Latest news with #SamMewis
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vermont Green FC: Triumph on the pitch, impact beyond the game
Vermont Green FC women lead the charge in showcasing an undefeated 2025 exhibition campaign against Flower City 1872 and AS Blainville. On June 11 and 14, the Vermont Green FC women's team suited up to show the New England community that Vermont is a soccer state. The annual exhibition matches were announced in February, with former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis returning as head coach. Advertisement Vermont Green FC's women's team is still in its early stages, making these exhibition matches the perfect opportunity to showcase the community's support. It also highlights the caliber of talent fans can expect once the team fully establishes itself within a women's soccer league. Vermont shows up for women's soccer Excitement buzzed through Burlington, Vermont, as The Women's Game podcast recorded a live episode ahead of the exhibition games. The event electrified players and fans, promoting soccer nationally while highlighting Vermont's vibrant love for the sport. Women's sports journalist Meg Linehan was the night's special guest, joining Mewis on stage at the iconic Higher Ground venue. If you haven't had a chance to check out the podcast episode, make sure you add it to your list. It's a fantastic glimpse into the energy surrounding women's soccer in Vermont. Linehan and Tamerra Griffin also had Mewis on their Full Time Podcast to discuss Mewis's career trajectory. After the media coverage concluded, it was time to get to work. The roster was named a week before the action was to start, calling on familiar names that Vermont Green fans have grown to see represent this club. With both exhibition matches being sold out at Virtue Field, there was a lot of pride already being shown. A statement win over Flower City 1872 That Wednesday, Flower City 1872 came to town, and Vermont Green wasted no time making their intentions clear: Defeat was not on their minds. The first half saw them take a 1-0 lead, but this was just the beginning of their assertive play. Advertisement The second half brought an explosion of offense. In the 55th minute, Olivia Borgen extended the lead, calmly tucking away a well-placed cross. As momentum firmly shifted to the Green, their craftsmanship truly shone. Moments later, they tacked on a third goal, culminating in a spectacular strike from Sophia Lowenburg, who sent a shot from 30 yards out straight into the top right corner, electrifying the sold-out crowd. The final whistle confirmed their authority with a resounding 4-0 victory over Flower City. Vermont Green FC's unstoppable momentum The next test arrived on Saturday when AS Blainville rolled into Virtue Field. While Vermont Green looked to continue their winning ways, their Canadian neighbors were hoping to end the undefeated campaign. And, sure enough, Blainville held a 1-0 lead at halftime. Advertisement I'm not quite sure what Mewis said at the half, but the Green rallied. They dug deep, breaking the deadlock in the 63rd minute. As momentum shifted to the home side, it was only a matter of time before a second goal followed. In the 76th minute, the crowd roared. Vermont Green extended their lead to 2-1. With time eventually expiring, the final scoreline confirmed the Green's undefeated status in their 2025 summer exhibition matches. Community and impact beyond the field The final exhibition match offered more than just on-field excitement; it also featured a special raffle. Mewis teamed up with the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund to raffle off one of her match-worn USWNT kits. Advertisement 'Part of what makes the Vermont soccer community special is how people come together around the game for a bigger purpose,' said Mewis. 'It is important to utilize this platform to spotlight what is going on in our country and point to an organization that is trying to protect the community that is under attack.' In a world where game results often dominate sports headlines, Vermont Green FC, both its men's and emerging women's teams, consistently redefines what a football club can be. From advocating for immigrant legal defense to pioneering climate change initiatives, this is a club and a community that proves the beautiful game's truest victories often happen away from the pitch. Related articles from Her Football Hub:
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Emma Hayes giving USWNT a break. Plus: Angel City's immigration demonstration
Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is The Athletic's weekly women's soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. Get your popcorn ready for this one.🍿 Emily Olsen here with Meg Linehan, Asli Pelit and Tamerra Griffin — welcome to Full Time! Hayes gives players 'much-needed' rest Just months into the job, head coach Emma Hayes pushed the U.S. women's national team nearly to the brink at the Olympics — she even referenced the ultramarathon ideology of the 'pain cave.' But like any good leader, Hayes understands balance. This year she's giving key players a 'much-needed break.' Advertisement Roughly 10 days out from the next USWNT camp, we are still waiting for the roster. But Hayes revealed in an interview with ESPN that she plans to give the Europe-based players the next summer window off. This includes two games against Ireland in Denver and Cincinnati next week and one versus Canada in Washington, D.C., on July 2. With the 2027 World Cup in Brazil two years away and her core group starting to take shape, Hayes said that 'player welfare' and 'rest and recovery' are important, especially considering number of games played, the length of seasons and the frequency of games since the 2023 World Cup. The camp will help key players returning from injury, too. 