Laken Litman
College Football & Soccer Analyst
Editor’s Note: USWNT Footnotes takes you inside the major talking points around the U.S. women’s national team, the NWSL, European leagues, and all across American women’s soccer.
The Women’s Champions League final is set: two-time defending champs Barcelona will take on Arsenal at Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon on May 24.
Barcelona flat-out embarrassed Chelsea, advancing to the final after an 8-2 aggregate win. Later, Arsenal shocked Lyon by coming back to beat the French superpower 5-3 on aggregate to clinch a spot in its first UWCL final in 19 years.
The Blues had hoped to make it to the final after getting ousted in back-to-back semifinals. Under new head coach Sonia Bompastor — the former Lyon manager who took over for Emma Hayes after she left for the U.S. women’s national team — had enough weapons. Chelsea didn’t have star forwards Sam Kerr or Lauren James, but won the 2025 transfer window by adding defender Naomi Girma and midfielder Keira Walsh (who came from Barcelona).
Even so, Bompastor’s formidable roster wasn’t enough to overtake the inevitable Barça.
Now the Spanish side will prepare to face Arsenal in the final. The Gunners also made some quality additions during the January window, including USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger and England forward Chloe Kelly. U.S. defensive stalwart Emily Fox joined the club last year and has become a regular starter on the backline.
Lyon entered the match with a 2-1 advantage after winning the first leg, but Arsenal leveled the score in the fifth minute. The goals kept coming after that, with the Gunners ultimately beating Lyon 4-1. Lyon manager Joe Montemurro, who previously coached Arsenal, described the final result as “unexplainable.”
Now Arsenal, the only English team that’s ever won a Women’s Champions League title back in 2007, has a chance to hoist the trophy next month.
Mia Fishel is back and scoring goals
Staying overseas, USWNT forward Mia Fishel scored her first goal for Chelsea since tearing her ACL in February 2024. Fishel, who had been earning regular national team call-ups at the time of her injury, was angling to contend for a 2024 Olympics roster spot. She’s been building back minutes and was invited to the last USWNT camp as a training player.
Fishel came on as a substitute in Chelsea’s April 23 match vs. Crystal Palace and scored the fourth goal in Chelsea’s 4-0 rout. U.S. forward Catarina Macario, who had also previously been on the mend following an injury, bagged a brace for the Blues in the win. Chelsea is on track to win its sixth consecutive WSL title, sitting six points ahead of Arsenal at the top of the table with three games left.
NWSL expansion
The NWSL submitted an application to U.S. Soccer for a second division with the focus on enhancing player development. The news was first reported by CBS Sports.
The report detailed that NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman sent a letter to U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson on April 1, proposing a Division II league that was “imperative” to the league’s growth. The formal proposal describes the league as a “pipeline” for college and young players to experience the “technical, tactical and mental demands” of professional soccer.
According to the report, the NWSL would initially have eight Division I teams affiliated with a Division II team: North Carolina Courage, Kansas City Current, Racing Louisville, NJ/NY Gotham, Orlando Pride, Bay FC, Seattle Reign and the Washington Spirit. The proposal states that ideally, all Division I teams would have a Division II team within the first four years.
Meanwhile, this news comes at the same time as the new WPSL Pro announced plans to launch a Division II women’s pro league after the 2026 men’s World Cup. Similar to the NWSL’s Division II proposal, WPSL Pro also aims to be a transitional space for rising talent.
What does this all mean? In layman’s terms: more opportunities for women’s soccer players in the United States. There is currently no second-division professional league for women’s soccer in the U.S. The USL Super League, which debuted in 2024, was initially going to be a second division until it changed course and has the same Division I designation as the NWSL.
These new proposed leagues can only help continue growing the game.
USWNT in the NWSL
The last-place North Carolina Courage trailed the undefeated Kansas City Current 2-1 entering stoppage time. And just when the game appeared to be over, Kaleigh Kurtz equalized in the 90th minute and Ashley Sanchez nailed the game-winner in the 92nd to pull off a dramatic 3-2 victory.
It was the Courage’s first win of the 2025 season.
Elsewhere, 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year and Olympic gold medalist Croix Bethune returned to the Washington Spirit after recovering from a torn meniscus, while Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell recorded her 40th clean sheet in 1-0 win over the Utah Royals.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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