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USWNT Rewind: NWSL Returns to Action, Champions League Group Stage Underway

The day after celebrating her 22nd birthday, USWNT midfielder Catarina Macario continued her fine run of form, scoring for Olympique Lyonnais in the club’s 3-0 victory over Swedish side BK Häcken in the opening match of the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage. Macario, who now has six goals in her last six games across all competitions for Lyon, doubled OL’s advantage in the 48th minute with a well-struck right-footed half-volley. Lyon continues Group D play on October 14, hosting Portuguese club Benfica.

 


WATCH: Macario Scores With Stellar Strike

 



In Group C action, Tobin Heath and Arsenal fell on the road to reigning champions Barcelona, 4-1. Coming on in the 55th minute with Arsenal trailing 3-0, Heath assisted the Gunners’ lone goal of the day, serving in an excellent free kick in the 74th minute that was finished by Norwegian international Frida Maanum.

 


WATCH: Heath Dials Up Assist for Arsenal



 

Arsenal returned to league action on Sunday, hosting Everton. Heath started and played 63 minutes as the Gunners won 3-0 to remain atop the FA WSL standings with five wins in five games on the young season.

With less than a month to go in the regular season, the NWSL resumed play with every game featuring a stoppage of play in the sixth minute for a moment of solidarity and strength organized by the NWSL Players Association.

 

Despite a winless week, the Portland Thorns became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2021 NWSL Playoffs and remain atop the table with 39 points through 21 matches. However, the Thorns suffered just their second home loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling to the Houston Dash, 3-2, in a spirited showdown. The visitors from Houston opened the scoring in the 18th minute and doubled their advantage after a goal by USWNT midfielder Kristie Mewis in the 23rd. Portland drew one back in the 30th minute with a goal by Canadian international Christine Sinclair, assisted by the USA’s Lindsey Horan. The Thorns tied the game in the 57th minute as Sophia Smith scored her seventh goal of the season, finishing a perfectly played through ball from Horan. However, Houston would have the final word as England international Rachel Daly scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 79th to give the visitors all three points.



WATCH: Smith Scores Through Traffic for Thorns

 

 

 

Portland would claim a point over the weekend, playing Kansas City to a scoreless draw on Sunday at Legends Field. Goalkeeper and Kansas native Adrianna Franch made two saves in the shutout for the home side while Becky Sauerbrunn (90 minutes), Horan (79), Smith (61) and Crystal Dunn (61) all saw significant action for the visiting Thorns.



WATCH: Franch Keeps Clean Sheet in KC

 

 

 

OL Reign also punched its ticket to the playoffs, courtesy of a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday night at Cheney Stadium. Mallory Pugh put the visiting Red Stars out in front in the 14th minute with her fourth goal of the season, but the Reign responded with two brilliants strikes by Jess Fishlock to reclaim the lead before halftime. In the 51st minute, Rose Lavelle added to the Reign’s advantage with her first goal from the club, rifling a left-footed shot into the upper netting from just outside the penalty area. Chicago pulled one back in the 69th minute but it was not enough to stymie the Reign, who now sit second in the standings, just one point back of their Pacific Northwest rivals Portland.

 


WATCH: Lavelle Scores Left-Footed Laser

 


 

Winners of three straight and unbeaten in their last five games, the Houston Dash moved into third place with an emphatic 4-1 win over the North Carolina Courage on Sunday. Jessica McDonald scored for the visiting Courage in the fourth minute, but from there it was all Houston, as the Dash scored four unanswered goals to secure the victory and an all-important head-to-head tiebreaker over the Courage in the standings. Kristie Mewis played 85 minutes and tallied her fourth assist of the season for the Dash, while Jane Campbell made a pair of saves in the victory. Lynn Williams went 75 minutes for the Courage.

 

North Carolina remains in position to host a first-round playoff match, currently sitting in fourth with 32 points from 21 games. The Courage opened the week with a 3-1 victory over Racing Louisville. Williams scored the opening goal of the game for North Carolina, putting away a rebound in the 14th minute for her seventh tally of the year.

 

 

WATCH: Williams Opens Scoring for North Carolina

 

 

 

 

The final two spots in the postseason are currently held by the Washington Spirit (30 points) and NJ/NY Gotham FC (29 points; +5 goal differential) in fifth and sixth place, respectively, though the Chicago Red Stars (29 points; -3 goal differential) and Orlando Pride (28 points) remain very much in contention.

Gotham and the Spirit squared off midweek at Subaru Park – home of the MLS’s Philadelphia Union --  playing to a scoreless draw in a match that was moved to the area to honor retiring local and USWNT legend Carli Lloyd, who is playing the last matches of her professional soccer career. 

Despite the deadlock on Wednesday’s clash just outside of Philadelphia, both teams erupted for multiple goals in their games on Saturday.

The Spirit blanked Racing Louisville, 3-0, at Audi Field, led by a brace from Ashley Hatch and a well-taken penalty from captain Andi Sullivan. Sullivan played 62 minutes in the victory while Emily Sonnett (90 minutes) and Kelley O’Hara (69) also helped lead Washington to the clean sheet.

In perhaps the most thrilling match of the weekend, Gotham took all three points on Saturday with a 3-2 road win over Orlando. French international Gaetane Thiney put the visitors in front with two impressive strikes and Gotham extended its lead to 3-0 in the 50th minute after Margaret Purce scored her sixth goal of the season following a brilliant team buildup. However, the Pride came roaring back with two goals in the final 10 minutes – the first an Erika Tymrak score in the 84th minute assisted by Alex Morgan and a penalty kick by Marta in the 89th.

 

 

WATCH: Purce Goal Punctuates Team Build by Gotham

 

 

The full NWSL standings can be found here.

Information on upcoming matches featuring U.S. Women’s National Team players can be found below. All times listed are ET.

 

Wednesday, October 13

North Carolina Courage vs. Washington Spirit

NWSL

7:30 p.m.

Paramount+

Chicago Red Stars vs. Orlando Pride

NWSL

8:00 p.m.

Twitch

Kansas City vs. Houston Dash

NWSL

8:00 p.m.

Paramount+

Portland Thorns FC vs OL Reign

NWSL

10:30 p.m.

Paramount+

Thursday, October 14

Arsenal vs. Hoffenheim

UEFA Women’s Champions League – Group C

3:00 p.m.

DAZN

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Benfica

UEFA Women’s Champions League – Group D

3:00 p.m.

DAZN

Saturday, October 16

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Montpellier

D1 Féminine

2:00 p.m.

AtaFootball.com

Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride

NWSL

7:30 p.m.

Paramount+

Chicago Red Stars vs. Kansas City

NWSL

7:30 p.m.

Paramount+

OL Reign vs. Washington Spirit

NWSL

10:00 p.m.

Paramount+

Sunday, October 17

North Carolina Courage vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC

NWSL

2:00 p.m.

CBS Sports Network

Houston Dash vs. Portland Thorns FC

NWSL

7:00 p.m.

Paramount+

Go Deeper

WNT