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Angel City made the playoffs last year in its second season in the NWSL. But the lineup that takes to the training field Wednesday to begin the team’s third season will be much different than the one used in Seattle’s postseason loss three months ago.
Midfielders Savannah McCaskill and Dani Weatherholt, forwards Simone Charlie and Scarlett Camberoth, and goalie Brittany Eisenhour are gone. Midfielder Meggie Dougherty-Howard, teenage forward Casey Fair, defender Gisele Thompson, and midfielders Felicia Knox and Jessica Garciano, who the team selected in last week’s NWSL Draft, and defender Madison There’s Curry.
read more: Alyssa Thompson’s younger sister, teen Gisele Thompson, signs three-year contract with Angel City.
The latest addition came on Tuesday when Angel City added Costa Rican international Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez from the Portland Thorns in exchange for $275,000 in allotment money. And the team isn’t done there, with at least one more player expected to join the roster this week.
“Ultimately it’s about how we as a club need to respond because of free agency and things that are a little up in the air, to know what direction the players are going to go. But at the same time, we are seriously looking at what we can do to unite the group and maintain a consistent core, while at the same time increasing the needs of the club,” general manager Angela Hucles Mangano said of the roster overhaul. Ta.
“It always comes down to a combination of factors. Sometimes there’s also positional needs. Salary definitely plays a role. But it’s also about how we want to build this team. There are a variety of factors that are always taken into account in those decisions, whether it’s cultural diversity, what a player brings to the club or past experience.”
read more: Angel City appears to be taking the next step after a narrow playoff loss.
McCaskill and Weatherholt, who rank first and second in games played in club history, will leave as free agents, as will Charlie and Eisenhour, in an effort to keep their salaries below the league’s annual salary cap of $2.75 million. made some sacrifices. Cambelos, a Mexican international who tied a team-high with five assists in 2023, was traded to expansion team Bay FC for $50,000 in expansion draft allocation money and roster protection.
Hucles Mangano’s busy offseason has included forward Jun Endo, midfielders Clarice Le Bien, Madison Hammond and Lily Navette, defenders Sarah Gauden and Megan Reid, and goalkeeper Angelina Anderson. It also included the re-signing of a number of key players, including . Still, the team that reported to camp this week will be younger and have less NWSL experience than the one that competed in the postseason under interim coach Becky Tweed, who was promoted to full-time manager in November.
“We’re at a stage where we’re no longer an expansion team and we have to continue to strengthen our team,” Tweed said. “When we look at the 2024 roster, we have a great mix of immediate players and promising players.”
read more: Explained: Why buying the Portland Thorns and NWSL was a ‘no-brainer’ for one family
Huckles Mangano said he worked closely with Tweed on the offseason changes, moving from a roster built by former coach Freya Coombe to a roster more suited to the way Tweed wants to play.
“It’s a combination of me and Becky,” the general manager said. “It’s in the best interest for the GM and head coach to be on the same page. But it’s also necessary to understand the player styles that Becky feels comfortable with and what she really needs.”
While the losses of McCaskill and Weatherholt are huge losses for the team in terms of NWSL experience, 16-year-old Farr played for South Korea at last summer’s World Cup and is the younger sister of Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson. Thompson, 18, has played in the NWSL. U-17 World Cup. Meanwhile, Rodriguez has played over 130 games in the NWSL with Portland and Sky Blue FC.
“It’s just a new experience, a different experience,” Hucles Mangano said. “All of our young players have really played in some form or capacity. [for] american national team, [in] World Cup. What we may not have is the experience that age brings. We bring in players who are young but have a different type of experience. They have played in pressure situations. ”
read more: Casey Fair becomes the youngest player to sign with Angel City.
The general manager said the status of Angel City’s most experienced player, two-time World Cup champion Christen Press, 35, is unclear. He hasn’t played since June 2022, when he tore his right ACL, an injury that required four surgeries. Repair. However, Hucles Mangano said that the press reported that he will go to camp for a medical checkup this week.
“She’s here just getting ready for preseason and the season,” she said.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
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