NWSL news: St-Georges joins Courage with Fox departure looming, Nabet re-signs with ACFC, Wave deal for Beall

NWSL news: Ex-Red Star Bianca St-Georges pens two-year deal with Sean Nahas' Courage with Emily Fox's departure only a matter of time

With Emily Fox seemingly already in England with Arsenal, Kerolin out due to injury, and Tess Boade on the West Coast, Sean Nahas needs threats going forward. So far, early in 2024, the club has taken the right steps in doing so. 26-year-old Canadian international Bianca St-Georges joined the two-time NWSL Challenge Cup winners North Carolina Courage on a two-year deal on Monday morning. The agreement per the club's statement also includes a mutual option for the following campaign.

There is good reason why we had St-Georges in our top-10 free agents heading into the offseason. The Red Stars' ex-No. 22 is coming off of her best statistical campaign as a professional, finishing as one of the four Chicago players with five goal contributions. Only Ella Stevens found the back of the net as often as the Canadian in 2023. She is someone that can provide a whole lot of versatility on the wing whether that be as a wing back or an out-and-out winger. The 26-year-old gave her take on why NC was the place she wanted to be:

“I am beyond thrilled to join Courage Country. North Carolina is undoubtedly a winning culture and, as a competitor, it’s exactly where I want to be. This team is savvy, professional, fierce, and has incredibly high standards. I believe our personalities match well and I could not think of a better place to grow and reach my potential. I cannot wait to meet everyone and embrace this new journey with a reputable and promising team."

The West Virginia product finished 2023 on a high, netting three goals in her final five contests including a winner against Racing Louisville FC. It'll be intriguing to see where she slots into the lineup for the opening match of the season. Even though she loves to get forward, especially on the right-hand side, her defending stood out, finishing in the 92nd percentile in tackles per 90 for attacking midfielders in 2023.

NWSL news: Angel City FC agree to new contract with 24-year-old midfielder and L.A. native Lily Nabet through 2025

Toward the end of last week, Angel City was busy locking down its players to new contracts. It began this week the same way. Lily Nabet, one of ACFC's 2022 NWSL Draft selections has extended her stay in her hometown for two more seasons. Since joining the club, the midfielder has competed in 21 NWSL league games, starting in seven with five of those being in 2023 per FBref. No. 28 played in her full match last season in a 3-2 Challenge Cup defeat to Portland Thorns. Angel City general manager Angela Hucles Mangano expressed her excitement about the re-signing of Nabet:

“Lily is part of Angel City history as one of our first-ever draft picks and we are so happy she is staying with us for the next two years,” she said. "Her growth over our first two seasons is a testament to how hard she works every day at training and how dedicated she is to helping this team win. We look forward to seeing another one of our hometown players thrive on and off the field.”

Given the club lost Savannah McCaskill, one of its most essential pieces to the midfield, we could be looking at another increase in minutes in 2024. That takes into consideration the In-Season Tournament the league is having during the Olympics this upcoming summer. ACFC still has three field players left on the market, Madison Hammond, Simone Charley, and Dani Weatherholt.

NWSL news: Hillary Beall dealt to SoCal as San Diego Wave replenish goalkeeping unit behind Kailen Sheridan

Now that Shae Yanez has made her move back to England, Casey Stoney's team needed to recruit a replacement to put behind the Canadian star Kailen Sheridan. San Diego Wave did not have two goalkeepers for long, trading for one of Katie Lund's back-ups, Hillary Beall in an agreement that sent a natural second-round pick in the 2025 NWSL Draft to Kentucky. San Diego Wave FC General Manager Molly Downtain spoke on the deal:

“Hillary is a player that we’ve seen continuing to develop since being drafted and will add competition to our goalkeeping corps. We’re excited to have her join us back in Southern California and wish her a warm welcome to the club.”

The 24-year-old has been with Racing since 2022, and while she hasn't stood between the sticks in the NWSL, she's making waves in Australia. In October, the ex-Michigan goalkeeper went out on her second loan to Western United in the A-League (Women). In her first game back in 2022, Beall pitched a clean sheet against Melbourne Victory. The American ended up earning the league's Goalkeeper of the Year for the 2022/2023 season, amassed a league-high 12 wins. West Ham's Mackenzie Arnold, and Washington Spirit's Aubrey Kingsbury are two of the past winners. So, she's in pretty good company.

Beall is still on loan through August 2024, but there are terms in the deal in which SD could terminate the loan in April. That's probably unlikely given the amount of growth and success the 5-foot-11 stop-stopper has seen down under. Her latest fixture saw her save six shots, the most of the young campaign so far.