Hope in Houston, disappointing draws – Equalizer Soccer

The opening week of the National Women’s Soccer League season is in the books. The reigning champs came flying out of the gate and the two teams most often picked to challenge them also claimed wins. Elsewhere, the Dash showed promise in defeat and several teams made average showings in 1-1 draws.

Here’s how they stack up this week. And remember, you can hit me up with your disagreement @thedanlauletta on both X and BlueSky.

It’s good to get a win

Orlando Pride (1-0-0, 3 pts; d. Stars, 6-0): Not much to say about the Pride who came out like gangbusters and whomped the Stars in an impressive start to their title defense. The only thing you can possibly say negatively about the performance is that they were not offered enough resistance and did not have to fight for much. Extremely impressive performance.

Kansas City Current (1-0-0, 3 pts; d. Thorns, 3-1): It wasn’t last year’s 5-4 jamboree, but the Current scored early again and were never in too much trouble in an opening day win at CPKC Stadium. Temwa Chawinga looked as good as ever, but the best news of all was how healthy and vibrant Debinha looked. She and Chawinga play together like long-lost sisters. A few cracks surfaced defensively but Lorena looked solid in her NWSL debut in goal.

Washington Spirit (1-0-0, 3 pts; d. Dash, 2-1): This may be a game we look back on this summer and consider the Spirit lucky to have taken 3 points out of. The Dash gave the recently crowned Challenge Cup winners all they could handle — and could’ve been level at halftime instead of 2-0 down. The more points the Spirit can collect before they get whole, the better.

A draw serves ‘em well

Racing Louisville FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Courage, 1-1): Home draws when you take the lead are rarely considered positive results, but this one was against a top side in brutal conditions in front of basically empty stands. When the Courage pushed late, Racing held steady. That’s not something they have historically done so well.

Angel City FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Wave, 1-1): Angel City are here mostly because they squeaked out a draw while playing defense-optional soccer for the opening 30 minutes. Whatever the result though, the tenor of the season changed the night before the match when Sydney Leroux announced she has stepped away from soccer to focus on her mental health. When the game came around, Christen Press never got off the bench even as Angel City hunted for a game-winning goal. Good result, but ominous days. If 19,728 were really at BMO Stadium, many of them did a good job playing hide-and-seek from the stands.

San Diego Wave FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Angel City, 1-1): The Wave are now a team in the throes of a massive transition, so opening the season with an away draw against a rival is never going to be a bad way to open the season. Bigger picture, Gia Corley scored on her debut, Delphine Cascarino was impressive and teenager Melanie Barcenas showed some positive signs as a second-half sub.

Bay FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Royals, 1-1): Like it or not, results tend to gloss over off-field turmoil. Days after Albertin Montoya stonewalled questions about an investigation about is interactions with players, he ran out a three-back, and his side took the physical initiative in a season-opening, 1-1 draw at highly-touted Utah Royals. And since when does KiKi Pickett hit golazos?

The more disappointing draws

North Carolina Courage (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Louisville, 1-1): The Courage are likely relieved to get this result in an away match played mostly in heavy rain after a multiple-hour lightning delay. But they were too stagnant at times and allowed Racing to take Jaedyn Shaw out of the match too often. And as Sean Nahas said, “We play a certain brand and it’s not going to be perfect all the time.”

NJ/NY Gotham FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Reign, 1-1): Gotham threw rookie Sarah Schupansky to the wolves, starting her in midfield and asking her to shoulder dead-ball responsibilities including corner kicks. She was more than up to the task, even earning Player of the Match. Gotham did lose Mandy Freeman to a late red card and were lucky Jaelin Howell was spared in the same fate on her debut for the club.

Seattle Reign FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Gotham, 1-1): The club’s most important acquisition, Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams) was a spectator for her first match due to a lower leg injury. Even without her, the Reign need to figure out how to win again following a terribly disappointing 2024. And even without Williams, it felt like this one was there for them.

Utah Royals FC (0-0-1, 1 pts, vs Bay, 1-1): The home-opening draw against Bay can’t be considered anything other than a disappointment. Perhaps surprised by Bay’s formation, it took the Royals a bit to settle into the match. The keeper assist to Bianca St George was cool but it won’t be the way to create consistent offense. Ally Sentnor spent too much time dribbling into defenders and not enough time holding up play to wait for her teammates.

We can live with this loss

Houston Dash (0-0-1, 0 pts, l. Spirit, 1-2): No one wants to lose but at least the Dash resembled a cohesive team that could attack and defend. Maggie Graham became the NWSL’s 100th player across all competitions and scored the first Dash goal of the season. Long way to go but the trajectory is pointing higher than it did at any point in 2024.

What in the…

Portland Thorns FC (0-1-0, 0 pts, l. Current, 1-3): Yes, if Olivia Moultrie converted her penalty, it would have been 3-2 with about 15 minutes of game action left. But the Thorns were second-best to the Current and have a ton of work to do defensively. As it looks for the moment, any team that sets up in a semi-aggressive midblock is going to turn them overly regularly out of their build.

Chicago Stars FC (0-1-0, 0 pts, l. Pride, 0-6): In 2021, the then-Red Stars dropped their season-opener 5-0 in Portland and lost Julie Ertz to what turned out to be a season-ending injury. That team recovered to go all the way to the NWSL Championship. That’s about the only positive spin to be found on this one. It was an otherwise dreadful showing in which they were outplayed in every feasible facet of the game.

The Expansion Sisters

Boston: That’s right, it’s not BOS Nation FC anymore. The club announced Friday night that it was doing away with the much-maligned name and will announce a new one soon. This week, litigation begins that the team hopes will clear the way for renovations at White Stadium ahead of next Spring’s debut.

Denver: All’s quiet on the Denver front but there should be some announcements coming sooner than later for the league’s 16th club.