U.S. women’s national team standouts Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle will return to the NWSL from Manchester City, the league announced Monday.
Mewis, the 2020 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, will go back to the North Carolina Courage. Lavelle will join OL Reign for the first time since the club acquired her rights from the Washington Spirit for a natural first-round draft pick and $200,000 in allocation money in August.
The World Cup–winning duo joined Manchester City in August 2020. In their first two months with the team, they helped lead the English side to its third FA Cup trophy in the last four seasons with Mewis scoring in the final.
The Courage announced that Mewis has signed a two-year contract through 2023 and is expected to be available for the club’s May 28 home match against Racing Louisville FC. The 28-year-old midfielder scored seven goals for Man City in her brief time at the club, which finished second to Chelsea in the FA Women’s Super League this season.
“I am so thankful and excited to have the opportunity to return to North Carolina after my time overseas,” Mewis said in a club statement. “I feel like I am coming home to a team where I know I will be both embraced and challenged.”
Lavelle joins a star-studded roster in Tacoma, Wash., that recently added Lyon trio Eugenie Le Sommer, Dzsenifer Marozsán and Sarah Bouhaddi on loan to a team that already includes 2019 Ballon d’Or winner Megan Rapinoe. Lavelle struggled with injuries at City. The 26-year-old midfielder started only three games but scored on Sunday in her final appearance for the club.
“I just wanted to say how excited I am for this next chapter of my career with this team,” Lavelle said in a statement. “I am really looking forward to getting to Tacoma and being a part of what they are building there. I think it is going to be such a fun and exciting season ahead.”
The Courage and OL Reign met in their NWSL season opener Saturday, playing to a scoreless draw.
One American will remain at Manchester City: Abby Dahlkemper left the Courage for City in January on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
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