We also review the USL Super League, which is about halfway through the 14 game spring season and three quarters of the way through the 2024-25 season (with one overall champion, unlike some Latin American nations that do two separate championships such as in Mexico and Costa Rica). We have some expansion news and other Super League updates as it heads towards the end of its first season.
Halifax Tides FC head coach Lewis Page interview
TribalFootball.com recently talked to Halifax Tides coach Lewis Page, who grew up in Nova Scotia, about 30 minutes’ drive from Halifax and went to Saint Mary’s University in the city. He coached at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, both on the men’s and women’s sides, including with the women during the past five seasons. He also assisted the Canadian WNT when they won the Gold Medal at the Pan Am Games in 2011.
Note: Earlier this month we looked at each of the six teams’ recent signings and news ahead of the new league’s launch this month, see: The Week in Women's Football: Examining Canada's Northern Super League - TribalFootball.com.
He explained his move back to Nova Scotia: “This opportunity came up and it was a great time to come back home.”
Coach Page discussed the Tides training camp in England earlier this month: “The trip came about because there was a connection with a gentleman named Chris Hodges in Leicester, who has done tours for a number of teams from Nova Scotia in the past (including provincial, Canada Games teams and clubs). It was fantastic, the club (the Tides) supported us in it. We were there ten days and we played Birmingham City (1-1) and Bristol City (3-0) of the English Championship; we were based out of Leicester.”
Birmingham was at the top led the Championship table at the time, with the winner gaining the lone promotion spot to the WSL for 2025-26, but have since fallen to second behind London City Lions. Bristol City was fifth at the time and remains at that spot.
He explained that, despite the win over Bristol, that the Birmingham game was a better signpost of where they stand as a team as the new league begins play this month: “The Bristol City game was hard to judge as it was right at the start of the international break so we were missing three players and they were missing 4-5 away on international duty (actually six from Bristol City were called away for international duty including defender Ella Powell (25) of Wales, defender Chloe Mustaki of the Republic of Ireland (who was born in the U.S.), midfielder Amy Rogers (24) of Scotland, forward Lia O’Leary (19) of the Republic of Ireland U-19’s, forward Ffion Morgan (24) of Wales and forward Tianna Teisar (19) of Wales). Bristol put out a younger team—a mix of first team and U-21’s. (With) Birmingham, (it) was their best 11 playing our best 11 so it was an excellent benchmark for us.”
The three Halifax players who were away for internationals were Iceland’s Gunny Jonsdottir, who is no longer a player with the national team but is their strength and conditioning coach, along with New Zealand’s Missy Clegg and goalkeeper Annika Toth, who grew up in Oakville, Ontario, played at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and has played with Slovakia at multiple youth and the senior level.
I asked Coach Paige what benefit it was to have the experience of former Canadian international goalkeeper Erin McLeod (119 caps) and Icelandic midfielder Gunny Jonsdotter (102), with 221 caps between them. He raved that: “You can’t put a value on it. When they speak up in the locker room or team meetings or in trainings, when they are setting a standard, you can’t pay enough money for that kind of experience. Their desire and commitment to try to inspire the younger players and set the standard for them has been amazing. For me as a coach, their feedback and the conversations I can have with them about their experiences, good and bad, and suggestions about what we need to do here, it’s been great.”
With New Zealand international forward Millie Clegg (19)—who played in the U-17 and U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 2023 senior finals at home and is on loan from Louisville—Coach Page said that there was: “so much potential in her. She has the athletic ability but she also has a good touch and a good football IQ. She just needs playing time and experience and to be in more big games, where she’s counted on to make a difference. That’s why she’s here with us, to get that kind of experience. The things she’ll learn from players like Gunny, Erin and (Canadian international forward) Christabel Odura (32) will be invaluable for her.”
Odura has played for clubs in France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Malta, Norway, Sweden and Turkey in a long career abroad.
TribalFootball.com asked Coach Page, at a meta level, how the club went about putting a brand new franchise together in a brand new league. His response showed the amount of effort, time and research that went into the process: “It’s like recruiting a university team but you have to do ten times the work. We had a scouting list that the league provided us, which was a starting point on a lot of players. Obviously you get agents reaching out to you.
