeeper) making her return to Seattle.

Seattle’s Lumen Field of the USWNT vs Japan, very rainy

I’m here at a very rainy Lumen Field, getting ready for the USWNT to take on Japan. After winning the first match in the three-match series, the U.S. will aim to get another win in their first game in Seattle since 2017.

Seattle, whose last time hosting the USWNT was a decade ago, is set to give the team a warm welcome back.
Very excited to cover this game in person tomorrow.

They were in One Spokane Stadium, it’s a soccer-specific venue for the two USL teams out there

The Reign end their Spokane road trip with a 0-0 draw against the Denver Summit, picking up 7 points across the three-game series. Not bad at all.

How the Seattle Reign are approaching a three-match swing through Spokane 'We just get to expand our fanbase,' Emeri Adames says, 'and that’s always exciting'

Ahead of the Reign’s last “home” game in Spokane, I’m re-sharing the article I did for The Equalizer in February on how and why the endeavor came together.

So far, the Reign’s Spokane wins have been a pleasant surprise. Can the Reign make it 3-for-3 tonight?

equalizersoccer.com/2026/02/05/s...

My sister saying “OMG THE REFS ARE HERE LOL” followed by my roommate saying “Should I say good job???” I have hit both messages with a “haha” react because they made me laugh

My sister and my roommate went to the Reign game in Spokane and they went out to dinner afterwards and if you’re wondering Spokane is not very big

Jess Fishlock's face when she was asked about the blown call where her shot went in and it wasn't reviewed #NWSL 🤣😂

The most succinct postgame thought from that mayhem might be from Jess Fishlock:

“This game is gonna be a really hard, difficult, painful lesson for all of us.”

#NWSL

Same Claudia, same

There’s a lot happening…clearly

(The word “game” was supposed to be in there somewhere)

Reign-Thorns from up really high in the stadium, photo courtesy of my roommate

Maybe if I keep watching the Seattle-Portland from up here it can’t hurt me

NWSL 2026 season preview: 16 teams, new stars and another wide-open title race The 2026 NWSL season kicks off Friday, and the league is back and bigger than ever.

Between March Madness, the World Baseball Classic, the return of the NWSL and much more, it's a great time to be back at Yahoo Sports as a breaking news writer.
And in the spirit of that, here's my preview breaking down what should be a very exciting 2026 season:
sports.yahoo.com/soccer/artic...

NWSL Season Preview Week - YouTube Check out all of our episodes previewing all 16 NWSL clubs for 2026!

Complete NWSL season preview playlist! With guests

@catabush.com
@lesleyryder.bsky.social
@gnocchifc.bsky.social
@trebtracy.bsky.social
@bekkimorgan.bsky.social
@abigailsegel.bsky.social
@karimandered.bsky.social
@phuocerman.bsky.social
@risswillett.bsky.social
@jennatonelli.bsky.social

and more!

Delighted to make my podcast debut with the boys of @xowngoals.com and share my very optimistic (perhaps too optimistic) take on the Reign and their young core ahead of this season

NWSL Season Preview Week: Orlando Pride, with Abigail Segel of Defector Spotify video

On the audio side: Evan and Eric at @xowngoals.com spoke to @abigailsegel.bsky.social on Orlando

open.spotify.com/episode/7L2H...

and @karimandered.bsky.social on Seattle

Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson reflect on motherhood and their return to the field After giving birth to their daughters this fall, Swanson and Wilson are making their way back at their own pace, with “a whole different perspective” on their return to soccer postpartum

For this week's edition of TurfBurn, I wrote about Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson, who spoke last month about returning to the field after welcoming their daughters in the fall.
"It’s a whole different perspective," Wilson said of her time away.
kariandersonwrites.substack.com/p/mallory-sw...

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 19: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera positioned above the field of play.) Megan Keller #5 of Team United States scores the game winning goal in overtime against Claire Thompson #42 and Ann-Renee Desbiens #35 of Team Canada to win the gold medal during the Women's Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

put it in the Louvre

Thrilled to make my freelance debut with The Equalizer for this story about the Reign's matches in ONE Spokane Stadium. Last week, I spoke to Reign forwards Mia Fishel and Emeri Adames and the club's Chief Business Officer Maya Mendoza-Exstrom about what the unusual move means for the team.

This is the first of many stories I'm hoping to write from media day — I had such a blast talking to players about a wide variety of issues, and I can't wait to share more.

'We get to build something': What it takes to start an NWSL expansion team As the Denver Summit and Boston Legacy embark on their inaugural seasons, I spoke to foundational players Ally Brazier (née Watt) and Casey Murphy about their new teams

At my first NWSL Media Day last week, I spoke to Denver Summit forward Ally Brazier (née Watt) and Boston Legacy goalkeeper Casey Murphy, who both spoke about the early days of preseason and what it's like to build an expansion team from the ground up.
kariandersonwrites.substack.com/p/we-get-to-...

Breaking down the NWSL’s controversial new “High Impact Player” rule The so-called “Rodman Rule,” which attempts to fix the league’s restrictive salary cap, has appeared to be a swing and a miss — but the league is doubling down anyway

For this week's edition of TurfBurn, I broke down the High Impact Player rule, digging into the NWSL's attempt to keep Trinity Rodman in the league through a familiar, but somewhat controversial structure.
Read more here:
kariandersonwrites.substack.com/p/breaking-d...