Abigail Segel
@abigailsegel.bsky.social
Freelance writer, women's soccer contributor for Defector, editor & writer for the Equalizer. Former Normal Gossip intern. Bylines in the Guardian and Montreal Gazette. More info at abigailsegel dot com
Gotham players looked to be enjoying their afternoon training, but if this was a dancing competition, the Spirit would have taken it by a mile. Midge Purce and Mandy Freeman were the only players I spotted doing any kind of moving to the music
November 21, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Gotham players looked to be enjoying their afternoon training, but if this was a dancing competition, the Spirit would have taken it by a mile. Midge Purce and Mandy Freeman were the only players I spotted doing any kind of moving to the music
Washington Spirit players were upbeat at their last training before the final. There was almost as much stretching as there was dancing 🎶
November 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Washington Spirit players were upbeat at their last training before the final. There was almost as much stretching as there was dancing 🎶
And finally, Sofia Cook recommends an artist whose music she's been enjoying:
November 21, 2025 at 6:56 AM
And finally, Sofia Cook recommends an artist whose music she's been enjoying:
I talked to Jaelin Howell about her role as a player representative for the NWSL Players' Association, and what it's like to work with teammate Tierna Davidson in that capacity:
![JAELIN HOWELL ON BEING A PLAYER REP AT THE NWSLPA
I think it's really important for the league to have players that represent their teams to the league and fight for the stuff that players deserve. And so I really enjoy being a part of it and I do it with Tierna [Davidson] and learning from her, and how she navigates everything has just been incredible. So, honestly I sit back and listen to her a lot of times and just learn from her and let her take charge because she gets stuff done.
Q: What have you learned from her?
I've just learned how she approaches things with logic and how she breaks things down like that, and the way that she constructs herself in meetings and what she says and how she says it, and obviously she's captain of our team for a reason and she continues to do that for all the NWSL in that way.
Q: How has her being injured impacted how much time and effort she dedicates to the role?
Honestly, I think that she balances everything really well. I think she's obviously had a little more time for it, but she puts as much effort into everything as she normally does, so it's just really cool to see that and be able to see her work and her experience.
Q: How formal or informal are conversations with your teammates about union issues?
I think it depends. I think sometimes with smaller issues you just definitely have individual conversations, take tabs, get temperatures, but with bigger things that directly involve our team or are really big things in the league, it is a little bit more of an open group discussion and meetings and stuff, but we have so many leaders on this team, honestly. It's easy to be able to talk to everybody and get their input because it's all really valuable.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rn7pv7y7h5bnb26trk6uo2cn/bafkreihcepmrdihir426n2jrgxj4h2vnj6inddsi7ehu45mfe4qmigrvce@jpeg)
November 21, 2025 at 6:56 AM
I talked to Jaelin Howell about her role as a player representative for the NWSL Players' Association, and what it's like to work with teammate Tierna Davidson in that capacity:
I asked Jaedyn Shaw if she ever experiences imposter syndrome, and how she handles it if/when she does:
November 21, 2025 at 6:56 AM
I asked Jaedyn Shaw if she ever experiences imposter syndrome, and how she handles it if/when she does:
I also asked Katie Stengel if she thinks players have the power to move the needle on issues they experience in the league:
November 21, 2025 at 6:56 AM
I also asked Katie Stengel if she thinks players have the power to move the needle on issues they experience in the league:
Next up, Gotham! First, I talked to Jess Carter and Katie Stengel (separately) about if and how players compare leagues amongst themselves:
November 21, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Next up, Gotham! First, I talked to Jess Carter and Katie Stengel (separately) about if and how players compare leagues amongst themselves:
And finally, I went long with Sandy MacIver about hashbrowns, eggs Benedict, and what it’s like to cook as a professional athlete who lives alone:
![SANDY MACIVER ON HASHBROWNS, POACHING EGGS, AND COOKING AND EATING AS A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE WHO LIVES ALONE
Q: What do you get up to on your days off?
We don't get up to a lot. I usually go for brunch with Es[me Morgan], to be honest.
Q: What do you order for brunch?
Back home I'd get eggs Benedict, which I can get here, but it's just not the same. … Back home, I love hash browns, but your hash browns here are not the same. … To me, a hash brown back home is like a tater tot, but it's like a triangle, and they're my favorite things back home. I love hash browns. I love going for brunch. Eggs Benedict with a side of hash browns is my order. … To me, eggs Benedict is an English muffin. I like to have mine with bacon, but then the bacon in this country to back home is quite different, very different. … It's just not the same. I don't know, the sauce isn't—it's like, eh…
Q: Hollandaise is hard to make, and poaching eggs is too.
Do you know what? I've been working on my poached egg.
Q: You have!?
I have been working on a poached egg, and I'm very hit and miss with the timings. I should actually write down my timings because I just kind of like go by, Meh, we'll just see what happens. I literally just get a nice little swirl going, pour it in.
Q: Do you do the vinegar too?
No, I don't.
Q: I don't know if it's worth the smell.
No, I don't think it is.
Q: Do you make poached eggs for eggs Benedict or is this for another dish?
I've never actually made an eggs Benedict. … Do you know what the problem is? I live on my own and it's really hard. Can you imagine making a hollandaise sauce for one person?