"We get on platforms like Wyscout (the football analytics company) and look for players; we have players recommended to us, by players, we have players reach out to us—you go through national team rosters, we went through all the European league rosters to seek out Canadian players. Lots of different avenues and lots of Zoom calls and meetings and convincing people that we are building something unique and special here and you only get to be part of a league when it starts up from scratch once and it’s a huge opportunity and privilege to be part of it. We tried to get players excited about that part of it; the founding players of the league and that legacy that they would leave for the next generation.
"I think that’s why a lot of the foreign players have come to play that role and obviously the Canadians have a vested interest in coming home, building a league and making it work.”
He mentioned that 100+ cap Canadian international defender Shelina Zadorsky (32) started her career abroad, in the Australian A-League with Perth Glory and is currently in the WSL with West Ham United. The Northern Super League provides a place that Canadians in particular can come back home and still play at a high level: “These players have made sacrifices to try to make a living out of this game and travelled all over the world to make it happen; it’s so exciting that they can come home now and play at home.”
Page faced challenges with the contracts of players in Europe, some of which ended in December while other leagues run September to June every year: “We looked at 100 or more players and (held) lots of interviews. We’re happy with the squad we have. We got the players we wanted.”
He expects to receive strong support from the local Halifax as well as fans throughout the Atlantic Canada soccer community this season: “The Halifax community is really excited about the team. They have shown in the past with the men’s team in the CPL (Halifax Wanderers) and major junior hockey (Halifax Mooseheads) that the community always gets behind their sports franchises There is a lot of buzz and excitement about the team right now. Our owners have been fantastic. They are in it for all the right reasons and want to build something that will be here for a long time for this community.”
Lewis Page concluded with his thoughts about the historic first game of the inaugural season of a Canadian women’s professional soccer league, at home on April 26 against Calgary Wild: “It will be a special day. We are going out to do the best we can and try to win the game from a performance perspective, but it is much bigger than that. The players, the staff and the club are very aware of that. Fans are going to be out. It will be a day that we all will remember for the rest of our lives, to be able to say we were there when it all started, and to be a part of it is something that we are very grateful for.”
Soccer fans and followers throughout Canada are grateful as well for their country’s first ever national women’s professional league. It has been amazing that the national teams’ program has done so well over the years, including an Olympic Gold Medal in 2021 in Japan, without their own league. These six teams should drive future youth development in their markets and regions and will further drive the advancement of the game in a country where the sport long ago surpassed hockey as the most popular sport for women and all youth. This column will continue to follow the historic first season of the Northern Super League.
2025 USL Super League Spring Season Update
Dallas Trinity (10-6-5 W-D-L—36 points—First)
The Trinity leads the league in goals for with 34, while surrendering only 19—tied with Carolina for the best in the league—with four wins in the spring season. Their two losses have been to Spokane (1-0) at home and away at close chasers Carolina (3-0) on March 29. Allie Thornton (27)—who has played with clubs in France—leads the team with nine goals in 20 games and is tied in the Golden Boot race with fellow Americans Mia Corbin (27) of Carolina and Addison McCain (28) of Ft. Lauderdale.
Head coach Pauline MacDonald (49) of Scotland, played in Scotland, England and with the Miami Gliders of the old W-League 2, and then managed Scotland’s U-17 WNT for seven years before coming to Dallas. The Trinity set a league record for goals in a match in their 6-0 shocking home win over Brooklyn on March 9 in their third game of the spring season. Teenager Sealey Strawn (17) has two goals and two assists in 557 matches, with four starts in 13 matches in a very good rookie season as a professional.
American youth international midfielder Lexi Missimo (22), who we discussed earlier this year after she signed for Dallas and the Super League instead of with NWSL sides (see: The Week in Women's Football: USL Super League review; Brooklyn surprises us all - TribalFootball.com), has scored two goals in her first three matches in the league, including a goal in the fourth minute of her debut match on February 15, a 1-1 tie with visiting Tampa Bay.
American goalkeeper Madison White (23), on loan from Racing Louisville of the NWSL, recorded her sixth clean sheet of the season in the 6-0 win over Brooklyn, tying her for first in the league with Carolina’s Meagan McClelland at the time. White then posted shutouts in three of her next four matches and now leads the league with nine shutouts, with Spokane’s Hope Hisey second with seven and McClelland now third on six.