📺 Hayes has handed out nearly two dozen first-time call-ups already. Watch former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis share who she thinks should be next. A tale of 2 teams I won't reference the U.S. men often in this newsletter, but I think there is too stark of a juxtaposition between the teams right now not to. (And with Midge Purce pointing out the drama, it only felt right.) For those who don't know, here's what the men have been up to: The situations aren't identical, and we won't know if Hayes' approach will pay off until 2027, but it does appear she's getting ahead of any future tension by considering her players' workload before competitive matches pick back up. 📧 For all the USMNT drama and more, subscribe to the daily TAFC newsletter. Phil Hay is a must-read. US Women's million-dollar goal scorer Evelyn Shores was still jetlagged from her trip to Germany when she scored the goal worth $1 million for the US Women at The Soccer Tournament last week. The 20-year-old Atlanta native had a breakout year after consecutive injuries sidelined her during her senior year of high school and freshman season at UNC — the school she'd dreamed of attending since eighth grade. A post shared by TST (@tst7v7) Unfortunately for Shores, NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from accepting prize money. However, she wasn't in it for that. 'Playing one-v-one in practice with Carli Lloyd the day after flying in from Germany? That was insane,' she told Asli. 'They made us feel like equals. That was the craziest part.' Could she be the next U.S. player called into the senior team? The less said about Angel City's last-gasp loss at home to the North Carolina Courage the better for Angel City fans. However, the events happening off the pitch at BMO Stadium went beyond soccer this weekend and took center stage in the NWSL, following a week of immigration raids and resulting protests in Los Angeles. Advertisement The club distributed 10,000 T-shirts reading 'Immigrant City Football Club' and 'Los Angeles is for everyone / Los Ángeles es para todos' to players, staff, supporters and fans. They are also available in their online shop, with net proceeds going to a local legal service for immigrants. 'The fabric of this city is made of immigrants. Football does not exist without immigrants. This club does not exist without immigrants,' Angel City wrote on a message card handed out on Saturday night. Founding investor and recording artist Becky G also read it out before the match. It was an affirmative, if not outright earnest, reply from Angel City as a club and as a part of the Los Angeles community to the fear and uncertainty stemming from the week's events. The NWSLPA also released a joint statement with the WNBA players association, and Chicago Stars FC pointed to local resources in a brief statement. The league itself has yet to address the topic, however, even if it was clear how the NWSL community as a whole appreciated Angel City's willingness to step up and meet the moment. Lyonnes in talks with USWNT teen star Lily the Lyonne might have to become a thing. Ajax and USWNT midfielder Lily Yohannes, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday, may soon be the latest signing of OL Lyonnes, joining French striker Marie Antoinette Katoto and incoming head coach Jonathan Giráldez, making the eight-time Champions League title holders look even more ferocious next season. Last week, Tamerra reported that Ajax, where Yohannes signed her first professional contract, and the French powerhouse were in talks over a potential summer transfer, introducing a bit of a plot twist to the recent reports that the Springfield, Va., native might be headed to Chelsea. A source said Ajax's talks are currently focused on OL Lyonnes, though nothing has been signed yet. Trust and believe Chelsea fans will be processing this as a loss if the deal goes through. World Cup 2031 check-in With all this talk about the men's World Cup next year, we asked Asli to get the lowdown on the women's tournament the U.S. is hosting alongside Mexico in 2031. U.S. Soccer kicked off its city selection process last month. Twenty-nine cities, including 11 cities that will host the 2026 men's World Cup, received the information packets. The list is not exclusive, meaning if another city wants to throw its hat in the ring, it can. But time is running short. The deadline to submit detailed proposals is September, and formal bids must be submitted to FIFA at the end of November, according to sources. The timing is notable: 2026 host cities haven't even had a chance to evaluate the full impact of hosting the men's tournament before committing to 2031. That's a big risk given that economic, logistical and reputational risks can be significant. They'll need to secure additional funding and make sure FIFA's infrastructure demands have been taken care of. Inaugural champions: The other Division I league in the U.S., the USL Super League, wrapped its first season Saturday with a 1-0 championship victory for the Tampa Bay Sun over Fort Lauderdale United. Captain Jordyn Listro joined 'Full Time' to talk about the special win. Scary situation: I was horrified to read about Seattle Reign forward Jordyn Huitema's experience with a high-profile home invasion and moved by the trust and care with which Susie Rantz told her story: 'She had broken her back the year before, and as she sat behind the door, she made peace with the idea that if she had to break it again to keep the door shut, she would.' Advertisement Championship by the Bay: How does Thanksgiving in the Bay Area sound? The 2025 NWSL final is heading to San Jose's 18,000-seat PayPal Park, the home stadium of Bay FC and MLS' San Jose Earthquakes, on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET. Before we go … check out who joined Meg at the Vermont Green women's exhibition games last week. (Spoiler: It's fellow Vermonter, Ilona Maher, Olympic bronze medalist in Rugby Sevens.) 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo's women's sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic. Also, check out our other newsletters.
