When she was 15, Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle traveled alone by bus for as much as 9 hours to play for the Mexican nationwide group, with no cost apart from the price of her ticket.
Her expertise and dedication helped her play within the U17 World Cup and make her 2017 debut within the then-nascent Liga MX Femenil, the place she received six league titles.
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On Thursday, the Mexican striker turned the most costly participant in ladies’s soccer historical past when she moved from Tigres de la UANL to the Orlando Satisfaction of the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League by way of a $1.5-million switch.
Switch data appear to be short-lived in ladies’s soccer, reflecting the game’s progress worldwide and golf equipment’ willingness to pay for expertise. Earlier than Ovalle’s switch, the most costly switch was that of Canadian Olivia Smith from Liverpool to Arsenal for $1.34 million, a transaction that passed off in July. In January, American Naomi Girma was transferred from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea for $1.1 million.
Lizbeth Ovalle of Tigres, proper, and Gotham FC’s Miranda Freeman battle for the ball through the CONCACAF Champions Cup remaining on Might 24. (Jorge Mendoza / Related Press)
“We’re deeply dedicated to constructing championship-caliber groups yr after yr and this landmark signing is a mirrored image of that focus,” Orlando Satisfaction proprietor Mark Wilf stated in a information launch saying Ovalle’s arrival.
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Recognized for her velocity and one-on-one abilities, Ovalle, 25, selected Orlando after six NWSL groups tried to signal her.
In 2019, the Houston Sprint inquired about her, as did European golf equipment equivalent to Barcelona, Actual Madrid and West Ham.
In 2024, supplied $750,000 for her switch, however Tigres didn’t settle for. Just lately, she was linked with the Washington Spirit, though she finally selected between Gotham and Orlando, choosing the reigning NWSL champion Satisfaction. Different golf equipment included Utah, Bay Metropolis and Chicago.
In Orlando, Ovalle will be part of her idol, Marta, the Brazilian legend, and striker Barbra Banda, a star from Zambia.
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“It may be an ideal alternative in my soccer profession,” Ovalle advised L.A. Occasions en Español. “Think about taking part in with these sorts of gamers. Clearly, that motivates me loads. Having these gamers on my group is like having all of it.”
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Ovalle stated she had been trying to break into worldwide soccer for a while, particularly after final yr’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, when she felt she was competing on the stage of elite gamers. She wished to check herself within the NWSL, a league she follows carefully.
She stated Tigres supported her transfer.
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“I advised them about my plans, and clearly they determined to assist me, however they did not need me to go to simply any membership,” stated Ovalle, who acknowledges that the problem shall be adapting to a extra bodily league than the Mexican one, as she is extra of a technical participant than an influence one.
Born within the municipality of Jesús María, Aguascalientes, Ovalle was found throughout trials for the Mexican nationwide group, the place she stood out amongst hundreds of gamers. Shortly afterward, she performed within the 2016 U17 World Cup in Jordan, the place she scored two targets. She joined Tigres in 2016 after excelling in neighborhood soccer as a result of Mexico had not but began its skilled ladies’s league. She made her debut with Tigres through the first season of Liga MX Femenil competitors in 2017.
With Tigres, she received the 2018 and 2019 Clausura, 2020 and 2021 Guardianes, and 2022 and 2023 Apertura. Within the 2025 Clausura, she performed 21 video games, scored 18 targets and had six assists.
“I am leaving with the mindset that I gave my all at Tigres, I gave what I needed to give, I received what I needed to win,” stated Ovalle, who’s presently learning sports activities administration.
Mexico ahead Lizbeth Ovalle, heart, controls the ball in from of U.S. defender Tierna Davidson, left, throughout a pleasant match on July 13, 2024, in Harrison, N.J. (Pamela Smith / Related Press)
Earlier than leaving Tigres, Ovalle had the choice to remain and develop into the highest-paid participant in Mexico, however she most popular the worldwide problem.
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With this signing, she turns into the second Mexican-born participant to make the leap to the NWSL by way of switch, far surpassing the switch charge of Rebeca Bernal, who moved from Monterrey to the Washington Spirit in 2024 on a three-year contract.
“It is a historic occasion. It marks a turning level in Mexican soccer,” stated Jorge Rodríguez, Ovalle’s agent. “We have been ready for her to develop as an individual. Now is an efficient time to go overseas, she already has the maturity.”
Guillermo Zamarripa, an agent who was key in Ovalle’s bounce to NWSL, described the transfer as crucial for Mexican ladies’s soccer and highlighted the expansion of the league.
“It is a assertion about Mexican expertise, in regards to the Mexican league… the Mexican league is nice sufficient to draw the eye of the world,” stated Zamarripa. “These sorts of transfers are anthem songs that increase the ceiling of ladies’s soccer a little bit increased.”
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This text by way of L.A. Occasions en Español.
This story initially appeared in .