USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Record-Breaker Croix Bethune Makes Her Case

Welcome back to your weekly feature from Sports Illustrated that analyzes the women’s soccer weekend from a U.S. women’s national team perspective.

The 2026 National Women’s Soccer League has just one match remaining, and it is all to play for. Gotham FC and the San Diego Wave are battling it out for the NWSL Shield, the trophy handed out to the team that tops the standings at the end of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Seattle Reign, NC Courage and Denver Summit are in the hunt for the final playoff spot. The Washington Spirit, KC Current, Angel City, Utah Royals and Portland Thorns have now all booked their spots, in addition to Gotham and the Wave.

It is almost exactly one month until qualifiers for the 2027 Women’s World Cup get underway for the Americans. USWNT manager Emma Hayes will be zooming in extra close on the players who will not be featuring in the NWSL playoffs, as well as those with more soccer ahead of them.

Let’s take a look at how players’ stock rose and fell during league action this past weekend.

Stock Up

Croix Bethune

Thanks to Croix Bethune, there is a new record for the most assists in a single NWSL season. The KC Current midfielder got her 11th of the season when she teed up Vanesse DiBernardo after the Washington Spirit turned the ball over in their own box. That goal completed the comeback as KC ran away with a 2-1 win at home. The defeat knocked the Spirit out of the race for top spot.

The assist was trademark Bethune. Calm in the final third, with excellent radar to know where her teammates are. She then hit the pass with perfect weight, making it as easy as possible to hit the shot and score. The record has been a long-time coming for Bethune, who tallied 10 assists in her rookie season in 2024 before a knee injury ended that year prematurely. She overtakes USWNT legend Tobin Heath (2016 with the Portland Thorns) and the Utah Royals’ Cloe LaCasse (2026) as players to have reached 10.

After so much NWSL dominance, the next step is for Bethune to truly become a consistent creative option for Hayes on the national team. It has been over two years since she made her USWNT debut. But in that time, she has just seven appearances, one goal, and one assist for her country. Of course, the 25-year-old’s lack of minutes has, in large part, been down to injuries. Hopefully this magnificent 2026 season leads to Hayes giving Bethune more opportunities to be the playmaker for the Stars and Stripes.

Annie Karich

An underrated bright spark in the midfield for Boston Legacy this season, Annie Karich got her first-ever NWSL goal in the 2-2 draw against the San Diego Wave on Sunday. Beyond her close-range, right-place, right-time finish at the back post, she was a tidy force in the middle of the pitch. In 74 minutes, the 23-year-old completed 93% of her 43 passes, created two chances and had two interceptions.

Karich appears to be some way off cracking a spot in the USWNT depth chart at the moment, but the two-way central midfield position is not necessarily a strong point for the USA right now, especially after the Spain friendlies. Behind Claire Hutton and Sam Coffey, there’s room for Karich, especially due to her diligent nature on the ball, to push the likes of Jaelin Howell for opportunities. One to watch for 2027.

Gisele Thompson

Following up on her superb two-assist performance from last week, Gisele Thompson scored her fifth goal of the season in a 2-0 win for Angel City over Bay FC. Right after halftime, the 20-year-old found a pocket of space between Bay’s backline and took off after receiving the ball. There was seemingly not too much on when Thompson picked up the ball, but she knew exactly what she wanted to do when she turned. The result was a spectacular finish that rocketed beyond Jordon Silkowitz at the near post—one the best players in the world would have been proud of.

Since the return of defender Savy King, interim manager Leif Smerud has pushed Thompson further forward into more of a wing role than her traditional fullback spot. The move has worked wonders, as Thompson is such a threat in the final third and has tremendous recovery speed to cover opponents' counterattacks. While we haven’t really seen much of an advanced Thompson on the national team, it feels like only a matter of time until her versatility hits the international stage. Thompson is yet to score for the USWNT in 13 appearances, but with finishes like this, she won’t be stuck on zero for much longer.

Stock Down

Pietra Tordin

It has been an incredible second season in the NWSL for Portland Thorns forward Pietra Tordin. With eight goals and nine assists, she has been a breakout star who also got a well-deserved first call-up to the USWNT. However, in last weekend’s 1-0 win for Portland over the NC Courage, Tordin had a tough go leading the line. She produced just one hopeful shot in the dying moments, across 90 minutes, and had an individual expected goals and assists of 0.03.

Thorns superstar Sophia Wilson has missed the last two games, and it is perhaps no surprise that Tordin has struggled to impact games. Relationships are important in soccer. Tordin is also a very unselfish player who did a lot of the hard yards against the Courage. She knew she had to press and entered into 12 ground duels, winning just three.

At 22, Tordin remains one of the most exciting prospects for the USWNT. But her hot-and-cold streaks remind us that she is full of potential and still developing into a consistent threat.

Emma Sears

The 2026 season is so nearly over for the lowly Racing Louisville and Emma Sears. Unfortunately, on the penultimate weekend of the year, the Kentucky club was thrashed 6–1 on the road at the Denver Summit. Sears cut a frustrated figure as she was taken off after 63 minutes, having not attempted a shot or created a chance. The score was already at 3–0 when she was hooked. Louisville would go on to concede twice in the five minutes immediately after Sears’s departure.

There are so many questions lingering over the future of Racing in the NWSL. Relocation rumours swirl as questions over investment from the ownership gain momentum. Sears is categorically one of the greatest Racing players in club history. There’s no dispute there. But her time in Louisville could well come to an end this winter, and it will be a shame for it to end in such dire circumstances. Outside of August, when Sears had five goals and two assists across five games, she has been poor all season. To keep her place on the USWNT, she will likely move on in the next transfer window.

Kennedy Fuller

Another prospect who had an off week at the end of a long season, Kennedy Fuller failed to impact Bay’s fortunes in their all-California 2-0 defeat to Angel City. The 19-year-old was going up against her former club for the first time since a midseason transfer and couldn’t quite show them what they were missing.

Fuller has been pushed into a more attacking central midfield role of late, but was timid in Los Angeles. She didn’t attempt a single shot and created just one chance in 89 minutes. With just 13 passes played, 11 of which found a teammate, it was an afternoon of low quality and low quantity for Bay. The Northern Californians were bossed off the ball, having just 35% possession and creating just five chances (0.28 expected goals). Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson didn’t have a single save to make.

One to forget for Fuller and her teammates. Bay are limping towards the finish line and will hope the offseason can recharge their NWSL ambitions, as well as Fuller’s national team potential. After all, she was the co-captain of the U.S. team that went to the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland this past September. Hayes will not doubt be following her progress closely.