Carolina Ascent (9-7-5—34 points—Second)The Ascent has four wins, one tie and two losses in the spring season. Mia Corbin (27) is tied for the league lead in goals with nine in 21 games. Midfielder Eli (Beard) Hutchinson (28), who we interviewed last fall (see: The Week in Women's Football: Eli Beard exclusive; previewing inaugural USL Super League season - TribalFootball.com) has two goals this season and one for Israel in February in a 3-1 Women’s Nations League match home win over Estonia.
Brooklyn FC (9-6-7—33 points—Third)
Such a change for Brooklyn from the Fall season, when they topped the table by six points over second place Dallas and eight points over third place Carolina; they were clearly the new league’s dominant side. In eight games since the spring season started, they have four points from four ties and four defeats. They have scored only four goals in those eight matches while surrendering 16, including nine in two matches against Dallas—a 6-0 defeat in Texas on March 9 and a 3-0 loss at home ten days later. The 6-0 defeat ended Brooklyn’s eight-match unbeaten streak that dated back to October 19.
Tampa Bay in fifth is only three points behind and Brooklyn needs to stem the slide or they could miss the playoffs despite their outstanding fall season. Moroccan international Salma Amani, who we interviewed a few months ago (see: The Week in Women's Football: Exclusive with Brooklyn FC defender Amani; Hayes questions; examining SheBelieves Cup - TribalFootball.com), scored her first goal of the season—after missing games through injuries and visa issues—in their 2-2 tie at home against Tampa Bay on March 29. Luana Grabias (25) of Brazil and Americans Mackenzie George (25) and Jessica Garziano (24) all have four goals for Brooklyn this season.
Fort Lauderdale (9-5-6—32 points—Fourth)
Fort Lauderdale won their last three games of the fall season and then continued their undefeated streak into the spring season with three wins and three ties before falling to Tampa Bay Sun (2-0) away on April 5 in an important match with playoff implications; it was their first loss since November. Addy McCain (26), who played three seasons with Kansas City and Chicago in the NWSL, is tied for the league lead in scoring with nine goals, while Jasmin Hamid (23), who played previously with Hacken in Gothenburg, Sweden, has seven goals, including a goal in four consecutive games to start the spring season—she is currently fifth in the league in scoring. The duo have scored 16 of Fort Lauderdale’s 26 goals (62%).
For the spring season, Fort Lauderdale signed defender Julia Grosso (26) after two years with Melbourne City FC and a stint with the Utah Royals at the end of 2024. Grosso recorded two goals and three assists in her 37 appearances at MCFC and earned 2022-23 A-League Player of the Year honors as a rookie along with a 2023-24 Premiership (regular season) title. She played five seasons at the University of Kentucky, totaling 84 games.
We talked last month about Tampa Bay and Gotham FC facing each other in a first ever NWSL-Super League match during the preseason: (see: The Week in Women's Football: Challenge Cup; USL best vs NWSL; Cordova in Belize - TribalFootball.com). There was actually a previous match between Gotham FC and Fort Lauderdale on February 26 in Beyond Bancard Field in Ft. Lauderdale. Gotham won 2-1, with goals from Spanish 2023 WWC winner Esther Gonzalez and American Jaelin Howell in the first half.
Ft. Lauderdale forward Jasmine Hamid scored late in second half injury time from a corner kick delivery from Felicia Knox (23) who had 18 goals in 87 appearances in four seasons at the University of Alabama, who made the College Cup semifinals for the first time in 2022, where they lost to eventual champion UCLA. She was drafted by Angel City in the third round of the 2024 College Draft (37th overall) but was released during pre-season.
Tampa Bay Sun (7-9-5—30 points—Fifth)
Tampa Bay has only lost one game in six spring matches (2-1 at home to Spokane) with two wins and three ties, but is still in fifth and out of the playoff picture at this point. Their 28 goals scored for are third best in the league behind Dallas (32) and Carolina (29). Natasha Flint (28) of England has eight goals, Danish import Cecilie Fløe has six and American midfielder Carlee Giammona (24) also has six goals, after scoring eight goals in 11 matches for Glasgow City in Scotland last year following time with Monterrey in Mexico.
