Kerr relishing the 'even playing field' of her American return

[p]The 32-year-old twice NWSL MVP holds the ‌record as the American league's top scorer despite spending the ‌last 6-1/2 years with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/Q7Hu2UDD/"]Chelsea[/a], where she helped propel the London club ‌to extraordinary heights with 11 major trophies.[/p][p]"[b]When I was here ‌previously, I was just like a young kid. I was striving to be the best,[/b]" said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kerr-samantha/8YuNOAak/"]Kerr[/a], who played with the team from 2015 through ‌2017, back when they were known as Sky ⁠Blue FC.[/p][p]"[b]I come back with ‌a lot of experience and a lot of trophies under my belt[/b]," ​she told a press conference on Thursday.[/p][p]Kerr's return is cause for celebration in the NWSL, with increasing competition to ​retain top talent from international leagues, including the WSL.[/p][p]The 2023 Ballon d'Or runner-up cited the high level at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/gotham-fc/l8iSqzTb/"]Gotham[/a], who won the ⁠league championship in 2023 ​and 2025, among her reasons for moving back as a free agent, saying the club was the closest level of competitiveness to Chelsea.[/p][embed guid="53d63032-5117-408b-8a47-25f3fe4ff068" url="https://x.com/GothamFC/status/2071594984156074347" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]The NWSL is more open, it's more counter-attacking, it's more, I guess, ‌physically demanding,[/b]" said Kerr, who also previously played for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chicago-stars/I9zHnxqt/"]Chicago[/a].[/p][p]"[b]Most games that we played for Chelsea, we would go in expecting to win. I think in the NWSL, it's a much more even playing field, which is quite different and something I loved about the league when I was here[/b]."[/p][p]Kerr, whose young son Jagger climbed onto her lap during the press conference, also has personal reasons to come to the United States.[/p][p]Her partner, midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mewis-kristie/YwiRcm0S/"]Kristie Mewis[/a], ‌is from the U.S. and Kerr's contract through 2030 offers a ​level of stability she was not able to enjoy early ‌in her career.[/p][p]"[b]Last time I played in the NWSL, I was moving around every two years and I didn't want to do that this time,[/b]" said Kerr.[/p][p]"[b]I wanted to commit to somewhere and put roots down somewhere and allow myself ⁠to get comfortable in the ⁠league, get comfortable with the ‌team that I'm in.[/b]"[/p]