Meet NWSL expansion team Boston Legacy: Reintroduction, European influence and a desire to win

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — On a crisp March evening at Gillette Stadium, Boston Legacy will step onto the National Women’s Soccer League stage for the first time, 30 months after the league awarded the city its 15th franchise. What began as a slow-burn project marked by false starts—an abandoned name, a drawn-out stadium negotiation—has ignited into one of the most anticipated expansion launches in league history.

Controlling partner Jennifer Epstein, a minority owner of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, and her all-female founding group—Stephanie Connaughton, Ami Kuan Danoff, and Anna Palmer—have paired celebrity firepower with European football pedigree. General manager Domènec Guasch, architect of nine Liga F titles and three UEFA Women’s Champions League trophies at FC Barcelona, and head coach Filipa Patão, who posted a 156-28-15 record at Benfica, have spent the past year importing a global roster that spans ten countries.

“Everybody knows that this city wants to win. This city wants a legacy,” Patão said at her introductory press conference. “This city deserves strong women’s football, and this is why I’m here, because I know this project is ambitious.”

That ambition will be tested immediately. Legacy’s inaugural match pits them against reigning league champions Gotham FC, setting up a potential East Coast rivalry inside a venue accustomed to championship moments. Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, will serve as the team’s temporary home while White Stadium undergoes renovation; select summer fixtures will shift to Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to accommodate seven men’s World Cup matches in Foxboro.

Guasch and Patão’s recruitment drive blended star power with emerging talent. Brazilian forward Amanda Gutierres, a 2025 Ballon d’Or Féminin nominee and two-time Campeonato Brasileiro golden-boot winner, headlines the attack. U.S. Olympic gold-medalist goalkeeper Casey Murphy left North Carolina Courage after four seasons to anchor the defense, citing the club’s culture as a decisive factor. Ella Stevens, quick and creative after her time with Gotham, and 18-year-old Chloe Ricketts, the first player signed under the league’s Under-18 Entry Mechanism, add depth to a 23-player squad that carries passports from the U.S., Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Uganda, Venezuela, Spain, and Mali.

“I just really wanted to be a part of a team that valued me and not only what I brought on the field, but off the field as well,” Murphy said. “They call it Title Town, because the teams here are just always winning championships. That was something that sold me—like, I want to bring a championship to Boston.”

Preseason camps in Florida and Europe accelerated the squad’s cohesion. Patão has emphasized freedom of expression early, trusting international experience to translate onto NWSL turf.

“(Patão) wants to see what we bring without putting too many restrictions on us week one,” Murphy explained. “I felt a lot of freedom to just be on the field and play without thinking too much.”

That freedom will be tested against a league Patão calls “one of the best in the world.” If Boston’s sports history is any indication, expectations will only rise. The Breakers’ dissolution in 2018 left a void that fans, investors, and now players believe Legacy can fill.

Gutierres, adjusting to New England winters, sees the roster’s diversity as an on-field advantage. “After a while, we will start discovering together what the ideal team is and what is best for Boston,” she said.

Until then, the story line is simple: an expansion side with European brains, South American flair, and Boston bravado will try to shock the champions in prime time. The match may not decide a title, but it could light the fuse on another fiery NWSL rivalry—and begin the next chapter in a city that, as Patão insists, demands nothing less than a legacy.