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Jeff Kassouf
Multiple Authors
Friday’s 2026 NWSL opener was defined by returns — not just of the league in its biggest season yet with 16 teams, but of stars Trinity Rodman, after her offseason of uncertainty, and Sophia Wilson, following last year’s maternity leave.
It had been 488 days since Wilson last played for the Portland Thorns, and a mere 50 days since Rodman and the Washington Spirit announced the signing of her new, world-record contract to keep the USWNT star in the league after almost losing her.
Portland’s attacking midfielder Olivia Moultrie, an emerging star in her own right, scored the game’s only goal on Friday to deliver a surprising 1-0 win at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. But the big picture for the NWSL, however, was that two shots of the famous “Triple Espresso” were back, and that is exactly what the league hopes to repeat frequently.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman spoke earlier this week about how 2026 is primed to be another record-breaking year for the league. The NWSL wants to insert itself into the wider sports and cultural narrative to continue to grow its attendance, viewership and, ultimately, sponsorship and franchise valuations.
To do that, it needs its stars. Both those who are more globally established, like Rodman and Wilson, and those whose stories need more telling, like Moultrie, who is now a regular call-up for the USWNT.
Wilson entered Friday’s match for the Thorns as a substitute in the 77th minute, marking a significant step after giving birth in September. The 2022 NWSL MVP is as dynamic as forwards come in the NWSL on the dribble and in front of goal; she and Rodman are human highlight reels and the type of entertainers who keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Rodman started and played the full 90 minutes for the Spirit in the loss. She was mostly contained and frustrated by a compact Portland defense, but her presence on the field is far more important in the grand scheme of things than how her first touch looked. There are another 29 matches this season to drill down on the technical and tactical nuance, Friday was about just being there.
It had been almost exactly four months since Rodman’s last appearance at Audi Field, in the 2025 NWSL semifinal. She played only a few minutes in that semifinal (also against the Thorns) due to injury, and an air of uncertainty hung over the nation’s capital that day as fans wondered if it would be the last time they would see her play in a Spirit jersey.
Rodman, whose contract was expiring, was fielding offers from Europe that exceeded what the Spirit could pay her at the time under the NWSL’s salary cap, which rose slightly to $3.7 million this year. The weeks that followed were filled with contracts vetoed by Berman, a subsequent grievance filed by the NWSL Players Association, the creation of a new rule to pay star players over the salary cap, and a second union grievance for good measure.
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Trinity Rodman: I want to help grow soccer in the U.S.
Trinity Rodman explains why she signed a contract extension with the Washington Spirit.
Rodman and the Spirit finally announced a new deal in late January to make her the world’s highest-paid player at over $2 million annually inclusive of bonuses. It wasn’t just a victory for the Spirit; Rodman’s re-signing was essential for the NWSL’s business strategy.
To lose the face of the league, especially when the 23-year-old openly said how she wanted to stay with the Spirit, would have been an unacceptable result for the NWSL.
The creation of the High Impact Player rule (colloquially known as “The Rodman Rule”) and her signing of a new contract closed that chapter on a mostly positive note. Friday was the start of a new chapter for Rodman, the Spirit – and, yes, the NWSL.
That Rodman returned to the field with the 25-year-old Wilson on the other side is another victory for the NWSL. For one, Wilson’s return — along with the expected return of Mallory Swanson (the third member of the Triple Espresso) to the Chicago Stars after giving birth — is a testament to the power of the collective bargaining agreement, and the ability for so many players to feel comfortable pausing their careers to become moms, knowing they have protections and job security.
“It’s amazing,” Rodman said about Wilson after the match. “Having Soph on the field, even if it’s playing against us, I think is great for the league obviously, but for her as an individual. To be that young, having a baby and then coming back so quickly, in my opinion, and still looking like Soph out there — having so much body control and positioning… I’m so proud of her for doing it.”
Friday’s matchup was also so much of what the NWSL missed in its programming last year and needs going forward in its quest to be major league. Granted, each team’s execution in the final third left much to be desired — call it the product of opening-day rust — as neither team put a shot on target in the first half, and the Thorns won while possessing the ball less than 38% of the time.
But to open the season on a Friday night under the lights, in front of an announced sellout crowd of 19,000-plus, and to be able to showcase Rodman and Wilson to a national, casual-viewing audience? That resonates beyond the existing core fans, which is exactly the type of audience expansion that league executives in Manhattan talk about.
Berman & Co. talk about the NWSL targeting “vibe shifters” — an awkward term for a young audience on social media whose first exposure to the NWSL might literally be through something like Rodman’s Instagram posts with boyfriend and tennis star Ben Shelton. To grow, the NWSL needs to attract those new fans, alongside the more engaged supporters.
Moultrie’s game-winning goal on Friday was an important reminder of that balance. The NWSL also needs to build more depth to its stardom, especially following the losses of U.S. internationals Alyssa Thompson, Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey to England’s WSL over the past 15 months. If Rodman and Wilson help get people in the door, Moultrie and the Spirit’s Hal Hershfelt and Rosemonde Kouassi are the stars who help keep them coming back.
Moultrie helped drag the Thorns to a third-place finish last year in the absence of Wilson, scoring a team-high eight goals. To those paying close attention, 2025 was a breakout year for the now 20-year-old, who first played for the Thorns at age 15.
Asked explicitly about grabbing the stage on Friday when the game was billed as the return of Rodman and Wilson, Moultrie was matter of fact.
“My goals as a player are very big, and I want to be performing at the highest level,” she said. “I want to be helping my team win games, competing for championships. I want to be competing with the national team and growing my role there. I’m happy, but at the same time, this is who I want to be, so it’s not a surprise to me.”
Moments earlier, new Thorns head coach Robert Vilahamn said Moultrie “has the potential to be the best player in the world,” and that Wilson “is already one of the best.”
That is the story that the NWSL is trying to tell: one of star power, quality, and entertainment.
Friday was merely a blip in a marathon season for both teams and the league. The Thorns still have many questions to face after former Tottenham boss Vilahamn joined them for the first time less than 48 hours before the game and following the offseason loss of Coffey to Manchester City.
Washington and, yes, Rodman has more pressure than ever to manage thanks to hefty contracts and lofty goals. After two straight runners-up finishes, it is championship or bust for the Spirit, who largely returned their roster (minus the big exit of Croix Bethune) and added new players like Lucia Di Guglielmo, who was a menacing defender in her debut on Friday.
Portland and Washington might still be two teams headed in opposite directions over the course of the season. Friday’s star-studded return was unequivocally a positive step for the NWSL as it kicks off its 13th regular season campaign.
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