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Welcome back to your weekly column from Sports Illustrated breaking down the women's soccer weekend through the lens of the U.S. women's national team.
Injuries are never easy to discuss in soccer, particularly with a World Cup approaching. This past weekend was partly overshadowed by a non-contact injury suffered by Emily Sonnett during Gotham FC's 2–2 draw with the Portland Thorns on Friday evening.
Neither Gotham nor the USWNT have released further details since Friday, and assessments have been ongoing since Sonnett made her way back to New Jersey from the West Coast. She has been ruled out of Gotham FC's upcoming match against Bay FC on Wednesday night.
In many respects, it was a relatively quiet NWSL weekend for USWNT players. Only one recent USWNT call-up, Jordyn Bugg, found the net, while just one player from the latest USWNT roster registered an assist (Trinity Rodman). Here's a look at who saw their stock rise and fall over the weekend.
Stock Up
Morgan Weaver
Morgan Weaver is not, and has never truly been, a USWNT regular. For some time, she hasn't even been on the fringes of the U.S. squad. But after 621 days away from the game due to chronic knee injuries, the 28-year-old's comeback with the Thorns in Friday's 2–2 draw against Gotham FC is well worth highlighting.
Since late 2024, Weaver's career has been in serious doubt given the extent of her knee problems. She required both a meniscus transplant and a cartilage transplant in the same knee. On top of that, Weaver underwent a procedure in which her femur was deliberately broken and then reconstructed.
"I had a meniscus transplant and a cartilage transplant from a cadaver. And then they broke my femur and put it back together with, I think it's seven screws and a plate," Weaver told reporters on Friday night. "So that's why my scar is so big. I have seven screws and a plate in there."
Weaver earned two caps for the USWNT back in 2021. However, her performances in '23 and '24, prior to the onset of her knee troubles, warranted further international recognition. Weaver recorded 21 goal contributions in 41 appearances across two seasons with the Thorns during that stretch.
With under a year remaining until the 2027 World Cup, Weaver remains an outside bet to break into the USWNT squad. But this is a player with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
621 days since her last match.
There is no one like Morgan.
Welcome back to the pitch, Weavs ❤️ pic.twitter.com/agBlc8C4VE
Kate Wiesner
Washington Spirit left back Kate Wiesner has been a quietly impressive performer, with plenty of positive contributions whenever she takes the field. Her +/-, a metric measuring goal difference during a player's time on the pitch, leads all Spirit players at +13.
Wiesner played 76 minutes and kept a clean sheet in the Spirit's hard-fought 1–0 victory over the Denver Summit on Sunday night. It was her second straight start for Washington, following a 2–1 win over the Boston Legacy the previous weekend.
It is her composure on the ball that will continue to attract the attention of the USWNT. The manner in which the Spirit and Wiesner played out from the back in the build-up to the game's only goal will certainly not go unnoticed by Emma Hayes and her coaching staff.
Claudia Dickey
After injury problems kept Claudia Dickey sidelined since the summer break, the Seattle Reign goalkeeper had a rude awakening upon her return when she was partly responsible for squandering a 2–0 lead in last week's stunning 3–2 loss to Gotham FC.
Dickey's second outing back in goal was a far more encouraging one. Away in San Diego, the Reign claimed a 2–0 win over the Wave. Having netted twice inside the opening 20 minutes, Seattle understandably sat back and absorbed pressure. Dickey ended the match with eight saves and 2.40 goals prevented — impressive figures for any goalkeeper and a clear step toward reclaiming her spot as the USWNT's first-choice keeper.
Claudia Dickey makes a HUGE stop for Seattle!#NWSL pic.twitter.com/u6eAZ91Ltt
Stock Down
Emma Sears
With transfer speculation swirling and her form dipping, Emma Sears was sidelined this weekend due to illness. In her absence from the starting lineup, Racing Louisville secured an impressive 2–1 road win at Angel City. Louisville entered Sunday's fixture on a six-game winless run.
Sears's last goal for Louisville came in the club's previous win before Sunday — a 3–1 home victory over the Thorns on May 8. The 25-year-old winger did come off the bench for a 31-minute cameo in Los Angeles. Racing were already 2–0 up when she entered, with Sears recording 19 touches, completing three passes and registering one shot (generating 0.02 expected goals on target). That makes it seven games without a goal contribution for a player who appears to be in need of a reset.
Ally Sentnor
Recall last week when Ally Sentnor took eight shots, which was seen as a step forward in terms of output but also reflective of her ongoing struggles? Well, in ACFC's 2–1 defeat to Racing, Sentnor went one further, setting a personal record of nine shots in a single match without finding the net. Only two of those efforts tested the goalkeeper, with one requiring a decent stop from keeper Jordyn Bloomer.
With 0.66 expected goals (xG) from those nine attempts on Sunday, the quality of Sentnor's shooting positions is actually deteriorating — down from 0.70 xG across eight shots the week prior. Sentnor has now gone scoreless across her last 28 NWSL shots, with just four of those on target. The 22-year-old also went 0-for-3 on dribble attempts. Her standing in the USWNT picture is increasingly under pressure.
Emily Sams
It's difficult to apportion blame precisely for Angel City's defensive lapses, but Emily Sams needs to be a more commanding presence at the heart of the backline. For Racing's opening goal in their 2–1 win over ACFC, Sams pushed forward while her teammates dropped off, leaving opponents in an onside position. There was also a notable lack of urgency in response to the shot that was spilled by ACFC goalkeeper Angelina Anderson.
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Then, for Louisville's second goal, Sams misjudged the flight of the ball, failing to win the crucial header in front of goal and allowing Maja Lardner to nod it in from close range. Sams is a former NWSL Defender of the Year and is regarded as one of the most effective leaders and communicators in the USWNT pool. This was far from her best weekend.
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Theo Lloyd-Hughes is a writer for Sports Illustrated Soccer based in the Southern United States. Originally from England, he can often be found in a press box across the NWSL or at international matches featuring the USWNT and other Concacaf nations.