USWNT Rewind: NWSL Fall Series Enters Homestretch, European Play Heats Up

The NWSL Fall Series continued with four games this week, bookended by a pair of 4-1 affairs. The action started Wednesday evening with a 4-1 win for Portland Thorns FC over OL Reign in a Cascadia Rivalry matchup. Lindsey Horan tallied two assists in the win and pushed her Fall Series assist total to three while fellow U.S. Women’s National Team stalwart Becky Sauerbrunn helped contain the Reign attack during her 45 minutes of action. Portland continued play on Saturday, with a 1-1 draw against Utah Royals FC. The Thorns are the lone unbeaten in the NWSL Fall Series with a record of 2-0-1.

WATCH: HORAN SETS UP SINCLAIR

The Great Horan sets up the GOAT and it's perfect.#PORvRGN | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/2yd3OQxV7u

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 1, 2020

The Washington Spirit became the first club to complete their Fall Series campaign, topping Sky Blue FC, 1-0, on Saturday morning to finish the four-game slate with seven points and a record of 2-1-1.

The Houston Dash closed with weekend with a 4-1 win over the North Carolina Courage. Abby Dahlkemper once again captained the Courage and Lynn Williams scored her second goal of the Fall Series, this one on a nifty looping header, but it was not enough to counteract a dynamic offensive showing from the Dash.

The NWSL Fall Series now enters the penultimate weekend of play, with matchups between the Orlando Pride and Houston Dash (Friday at 5 p.m. ET), Sky Blue FC and Chicago Red Stars (Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET) and OL Reign and Portland Thorns (Saturday at 8 p.m. ET). Visit NWSLSoccer.com for more viewing information.

Over in Europe, Emily Sonnett once again went the distance for Swedish side Koppabergs/Göteborg FC, which rattled off its fourth consecutive victory with a 2-0 win over Umeå on Saturday and moved to the top of the Damallsvenskan standings. Göteborg returns to action on Wednesday, competing in the third round of the Swedish Cup.

 

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Soccer!

A post shared by Emily Sonnett (@emilysonnett) on Sep 25, 2020 at 5:18am PDT

Play resumed in the Barclays’ FA Women’s Super League with four of the league’s five USWNT players seeing action on Sunday. Tobin Heath and Christen Press made their debuts for Manchester United, coming off the bench in a 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. Heath punctuated her first appearance for the club with an assist in the 90^th minute and Press just missed opening her accounting, hit the inside of the right post with a close-range shot.

 

 

3️⃣ #MUWomen debutants ✔️ 😉 https://t.co/T9QEyQgUMw pic.twitter.com/tEK7VwJvnU

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) October 4, 2020

 

 

Samantha Mewis continued her strong run of form for Manchester City, scoring her first WSL goal in the 53^rd minute of the Cityzens’ 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. The game also marked the WSL debut of Rose Lavelle, who came on for Manchester City in the second half. Alex Morgan was not available for Spurs as she continues to work her way to full fitness following the birth of her daughter in May.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham will all be in action on Wednesday as group play begins in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup. WSL play continues on Saturday with Tottenham hosting Manchester United at 7:30 a.m. ET. Manchester City visits defending WSL Champions Chelsea on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET. Most FA WSL matches are available for viewing through The FA Player, with select games also available through NBCSports.com and The NBC Sport App.