The Bittersweet Reality of The NWSL Retirement Wave
Recently, the NWSL has been met with important and heartbreaking decisions coming from popular faces. For years since the league started, fans have become familiar with the faces that have been there for a long time. They are the players who not only shaped the NWSL, but also shaped the game as we know it. Now, several players who can only be described as legends have started announcing their retirements. It can be called as the NWSL retirement wave, and it has a bittersweet reality.
The NWSL Retirement Wave Has Been Happening For A While
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While many players, such as Alex Morgan, announced their retirement this season, the NWSL retirement wave didn’t just start. Last year, the NWSL lost some important players, such as Ali Krieger. Krieger, who retired at the end of the 2023 NWSL season, was one of the few players who played in the league since the very beginning. In the same year, the league lost another big name, as Megan Rapinoe also announced her retirement. Then came Julie Ertz, as the two-time World Cup Champion retired last year too.
All these players retiring was the first indication of a change happening in the NWSL: one where the OG generation is hanging up their boots and leaving the pitch for one final time. It’s a bittersweet moment where there is the realization of how young players will now pave their careers following the footsteps of amazing veterans. After Rapinoe, Krieger, and Ertz retired, some might have thought that the retirements would stop for a while. The opposite happened.
Players Who Are Part of The Continuous NWSL Retirement Wave
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This retirement wave hitting the NWSL didn’t stop last year. Unfortunately for the fans, it kept going strong this year. Big names in the league have announced their retirement news over the past few weeks. Despite this, each announcement felt just as heartbreaking as the first one. One of the many players who are part of the NWSL retirement wave is Kelley O’Hara. The USWNT legend is leaving behind brokenhearted fans who will remember her through her legacy.
There is also the USWNT’s legendary striker, Alex Morgan, who has decided to retire as well. Morgan’s impact on the game is part of the bittersweet reality of the NWSL retirement wave. Her unforgettable career makes it just a tiny bit easier to accept saying goodbye. Just when fans of the league and its players thought that they wouldn’t have to see another legendary career end, Portland Thorns’ legend Christine Sinclair announced her retirement. The all-time leading scorer in international soccer had an unmatched career that played a significant role in the NWSL’s progress.
The continuous NWSL retirement announcements kept going strong as Kansas City Current and Canada’s veteran Desiree Scott announced her retirement. Earlier this month, Scott described her retirement as bittersweet, a term that perfectly describes this NWSL retirement wave. “It is bittersweet to think about this moment, but I know that the timing is right,” Scott said in her retirement announcement video posted to Instagram. Even Angel City’s fearless defender, Merritt Mathias, has announced her retirement. Mathias, who has been in the NWSL for its 12-year history, is the latest addition to the retirement wave hitting women’s soccer.
Celebrating The Players Leaving The NWSL
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Part of retirement is celebrating those amazing icons who are retiring; it’s what makes it kind of bittersweet. Watching the farewells and retirement games is always nostalgic. As the clubs and national teams celebrate their retiring legends, so do the fans. It felt right to almost everyone that the Seattle Reign retired Rapinoe’s No. 15 jersey. Meanwhile, Mathias, who had her retirement game on the 20th of October, left an amazing legacy that her teammates had a lot to say about.
Mathias’s retirement game wasn’t the only emotional one, but so was Morgan’s. Many eyes grew teary as Morgan was met with over 25,000 fans at Snapdragon Stadium, with fans from all over the country coming to watch her play one last time. It was a perfect ending to a perfect career, as Morgan received a standing ovation when she went off the pitch. As every player leaving the NWSL receives their flowers, their retirements become part of reality. The celebrations won’t end at the retirement games; they will continue as their legacies live on in future generations.
The Bittersweet Reality Behind Retirements
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With all the faces leaving the NWSL, it can be easy to feel heartbroken. However, this reality filled with retirements is a bittersweet one. Yes, the league is losing many of its legends, but simultaneously, there is an entirely new generation with immense talents. The NSWL is filled with talented young players who can become legends like Morgan, O’Hara, Rapinoe, and more. Alyssa Thompson is one such player who recently scored her first international goal with the USWNT. The 19-year-old player is just one of many young talents paving the way forward for the NWSL.
The current wave of retirements won’t slow down the league, which is growing rapidly. Many names offer solace to fans witnessing players they grew up watching leave the game. It is a bittersweet reality that players like Morgan have left the league better than they found it. Now, youth talents such as Jaedyn Shaw, Chloe Ricketts, Olivia Moultrie, Alex Pfeiffer, and many more will thrive in a league that has undergone many improvements. Some players in their twenties witnessed the legacies of all these retiring players from the start. Names such as Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman have more than enough potential to become legends too.
Women’s Soccer Is in Good Hands
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Fans have every right to feel heartbroken about the many great players they had to say goodbye to recently as they played their last games. However, there is also a bittersweet taste to the reality of retirement. Every story has to end, except the story of women’s soccer. During Morgan’s retirement news conference, she discussed how the game is in good hands. It must have been a bittersweet moment for Morgan, who has fought alongside many players to improve the growing game. Morgan can see how she and all the players leaving the pitch have inspired upcoming generations. After all, Melanie Barcenas, who considers Morgan as her idol, chose number 13 as her jersey number with the U-17 USYNT team.
“Women’s soccer is in such an amazing place where I have done everything that I’ve needed to do. I have accomplished everything that I have come to do. To see those players step on the field and do work and be able to do it at such a young age with such poise, and such confidence, that’s what this is all about. That’s why I’m so happy being here saying, yes, I’m retiring because we are more than fine. We are great,” Morgan’s words during the conference. Her words are absolutely true because, despite the NWSL retirement wave, there is the bittersweet reality that the league and the game will be just fine.
Featured image via @weareangelcity on Instagram
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