Photo Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images
After a busy Friday night, the National Women’s Soccer League spread the weekend’s other four games out across Saturday and Sunday. Saturday featured two one-sided, high-scoring affairs as North Carolina defeated Chicago 4-0, then Denver downed Orlando 3-1. On Sunday, Portland played Angel City to a scoreless draw before Utah earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Racing Louisville.
Ashley Sanchez continues standout season
The North Carolina Courage put on an outstanding second half performance against the Chicago Stars on Saturday in front of a sold-out First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, powered by a goal and assist from Ashley Sanchez. The sell-out followed a sell-out on May 2, completing the first back-to-back sell-outs in club history. The announced attendance of 10,023 also marks the fifth-largest crowd in club history. The attendance on May 2 was 10,031.
Evelyn Ijeh broke the deadlock in the 47th minute with her first goal in a Courage shirt since joining the team during the offseason via a transfer from Italian club AC Milan. It was Sanchez’s first significant contribution on the night as Ijeh headed home Sanchez’s cross from the left wing.
Sanchez then doubled the Courage’s advantage in the 61st minute, finishing off a chance in the box after Ijeh kept the play alive in a dangerous area. The goal was Sanchez’s sixth of the season, setting a new career high for the Courage midfielder and keeping her alone in second place in the Golden Boot race, behind Barbra Banda.
Ally Schlegel bagged a third for the Courage in the 65th minute as she connected on a cross-box pass from Manaka Matsukubo to score her first goal in a Courage jersey. Schlegel joined the Courage in the offseason as a free agent from Chicago. Manaka would put icing on the cake, scoring North Carolina’s fourth off an assist from Shinomi Koyama for her fourth goal of the season.
Mallory Swanson officially returns, but Alyssa Naeher leaves injured
Mallory Swanson officially made her return from maternity leave when she entered the match Saturday in the 76th minute after being placed back on the active roster the day before. Swanson had last played 554 days prior, in a postseason match at Orlando on November 8, 2024. She gave birth to her daughter, Josie James Swanson, in November 2025.
“I don’t feel like it was journey to the finish line; I feel like it was a journey to the start line almost,” Swanson told reporters after the match. “Just because I feel like I’m a whole new person.”
Unfortunately, on the other end of the pitch, the Chicago Stars lost goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to a suspected hamstring injury. Naeher had to be subbed out in the 21st minute and was replaced by goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz, her first appearance for the Stars this season after four appearances back in 2024.
Janine Sonis leads Denver to first home win in franchise history
Denver Summit FC earned its first home victory in franchise history with a 3-1 defeat of the Orlando Pride, also giving Denver its first back-to-back victories.
Defender Eva Gaetino scored her first career goal in the 10th minute, Denver’s earliest goal of the season. The Summit would build on their lead in the 54th minute with a penalty kick converted by hometown hero Janine Sonis. It was Denver’s first PK taken and the first spot kick attempt of Sonis’s NWSL career.
A 63rd-minute red card to Angelina after VAR spotted a hair pull only made things worse for Orlando, even though Barbra Banda was able to pull a goal back in the 76th minute.
In the 77th minute, Sonis scored again, earning her second consecutive brace. She is the third NWSL player this season with multiple braces (joining Banda and Kiki Van Zanten) and just the second (behind Temwa Chawinga) to score multiple goals in back-to-back games this season, putting Sonis in elite company.
Barbra Banda continues near goal-a-game pace
Despite the disappointing result for Orlando, Banda continued her unmatched scoring pace with her ninth goal in 10 games played this season. The Pride forward continues to control the Golden Boot race, with Sanchez the closest behind her on six goals, Chawinga with five, and several other players with four.
The 3-5-2 Pride, however, urgently need someone besides Banda to step up and help the scoring efforts. Only one other Orlando player has more than one goal on the season — Haley McCutcheon —who has scored twice. Three players have scored once — Marta, Hannah Anderson, and Lizbeth Ovalle — and that is it for Orlando’s scorers in 2026.
Portland remains unbeaten at home in Angel City’s first tie of season
The Portland Thorns remain unbeaten at Providence Park after battling to a scoreless draw with Angel City FC on Sunday afternoon. The Thorns have yet to concede a goal at home, extending their ongoing home shutout streak to six games dating back to November 2025.
On the other side, Angel City became the first team to take points off Portland at Providence Park this season, with the Thorns having won all three of their previous home matches.
Utah Royals’ unbeaten streak extends to eight games
The Royals got on the scoreboard first when, in the 22nd minute, Lauren Milliet attempted to clear Paige Cronin’s shot from the goal line and ended up sending the ball into the back of the net, giving the home side the lead. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Cronin was subbed out of the match due to injury.
Louisville equalized in the 67th minute, snapping Utah’s 536-minute shutout streak. But Utah would only take about 10 minutes to find a go-ahead goal through Mina Tanaka and extend their unbeaten streak.
