The NWSL has been the most successful women’s professional soccer league by a long shot, as its two predecessor’s, WUSA and WPS, both lasted just three seasons while NWSL will be entering its seventh season when it kicks off on April 13.
The league has lasted as long due in large part to stronger support from US Soccer and a more sound business model, which includes franchises co-owned by MLS teams, like in Orlando, Portland and Salt Lake City, and a franchise co-owned with a USL team in the North Carolina Courage.
PORTLAND, OR – SEPTEMBER 18, 2018: Chicago Red Stars midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo takes a cross during the North Carolina 2-0 victory over Chicago Red Stars at Providence Park for NWSL playoffs semi-final on September 18, 2018, in Portland OR (Photo by Diego Diaz).
NWSL also has teams in major markets like Chicago, Washington DC and the New York/New Jersey area. One major void that has remained to be filled is the absence of a team in Los Angeles.
On the surface, it doesn’t appear to make sense not to have an NWSL team in Los Angeles. Southern California in general has certainly contributed to the success of women’s soccer in the US. The region has produced 91er Joy Fawcett (Huntington Beach), current USWNT stars Alex Morgan (Diamond Bar), Christen Press (Palos Verdes), McCall Zerboni (San Clemente) and this year’s No. 1 pick in the NWSL draft, Hailie Mace (Ventura) as well as former stars like Shannon Boxx and Whitney Engen (both from Torrance). One of the country’s top college programs reside at UCLA and has produced players such as Lauren Holliday and Sydney Leroux and even USC with Amy Rodriguez.
“It’s such a hotbed for soccer,” said USWNT head coach Jill Ellis, who coached at UCLA from 1999 to 2010. “I want to continue to see the NWSL league grow, and that mean’s investment and more teams, and obviously this is a very good market and very good facilities.”
Southern California has also seen players from other national teams emerge. The most notable is New Zealand’s Ali Riley, who was born and raised in North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, as well as numerous players for the Mexico national team, such as striker Renae Cuellar (Hacienda Heights) and defender Christina Murillo from Ojai Valley, just to name a few.
Los Angeles has had a professional women’s soccer before. Back in 2009, the Los Angeles Sol were among seven original teams of Women’s Professional Soccer, the second incarnation of a women’s pro league in the United States. The Sol’s ownership, at the time owned by Anshcutz Entertainment Group, which owns the LA Galaxy and during that time had David Beckham and Landon Donovan, looked to make just as big a splash with the Sol as they had done the Galaxy, bringing in Brazilian superstar Marta and adding other big names, such as USWNT star Boxx, and Japanese midfielder Aya Miyama, who ironically had earned comparisons to Beckham from the English press due to the two free kicks she scored against England in the 2007 World Cup.
The Portland Thorns hold the record for highest average attendance of any NWSL club, which at 17,000, is higher than some Premier League teams (photo by Diego G Diaz).
Other players would emerge as key contributors throughout the season, such as midfielders Zerboni, Camille Abily and six-foot defender Allison Falk, but the most important emergence was the play of Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, who established herself as a force between the pipes.
“It was a really good amazing first year,” said Zerboni, a rookie out of UCLA that year. “To have that big of a boom my rookie year, it set the bar pretty high, and I’ve been chasing that level ever since.”
With all the pieces in place, and with the steady hand of head coach Abner Rogers, the Sol dominated WPS in 2009, winning the regular season title with a 12-3-5 record and 41 points, which earned them an automatic bye into the WPS final as well as the right to host the final. The Sol however were facing a Sky Blue FC team that had caught fire at the right time, and Sky Blue eventually pulled off the upset with a 1-0 win.
“It’s a thorn on my side that will never go away,” Zerboni said. “It’s a little scar, but those are the things you remember in your career that drive you when you need some motivation.”
Not that there are challenges to having an NWSL team in Los Angeles. Aside from the many entertainment options in the region, Los Angeles/Southern California area is also a crowded sports market, with two NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL and recently two MLS teams along with the WNBA’s LA Sparks. There is also UCLA, USC and other NCAA Division I schools to compete with. However, an LA NWSL team back by a strong ownership group, preferably aligned with either LAFC or the Galaxy, where it could draw more fans from, could definitely hold its own in the area, especially considering the bulk of the NWSL season occurs during the summer time, with baseball and the WNBA as well as MLS being the only sports going on at the time (though the Sparks would certainly be happy to work with an NWSL LA team on cross-promotion activities, and perhaps the Dodgers as well, given the connection with Magic Johnson, who has ownership stakes in the Dodgers, Sparks and LAFC), I believe soccer fans will be pleasantly surprised regarding the success of an NWSL team in LA.
LAFC has been the team connected with a potential NWSL team in Los Angeles, mostly due to Mia Hamm being a part of the franchise’s ownership group. Hamm has been asked numerous times about a potential NWSL franchise in LA aligned with LAFC and she has said such a scenario “just makes sense” and has mentioned all the youth clubs and players active in the region as another strong case for an NWSL team in Los Angeles.
Alex Morgan celebrates her 101st goal, the assist coming from Llyod, during the USWNT’s match against Belgium (photo by Dante’y Buitureida)
“I’m texting Mia all the time trying to convince her to get a women’s team here (in LA),” Morgan said. “The more we grow, the better the league is going to get. We want quality first, now we’ve have that, and now we can continue to grow.”
Sunday’s match between the USWNT and Belgium also serves as a good sign. The USWNT played to a capacity crowd of 20,941 at Banc of Canifornia Stadium and attendance for previous USWNT matches at the StubHub Center have also been strong as well, and while national team matches and NWSL matches are apples and oranges in comparison, it does indicate there is a market for women’s soccer in Southern California, and who could ever forget the 90,000+ that filled the Rose Bowl on that hot July afternoon in 1999 to watch the USWNT’s scintillating shootout win over China to win the World Cup.
“This stadium is beautiful and obviously (LAFC) is doing really well and I don’t see why a women’s team couldn’t pull something like that,” Zerboni said.
Press was even more emphatic when asked about the prospects of a potential NWSL team in Los Angeles.
“I think it will succeed here, and the sooner the better,” said Press.
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