Spokane Zephyr (6-7-7—25 points—Sixth)
Spokane has been one of the stories of the second half of the season. After finishing in last place at the end of the fall season, they stuck with head coach Jo Johnston and her staff—as opposed to Lexington and D.C., who were immediately ahead of them in the table, who made coaching changes after only 14 regular season matches—and went 4-1-1 in their first six spring matches, including defeats of current leaders Dallas away (1-0) on February 22 and fall leaders Brooklyn FC in Spokane (1-0) on April 3. Ally Cook came from Chicago and has been a boost on offense, scoring twice in her six matches. Their American-born and raised Bosnian and Herzegovina international Emina Ekic leads the club with five goals and four assists on the season.
During the winter break, the Zephyr signed loanees Argentinian international Sophia Braun, on loan from the Kansas City Current, and Mackenzie Weinert (26), on loan from the Seattle Reign, to permanent contracts. Braun played at Gonzaga University in Spokane and Weinert played at Oregon State and the University of Washington. The Zephyr also signed defender Reese Tappan (22), who is a native of Newcastle (north of Seattle), Washington and who played at Washington State University in eastern Washington. Braun said on social media: “I’m so excited to be officially part of the Zephyr team! This city and community means so much to me and I’m so grateful to call this place home.”
Lexington SC (4-4-12—16 points—Seventh)
Despite a mid-season coaching change, Lexington lost four of six games in the spring campaign, defeating fellow strugglers D.C. Power (2-1) on March 9 in the nation’s capital, and tied free-falling Brooklyn 0-0 away on March 1.
After the D.C. win, the interim head coach Sam Stockley (47), who is a native of England and played for Oxford United, Colchester United and Wycombe Wanderers among other sides and was a technical director with the club’s third division USL men’s team, said about the win: “Getting that win continues to help create the trust and helps to create buy-in to the things that we want them to do moving forward. When we review the film, there’s still a lot of areas we want to improve because we want to continue to get better.”
Stockley took over on March 1, after Mike Dickey was released in February. Team assistant coach Maren McCrary was originally named as the interim head coach but Stockley took over barely a week later. McCrary was a three-time All-American forward at Brigham Young University, where she became the school’s second all-time leading scorer. McCrary also played professionally for the San Jose CyberRays and Carolina Courage in the WUSA from 2001-2003. Additionally, she represented the United States National Team in team handball, totaling 15 appearances and competing in the Pan-American (North, Central and South American) Championships.
Lexington added three Colombian youth internationals to their side for the spring season. Defender Yunaira Lopez (20) came from Atletico Nacional in Colombia while midfielder Sintia Cabezas (18) came on loan from the San Diego Wave. They were teammates last year for the 2024 U-20 WWC Finals team, which Colombia hosted. Lopez and Cabezas played in defense as the side kept four clean sheets in their first four games of the tournament—with wins over Australia, Cameroon and Mexico in the group stage and South Korea in the Round of 16, before falling to the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties in the Quarterfinals after a 2-2 tie. A third Colombian, forward Maithé López (18), came on loan from Angel City FC in late March. She played on Colombia’s U-17 and U-20 World Cup Finals sides last year.
American forward Madison Parsons (24) leads the club with five goals, followed by Swedish defender Sydney Shepherd (25) with four and American forward Hannah Richardson (24) on three. For assists, Lexington has three players in the top five, with Parsons and U.S. youth international Madison Perez (22) both on five at the top of the table, while Shea Moyer (26)—who played in Iceland for two seasons with Throttur Reykjavik, ASA Tel Aviv in Israel and Fomget Genclik of Ankara—has four and is tied with Spokane’s Emina Ekic and Brooklyn’s Mackenzie Pluck; Moyer has also scored two goals.
DC Power (3-6-10—15 points—Eighth)
D.C. is still struggling with scoring as their 14 goals for are the fewest of the eight teams in the league and seven goals behind Spokane (21 goals) in seventh and 20 goals behind table topping and leading scorer Dallas Trinity (34 goals). They have four losses in the spring along with ties with Brooklyn at home (1-1) and Carolina Ascent away (3-3). American Gianna Gourley (24) has been a rare bright spot, scoring three goals in five games since her transfer from Fort Lauderdale during the winter break.
General USL Super League/W League news
The Super League will expand to at least nine teams next year with Jacksonville, Florida entering the league, as the third team from the Sunshine State. The W League, the summer amateur loop, with have 93 teams (up from 80 in 2024), while the men’s equivalent—League Two (formerly the Premier Development League) has 144 teams but has been playing—with various name changes—since 1995 as a summer amateur league so that high-school and college players could retain their eligibility; this incarnation of the W League is in its fourth season in 2025.