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Sam Mewis: Retirement, New Chapter, And Men In Blazers Move
NEW YORK CITY, NY - JULY 08: Sam Mewis talks on stage during a U.S. Soccer send off event with Men ... More In Blazers at Webster Hall on July 8, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF) Few players in soccer have a résumé as stacked as Sam Mewis. She's won a FIFA World Cup, a U-20 World Cup, an Olympic bronze, three NWSL titles, an FA Cup with Manchester City, and an NCAA championship with UCLA. But one thing still nags at her. 'Not winning Olympic gold still eats away at me,' she tells me with a smile. Her professional career, which spanned nearly a decade across the U.S. and Europe, came to an early close because a knee injury forced her to retire, but it didn't end her connection to the sport. Instead, it opened a new chapter: she became the editor-in-chief of The Women's Game at the Men in Blazers Network. Surrounded by fellow athletes who regularly join her podcast, Mewis is discovering new joys in her career she hadn't anticipated, but still misses playing. "There is a part of me that is sad and jealous and wishes I could still be out there playing," she says. Especially when the league she retired from, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), is on the rise, both on and off the pitch. As a player who played in both the NWSL and England's Women's Super League (WSL), Mewis experienced the hockey stick growth of the women's game globally. 'I started playing professionally in 2015, and it's amazing to see how much the league has evolved,' Mewis says. 'The growth has been incredible.' An average team in the NWSL is valued at $104 million, up 57% just from a year ago. But soaring valuations represent much more than a league that attracts wealthy investors. "The quality of coaching, the number of teams, the number of brands wanting to be involved—it's all increasing," she says. "Especially after Kansas City built its brand-new stadium for women's soccer, it is something I'm incredibly proud of." While Mewis is thrilled to see the NWSL's rapid growth, she also acknowledges that the England's WSL is not far behind. "It's almost like an arms race now," she says. The 2022 UEFA Women's Euros in England was a game-changer for the sport, much like the 1999 Women's World Cup was for the U.S. The Lionesses' win sparked fan interest and it kicked off a wave of investment and visibility for the league. Now, clubs on both sides of the Atlantic are battling to sign top talent, pouring money into training facilities, building soccer-specific stadiums, and boosting salaries to keep players. While the future of the women's game looks brighter with the influx of wealthy owners, better facilities, and more resources, it also raises new questions, particularly around player safety and health. "We can't just prioritize the money. We have to prioritize the safety of the players," Mewis says, emphasizing the need to focus on supporting women athletes better—whether that's through recovery, injury prevention, or returning from pregnancy. After retiring from professional soccer, Mewis transitioned to media, joining Men in Blazers and taking on a leadership role as The Women's Game editor-in-chief. Her new career in the media has allowed her to connect with fans differently. "I'm so connected to the audience," Mewis says. She often brings her former teammates and other top players to her weekly podcast for intimate interviews. "Helping create this community around women's soccer has been almost a replacement for [playing in] the team. It's a space where I feel I'm still giving back to the game."
