Least Impactful Trades of the 2024 NWSL Season

Taylor Vincent
Taylor Vincent, Resident NWSL ExpertDecember 19, 2024
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Throughout the season general managers and coaches make decisions based on the information they currently have and what they think they need to have a successful season, but here’s a look at some deals that didn’t pan out for teams (in chronological order):

Didn’t end up panning out for: Utah. Gray only had 2 minutes played in 2 matches, Tagliaferri 267 minutes in 6 matches (4 starts) compared to North Carolina who got Expansion Draft protection and $30k cash back. 

 

Didn’t end up panning out for: San Diego. Enge only played in 90 minutes and had one start for the Wave in 2024 after San Diego went through hoops to re-acquire her following Bay FC picking her in the 2024 Expansion Draft. She was released by the team in August to pursue opportunities abroad. 

 

Didn’t end up panning out for: Louisville. This one is just in here because there is no 2025 draft, so Racing didn’t actually receive anything for Beall. 

 

Didn’t end up panning out for: Angel City. Although Garziano joined Angel City during preseason, she did not sign with the club for 2024.

 

Didn’t end up panning out for: Houston. They never utilized the 2024 international spot (they ended the season with 3 unused spots–granted part of this was that teams didn’t know yet that the INTL spots would be expanded to seven by the league), CeCe Kizer only played in five matches and 216 minutes for the Dash. In February, they extended her contract from ending in 2024 to 2025 (with likely new salary terms) and September 5th the Dash announced the mutual termination of her contract following which Kizer signed with Gotham. 

 

Didn’t end up panning out for: Angel City. With that much allocation money in play, normally a player would have more of an impact – Bright was coming off a rookie season where she was up for Rookie of the Year, playing in 1379 minutes over 22 matches and scoring 6 goals. She joined an LA-based club with a lot of forward depth and only scored 1 goal in her 679 minutes over 21 matches. 

 

Didn’t end up panning out for: Portland. It’s easy to see some of the thought process behind acquiring Alvarado from Houston in that Portland was struggling in the beginning of the season, not finding a win in the first four matches of the season with Shelby Hogan between the posts. Earlier in the day before Portland took on Houston on matchday five, the trade was announced, and Portland started a six game winning streak that cemented Hogan in as the starting goalkeeper. Alvarado didn’t play a single regular season minute for the Thorns ahead of being waived on August 16th to be able to pursue opportunities abroad. 


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