USWNT midfielders Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle arrived at England in August 2020 and wore Sky-Blue in the final days of Manchester City's 2019/21 season and the entirety of their 2020/21 season.
The pair lifted the Women's FA Cup in November 2020, having just arrived at their new club weeks before. However, that was the only time they lifted a trophy as Man City lost to Chelsea in FA WSL Cup quarterfinals and the WSL season, and Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Mewis was one of Manchester City's top players, scoring seven goals and dishing out two assists in 17 WSL appearances. The 28-year-old led the Citizens in scoring with five goals in the Women's Champions League.
Lavelle, on the other hand, struggled to become a regular in Gareth Taylor's side. The 26-year-old played 16 WSL games, starting just three and scoring one goal. Also, she did not register goals or assists in Man City's UCL run.
Mewis will come back to an already stacked North Carolina Courage side, where she has won five major trophies – two NWSL Championships and three NWSL Shields. The Courage finished second to Gotham FC in the Eastern Division of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, missing out on the championship game by one point.
Lavelle returns to the USA, but to play for OL Reign, who acquired her rights from the Washington Spirit shortly after she left to play in the UK. The World Cup champion will join USWNT teammates Megan Rapinoe and Ally Watt and is expected to play against her former team – The Spirit – on May 30. Also joining the Reign, Lyon stars Dzsenifer Marozsan, Eugenie Le Sommer and Sarah Bouhaddi are set to arrive at Seattle at the end of the season.
How to watch Mewis and Lavelle in the 2021 NWSL season
Visit our NWSL competitions page to look at all the broadcast information for North Carolina Courage and OL Reign's season. The games will stream live on CBS, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ in the USA, and on Twitch internationally.
