After some time away from women’s soccer, the USL has made another significant step forward in its commitment to that side of the sport. The Athletic has learned that the league has hired former U.S. national team midfielder Angela Hucles as a senior consultant to lead the league’s efforts in the women’s game.



While that step might be a much smaller one than many might have been expecting from the USL, it’s an encouraging sign that the league’s intentions reflect their interest, without rushing into launching a full league.



“Our sole focus right now is on a bottom-up approach to help grow the women’s game,” Hucles told The Athletic.



She’ll be in charge of building the plan on how to do that in her new role, but right now, she said she’s focusing on what she calls a “discovery process to explore the landscape of women’s soccer.” There are no specific action items on her list...