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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Acquires Rights to USWNT Star Julie Ertz and Defender of the Year Nominee Sarah Gorden

December 2, 2021 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


LOS ANGELES - Today, Angel City Football Club (ACFC) confirmed that the team obtained the playing rights for U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) star Julie Ertz and NWSL Defender of the Year nominee Sarah Gorden through a trade with the Chicago Red Stars, effective immediately. In addition, Angel City will receive an international slot from Chicago in 2022 and 2023. With these moves, the Red Stars will have full roster protection from ACFC in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.

Today's news follows the club's first signing of USWNT star and two-time Olympian and World Cup Champion Christen Press in August 2021. These transactions precede the roster-building milestones of the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft on December 16 and the 2022 NWSL Draft on December 18.

"Julie Ertz and Sarah Gorden are two players that are so important for the defensive foundation we are building on the Angel City roster," said ACFC Sporting Director Eni Aluko. "We know successful football teams need to have competitive defenses and we are delighted with the addition of two competitive defenders with many years of NWSL experience."

"The level of experience and leadership that both Julie Ertz and Sarah Gorden bring to a team is incredible," said ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe. "Julie is such a known leader and competitor on top of being a rock in the middle of the field. Sarah is absolutely one of the league's best defenders. She was excellent all season and stood out in the NWSL Championship. They are the calibre of player that we want on the field playing for Angel City."

ABOUT JULIE ERTZ

Julie Ertz is a two-time Olympian and highly-decorated midfielder. She represented the USA in the 2016 Olympics in Rio and won bronze in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. While competing with the USWNT, Ertz won gold in the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 and 2019. As an individual, Ertz won the "U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year' honor in 2017 and 2019. She played collegiate soccer for the Santa Clara University Broncos and spent her youth career at the Serano Soccer Club, where the team won nine state titles. Ertz and her husband, Zach Ertz, who plays for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals oversee the Ertz Family Foundation. They recently partnered with @athletescornerofficial to launch "Score More n' Feed More." This initiative will provide 5,000 meals to local Arizona food banks for every touchdown that the Cardinals score from late October through the end of the 2021 season.

ABOUT SARAH GORDEN

Sarah Gorden is an American professional soccer player and defender who the Chicago Red Stars drafted in the third round of the 2016 NWSL College Draft and a 2021 NWSL Defender of the Year nominee. She graduated from DePaul University, where she was a dual-sport athlete in soccer and track and field. Gorden was a member of the 2014 team that went undefeated, won the Big East Championship, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. Gorden qualified three times in hurdles for the Big East Conference Championships on the track and field side. When not on the pitch, Gorden serves as a sideline reporter, most often for the BIG EAST Digital Network. Of note, she served as the sideline reporter for the 2021 USL Championship match on November 28, 2021, where Orange County SC defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Gorden is also a model and is known for her Embrace Swirl campaign with Gillette Venus.

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