<p><strong>On Thursday, we saw one of the greatest U.S. women’s national team players of all time hang up their cleats.&nbsp;</strong>At age 33, <strong>Crystal Dunn</strong> has decided to retire from professional soccer.</p><br><p>So, on this episode of <strong>Full Time,</strong> host <strong>Jillian Sakovits </strong>is joined by <strong><em>The Athletic’s</em></strong> <strong>Tamerra Griffin</strong> and<strong> Melanie Anzidei, </strong>as well as<strong> Claire Watkins </strong>from<strong> Just Women’s Sports, </strong>to unpack what Dunn’s legacy will be now that she is retiring. What trail did she blaze as a Black player on the USWNT? How did she carve out a unique team-first leadership style? Was she the greatest NWSL player ever? The podcast gets into all that, as well as how <strong>Emma Hayes</strong> and the next generation will have to try and evolve to fill her spot.</p><br><p><strong>PLUS:</strong> <strong>Producer Theo</strong> was in London to catch <strong>SC Corinthians Paulista</strong> stun <strong>NJ/NY Gotham FC</strong> in the inaugural <strong>FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.</strong> Sports Illustrated contributor and Gotham beat writer <strong>Jenna Tonelli </strong>hopped on the show to discuss what the defeat means for the NWSL. </p><p>_______________</p><p>HOST: Jillian Sakovits</p><p>GUESTS: Melanie Anzidei, Tamerra Griffin, Claire Watkins, Jenna Tonelli</p><p>PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes</p><p>VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin</p><p>EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen</p><p>_______________</p><p><strong>Referenced on the show:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7007210/2026/01/29/crystal-dunn-retires-uswnt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USWNT star Crystal Dunn announces retirement from soccer aged 33</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6996572/2026/01/24/trinity-rodman-uswnt-first-goal-captain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USWNT’s Trinity Rodman scores goal in first game as captain</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7004740/2026/01/28/corinthians-stuns-gotham-meets-arsenal-fifa-womens-champions-cup-final/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Corinthians stun Gotham 1-0, will meet Arsenal in FIFA Women’s Champions Cup final</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6884641/2026/01/26/fifa-womens-champions-cup-whos-competing-where-and-what-is-it/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FIFA Women’s Champions Cup: Who’s competing, where – and what is it?</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7003658/2026/01/28/emma-hayes-uswnt-chile-experiments/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Emma Hayes’ experimental window is over. Now the USWNT sets its sights on the World Cup</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7000691/2026/01/26/emma-hayes-uswnt-minnesota-shooting-comments/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USWNT’s Emma Hayes on the fatal Minnesota shooting: ‘It’s upsetting on so many levels’</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6999255/2026/01/27/ayo-oke-uswnt-impress-emma-hayes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ayo Oke ready to impress Emma Hayes after surprise USWNT call-up: ‘I thought I was dreaming’</a></p><p>_______________</p><p>Get in touch:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠</a></p><p>Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime</p><p>Subscribe to our <strong>Youtube</strong> channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theathleticfulltime" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>Subscribe to the <strong>Full Time newsletter </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/full-time/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠here⁠⁠</a></p><p>Visit the <strong>Yahoo Women's Sports hub</strong> <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-sports/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠here</a></p><p>Take <strong>The Athletic's 2026 Listener Survey</strong> <a href="https://www.honesty-box.com/flowlive1.html?folder=athletic-comb-25&amp;resp=av&amp;origin=false" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>