Familiar faces get wins – Equalizer Soccer

Photo Copyright: Russell Lansford for Imagn Images

The Current, Pride, and Spirit all won, which rekindled feelings of 2024. Louisville won again, which brought on feelings that are, well, unprecedented. Let’s have a look:

Cream of the Crop

Kansas City Current (9-2-0, 27 pts; @ Gotham, 1-0): Another week, another win. It wasn’t a masterpiece by any means, but they did keep up a trend of starting quickly by pouncing on early mistakes. Vanessa DiBernardo celebrated her 200th NWSL appearance by scoring—on her own team, on an ill-fated effort to clear a late cross. Lo’eau LaBonta joined Debinha among the injured, and they benefited from two goals being called back on marginal decisions. But…another week, another win.

Forming a solid next pack?

Orlando Pride (6-3-1, 19 pts; vs Dash, 1-0): It looked like the Pride were going to be held at home on another difficult day trying to score goals, and then Cory Dyke got on the end of a rebound and snagged the extra two points for the defending champs. They did some squad rotation too, with Barbra Banda and Marta both starting on the bench following the FIFA break.

Washington Spirit (7-3-1, 22 pts; vs Courage, 3-1): It was a weird week in Washington. The announcement came that Jona Giráldez is leaving for Lyon, but sticking around until—July 18? Then they sat Tara McKeown for the first time since 2023. They also played without an injured Ashley Hatch. And then they essentially buried the Courage 3-1 as Gift Monday continued her push for Newcomer of the Year (an award NWSL should definitely start). Despite the win, does anyone believe the vibes around this team aren’t at least a little awkward?

San Diego Wave FC (6-3-2, 20 pts; vs Reign, 1-2): The Wave are no longer unbeaten outside games against the Pride and Current. They couldn’t quite assert themselves against the Reign and dropped all the points after conceding a late goal. The Wave are in Houston and then home for the Spirit ahead of the summer break and may be the most interesting team over those two weeks. Was this a blip? Or a regression to the mean?

The Sphere of Mediocrity

Seattle Reign FC (5-4-2, 17 pts, @ Wave, 2-1): Nice win in San Diego, finding a late goal after conceding an equalizer. The late goal came from Sally Menti, a rookie from Santa Clara who had logged one total minute before this match. Of note from this one is the continued development of teenage center back Jordyn Bugg.

Racing Louisville FC (5-4-2, 16 pts; vs Royals, 3-2): With 15 minutes to play Friday night, Louisville were tied 2-2 and playing 11-v-10 at home against one of the worst teams in the league. They had survived an early mistake—conceding off a throw-in—to be in a position to win. And it was Sarah Weber’s first NWSL goal that put them ahead and notched the three points. That’s four wins in five games for the first time in club history. Are they the real deal?

Portland Thorns FC (4-3-4, 16 pts; @ Bay, 0-1): Couldn’t get one by Jordan Silkowitz and Bay in a 1-0 loss. This despite edges in possession, shots, and xG. Keep in mind, this is a young team, so struggling to score from time to time should be expected.

Angel City FC (4-4-3, 15 pts; vs Stars, 2-2): Full-time coach Alexander Straus took over and the result wasn’t exactly as planned. Both goals conceded to the bottom-dwelling Stars were a bit unusual, but nevertheless, it has to be disappointing to let in two against a team that came into the match with six goals across 10 games. That’s three straight without a win now since beating Washington and Utah, and looking like a threat to the top sides in the league. They probably deserve some leeway while Straus gets settled. That said, this weekend’s home match against the Courage looms large with a visit to Kansas City, followed by Summer break.

Bay FC (4-4-3, 15 pts; vs Thorns, 1-0): Bay started Jordan Brewster at center back next to Abby Dahlkemper, and pitched a shutout over the Thorns. The goal was a blistering shot from outside back Alyssa Malonson. Asisat Oshoala started for the first time since April 13 but was not involved in the goal. She was also replaced by Racheal Kundananji in a reverse of recent sub trends, suggesting that Albertin Montoya has abandoned the idea of playing them together.

North Carolina Courage (3-5-3, 12 pts; @ Spirit, 1-3): A decisive loss in Washington shows that the Courage are not where they were last year in comparison to the top teams in the league. Manaka Matsukubo’s goal was one of the great finishes of the season, and the Courage did force Aubrey Kingsbury into seven saves, plus there was a defensive goal line clearance. But straight up, this team is not as good as last year. Best wishes to head coach Sean Nahas, who missed the match for medical reasons.

NJ/NY Gotham FC (3-5-3, 12 pts, vs Current, 1-2): Winning Concacaf did not translate into league play for Gotham. They went in an early hole on a rare blunder by Emily Sonnett and were 2-0 down before a quarter hour. They did rally and push late, and it looked like Sonnett and Esther had both scored second-half goals only to have them called back for a push and offside, respectively. Rose Lavelle returned, though, and she is a player Gotham will need to jump to the right side of the playoff bubble.

Swimming upstream

Houston Dash (3-6-2, 11 pts; @ Pride, 0-1): It would have been a strong result to pull off the scoreless draw in Orlando. It came down to the last moment and it was veteran Sophie Schmidt who raced across to try to block Cory Dyke’s shot. The ball grazed Schmidt. Was that enough to allude Abby Smith? We’ll never know.

Chicago Stars FC (1-8-2, 5 pts, @ Angel City, 2-2): A draw at Angel City is not a terrible result for a team at the bottom of the table. Perhaps Ally Schlegel’s laser goal will get her going. But the Stars are winless under interim coach Masaki Hemmi, and see the Royals blurb above about their playoff status. They host the Reign Saturday as part of a doubleheader at Soldier Field. Considering they don’t have a point at SeakGeek yet, maybe the alternate venue will unlock something.

Utah Royals FC (1-8-2, 5 pts; @ Louisville, 2-3): They got an early gift to lead Louisville, fought back to tie it after going down 2-1, but could not hold off the last surge after Ana Tejada’s second booking ended her night after 73 minutes. The season is two games from its midway point (in terms of games played as well as the actual break), and the Royals are already 10 points out of the playoffs. That’s twice as many as they have in 11 games.