Sporting Club Jacksonville has named Stacey Balaam as their first head coach for the 2025-26 season
Originally from Suffolk, England, Balaam spent the last two years as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. Prior to her time at Vanderbilt, Balaam served as head coach at the University of West Georgia. She also spent six seasons as an assistant at the University of North Georgia, where she helped the program earn 91 wins and five NCAA Tournament appearances, achieving the highest national ranking in program history. As a player, she played in the original W League and won a league title with the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2011 as team captain. She appeared for the U.S. U-19 WNT as well.
Attendance
The Carolina Ascent leads the league with an average of 3,998 fans after 11 home games. Also averaging over 3,000 fans a game are the Tampa Bay Sun (3,110) and Dallas Trinity (3,075). The Spokane Zephyr is fourth with 2,549 per game in the smallest market in the league. At the bottom of the table are Brooklyn FC, which has had some stadium issues (854) and then Lexington (1,499). With the league average at 2,332, Fort Lauderdale United (2,073) and D.C. (1,911) are just below the average. The Power probably needs to find another stadium in suburban Virginia or Maryland rather than playing at Audi Field.
In their first game of the 2025 season, the NWSL Washington Spirit set a team record of 19,254 fans (a sellout) on March 22 for their 2-0 loss to Kansas City. Last year, Guyana international Sydney Cummings, who plays with the Spokane Zephyr, talked with TribalFootball.com about playing the Power in front of a small crowd of 850 people (she played collegiately for her graduate season at Georgetown University in the District).
She said that it was nice to play in Audi Field at the end of September but that the Power: “is competing for attention against the NWSL Spirit, the MLS’s D.C. United, baseball’s Washington Nationals and the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals and other local teams.” They are clearly losing the battle against the Spirit in their shared home; it doesn’t help that the Power is struggling this season while the Spirit made the 2024 league final and won the 2025 Challenge Cup to start the season (see: The Week in Women's Football: Spokane Zephyr in focus; how the USL Super League franchise exceeding expectations - TribalFootball.com).
Super League Players called in for national teams this year
There were 13 players from seven Super League teams called into national teams for the February FIFA window and 17 from six teams for the April window of games—20 individual players overall—which is a huge advertisement for the quality of the league and the players who joined for the first season. The list includes:
Sydney Martinez, Brooklyn FC, Puerto Rico, Feb
Eli (Beard) Hutchinson, Carolina Ascent FC, Israel, Feb/April
Gabriela Guillén, Dallas Trinity FC, Costa Rica, Feb/April
Sealey Strawn, Dallas Trinity FC, USA U-18, April
Charlie Estcourt, DC Power FC, Wales, Feb/April
Katrina Guillou, DC Power FC, Philippines, Feb/April
Carleigh Frilles, DC Power, Philippines, April
Claire Constant, DC Power FC, Haiti, Feb/April
Loza Abera, DC Power FC, Ethiopia, Feb
Jennifer Cudjoe, DC Power FC, Ghana, Feb/April
NaYeong Shin, Lexington SC, South Korea, Feb/April
Emma Johnson, Lexington SC, USA U-18, April
Yunaira Lopez, Lexington SC, Colombia, April
Grace Wisnewski, Lexington SC, New Zealand, April
Emina Ekić, Spokane Zephyr FC, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Feb
Sophia Braun, Spokane Zephyr FC, Argentina, Feb/April
Riley Tanner, Spokane Zephyr FC, Panama, April
Andrea Hauksdottir, Tampa Bay Sun FC, Iceland, Feb/April
Cecilie Fløe Nielsen, Tampa Bay Sun FC, Denmark U-23, Feb/April
Sydney Schneider, Tampa Bay Sun FC, Jamaica, April
Salary baseline versus the NWSL
According to sources, the Super League’s minimum base annual salary was similar to the NWSL minimum from 2024 at $38,000. It is at the high end for the NWSL’s internationals like Barbra Banda and Marta that the Super League is no match yet, and may not chose to ever be there. The Super League have certainly attracted talented American and international players in their first season and have established a strong base to build from.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey