When she was 15, Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle traveled alone by bus for as much as 9 hours to play for the Mexican nationwide staff, with no cost aside 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 gained six league titles.
On Thursday, the Mexican striker grew to become the costliest participant in ladies’s soccer historical past when she moved from Tigres de la UANL to the Orlando Satisfaction of the Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League by way of a $1.5-million switch.
Switch information appear to be short-lived in ladies’s soccer, reflecting the game’s development worldwide and golf equipment’ willingness to pay for expertise. Earlier than Ovalle’s switch, the costliest 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 in the course of the CONCACAF Champions Cup closing on Could 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 asserting Ovalle’s arrival.
Recognized for her pace 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 reminiscent of Barcelona, Actual Madrid and West Ham.
In 2024, Angel Metropolis provided $750,000 for her switch, however Tigres didn’t settle for. Not too long ago, 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.
“It’s going to be an amazing 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 rather a lot. Having these gamers on my staff is like having all of it.”
Ovalle stated she had been seeking 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.
“I advised them about my plans, and clearly they determined to assist me, however they didn’t need me to go to simply any membership,” stated Ovalle, who acknowledges that the problem will probably 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 staff, the place she stood out amongst 1000’s 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 in the course of the first season of Liga MX Femenil competitors in 2017.
With Tigres, she gained 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’m leaving with the mindset that I gave my all at Tigres, I gave what I needed to give, I gained what I needed to win,” stated Ovalle, who’s presently finding out sports activities administration.
Mexico ahead Lizbeth Ovalle, middle, 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 grow to be the highest-paid participant in Mexico, however she most well-liked the worldwide problem.
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’s a historic occasion. It marks a turning level in Mexican soccer,” stated Jorge Rodríguez, Ovalle’s agent. “We had 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 leap to NWSL, described the transfer as a very powerful for Mexican ladies’s soccer and highlighted the expansion of the league.
“It’s an announcement about Mexican expertise, in regards to the Mexican league… the Mexican league is sweet 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 greater.”
This text first appeared in Spanish by way of L.A. Occasions en Español.