Q: Right, you would have to store a lot of it, or just make just a—](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rn7pv7y7h5bnb26trk6uo2cn/bafkreiah2xiouhwejlkugyqnlrrqdguburq7kbn7ju46o4syiqerzqdezm@jpeg)
![Exactly, this is the problem! This is the information we need, is food! Living on your own and cooking is hard. Right, so for example last week before we came, I had to pick my vegetable for the week—I don't know what you're gonna do with this content—but I have to pick a vegetable for the week because also in America, if I want asparagus, oh, I can't just get a little bunch. I have to have like 50 pieces of like, half a meter long asparagus, so I have to have that for the whole week. That should be spoken about more often, is cooking as a single person on your own.
Q: To bring it back to soccer a little bit, how much do you factor in these things for making sure you're fueled? Is it hard to balance cooking on your own with what you need literally for your job?
Do you know what, yeah, it is actually quite hard, but we're probably lucky, unlucky—I don't know—but pretty much the whole team lives in the same apartment block. So there's been a few times like—[Sofia Cantore walks by and says hi]—Oh, speak of the devil, Esme and I will go to Sof’s since she'll cook us a nice pasta, won't you?
Q: That's a pretty good person to cook you pasta.
Yeah, she does really good pasta actually.
Q: I bet. Does she make the pasta from scratch?
She can, but she hasn't for us. But we did go to her brother's and her brother made us fresh pasta and it was unbelievable.
Q: Do you think there's anything that the league or the team could do to help make the food situation less hard?
Honestly, probably not, we have a nutritionist. To be honest, do you know what, I'm just being awkward because if I really wanted to, I could probably take leftovers from lunch [at practice] and just—’cause there's usually a meat option, a fish option, vegan option, do you know what I mean? Like I could probably take the other option, and take that home, but I actually quite enjoy cooking and experimenting with that. I'm on a little cooking journey, myself, at the minute.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rn7pv7y7h5bnb26trk6uo2cn/bafkreibj4gnr3olopgbca2625kolyxd35wstph7sav6bkgzgtd7bp6okvm@jpeg)
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
And finally, I went long with Sandy MacIver about hashbrowns, eggs Benedict, and what it’s like to cook as a professional athlete who lives alone:
I asked Sofia Cantore and Esme Morgan (separately) about playing each other in the semifinal at the Euros this summer:
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I asked Sofia Cantore and Esme Morgan (separately) about playing each other in the semifinal at the Euros this summer:
I asked Kaylie Collins about being one of Washington’s player reps at the NWSL Players’ Association:
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I asked Kaylie Collins about being one of Washington’s player reps at the NWSL Players’ Association:
I asked Gabby Carle about the Northern Super League:
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I asked Gabby Carle about the Northern Super League:
I talked to Narumi Miura about why she wanted to translate her 2022 blog post about menstrual health for athletes from Japanese to English, which you can read here: note.com/narumi08/n/n...
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I talked to Narumi Miura about why she wanted to translate her 2022 blog post about menstrual health for athletes from Japanese to English, which you can read here: note.com/narumi08/n/n...
I asked Esme Morgan about how players talk about differences between top leagues:
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I asked Esme Morgan about how players talk about differences between top leagues:
slight correction on the article; the 2022 CBA also had a threshold of 92.3 degrees F
August 27, 2025 at 6:06 PM
slight correction on the article; the 2022 CBA also had a threshold of 92.3 degrees F
Here is the section of the policy in question, with the discrepancies between the old and new versions highlighted:
![(discrepancies in brackets)
OLD NWSL EXTREME HEAT POLICY:
…
During the Delay
a. Similar to a severe weather delay, the match will not start or resume until it is safe to do so as outlined by the procedures below.
b. The Fourth Official will take another WBGT measurement 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the match. [Follow the same procedure as above, should the WBGT reading meet or exceed 95 degrees Fahrenheit.]
• If the WBGT temperature reads below 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit, warm-ups may begin.
c. [Following the reading 15 minutes prior to the start of the match, should the delay continue, a WBGT measurement will be taken every 30 minutes at the kickoff spot,] until it is deemed safe to play, below 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit, or until such time has passed that the League decides to postpone the match.
[• In the event a WBGT measurement is below the 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit threshold by 1 degree (i.e., 91.3 degrees Fahrenheit), it will be the Fourth Official in conjunction with the home club’s Team Physician with feedback from visiting team medical personnel, operations, officials and both technical staffs, to make the ultimate decision if and when play is allowed to resume.]
NEW NWSL EXTREME HEAT POLICY:
…
During the Delay
A. Similar to a severe weather delay, the match will not start or resume until it is safe to do so as outlined by the procedures below.
B. The Fourth Official will take another WBGT measurement 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the match.
○ If the WBGT measurement reads < 92.3°F/33.5°C, warm-ups may begin.
○ [If the WBGT reading continues to be ≥92.3°F/33.5°C, the match will continue to be delayed.]
C. [A WBGT measurement will then be taken every 15 minutes at the kickoff spot, until it is deemed safe to play], < 92.3°F/33.5°C, or until such time has passed that the League decides to postpone the match.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rn7pv7y7h5bnb26trk6uo2cn/bafkreihnesfkhwgeb4nw6qtgp7frhqij4pvocwuyzukyduc6rui3k5ucoq@jpeg)
August 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Here is the section of the policy in question, with the discrepancies between the old and new versions highlighted:
Lots of love for Jess Carter from fans at the match. The loudest cheers when the rosters were announced in the stadium came for her, and after the match fans unfurled a sign that said “WE LOVE JESS!” When will UEFA, FIFA, and the FA truly protect their players from racist abuse?
July 23, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Lots of love for Jess Carter from fans at the match. The loudest cheers when the rosters were announced in the stadium came for her, and after the match fans unfurled a sign that said “WE LOVE JESS!” When will UEFA, FIFA, and the FA truly protect their players from racist abuse?
