USWNT REWIND: Lyon Wins League, Gotham Move To Top Of NWSL Table

For the second consecutive weekend, USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan helped Olympique Lyon hoist a trophy as she played the full 90 minutes in Lyon’s dramatic 1-0 victory over rivals Paris Saint-Germain to help secure the league title.
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For the second consecutive weekend, USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan helped Olympique Lyon hoist a trophy as she played the full 90 minutes in Lyon’s dramatic 1-0 victory over rivals Paris Saint-Germain to help secure the league title. The teams entered the penultimate weekend of league play in France’s Division 1 Féminine separated by just three points. Needing a victory to clinch the title outright, OL did just that, securing its 16th league title with a goal in the 88th minute. With the win, which comes on the heels of OL’s victory over PSG the weekend prior to win the French Cup, Horan has now won four major trophies during her loan spell, winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League last season, the Coupe de France Féminine this season and back-to-back Division 1 Féminine titles.

While the European season nears its end, the NWSL regular season continues to pick up pace, with another weekend of thrilling performances and yet another change atop the league standings. The Washington Spirit entered the weekend in first place and as the lone unbeaten team remaining in NWSL this season. The Spirit then saw their seven-game unbeaten streak – which marked the best start to a season in club history – come to a close on Saturday with a 2-1 road defeat to the Orlando Pride. Tied 1-1 at the half, Orlando scored the decisive goal in the 77th minute off a corner kick to claim all three points and extend its own unbeaten run to four consecutive games.

The Spirit loss provided an opportunity to move up the table and NJ/NY Gotham FC did just that, climbing into first place with an impressive 4-1 road victory over OL Reign on Sunday afternoon. Gotham jumped out to an early lead in Seattle, scoring twice in the first 12 minutes of play. The opening goal was assisted by Kristie Mewis in the 10th minute and Lynn Williams tallied her fifth goal of the season just two minutes later, picking off an errant touch by the OL defense and capitalizing with a low shot across her body. The goal – which came on Williams’ 30th birthday – moved Williams into a tie for first atop the NWSL scoring charts this season and was her sixth goal in the last eight games for Gotham across all competitions.

WATCH: WILLIAMS CELEBRATES WITH BIRTHDAY GOAL


With five wins on the young season (5W-1D-2L), Gotham has already eclipsed its win total from the last season, continuing the club’s remarkable turnaround following its last place finish in 2022. 

Coming off their first loss of the season, the 2022 NWSL Champions Portland Thorns FC rebounded in resounding fashion, downing the visiting Chicago Red Stars 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Providence Park. The Thorns jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three goals in the opening 16 minutes of the game, with goals in the eighth, 14th and 16th minutes. Crystal Dunn continued her stellar start to the 2022 campaign, tallying a goal and assist on the day. Dunn found the back of the net in the 14th minute with a one-time finish from six yards out. It marked her fifth goal of the regular season.

WATCH: DUNN CONTINUES SCORING SPREE FOR THORNS


Two minutes later, Dunn played provider, tallying her first assist of the season when she picked out U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team player Olivia Moultrie with a perfectly clipped ball from the edge of the penalty area. Moultrie deftly finished with a half-volley to give Portland a 3-0 lead. The Thorns scored again in the 48
th minute, capping off the scoring as Sam Coffey tallied her second assist of the afternoon.

Offense was also on full display in Houston where San Diego Wave FC topped the Houston Dash, 3-0. Alex Morgan put San Diego in front in just the second minute, tallying the fastest goal of her professional career as she pounced on an errant back-pass by the Dash defense and scored after a 50/50 challenge with the goalkeeper.

WATCH: MORGAN SCORES IN SECOND MINUTE FOR SAN DIEGO


Leading 1-0 at the half, San Diego scored twice in the second stanza with goals in the 58
th and 79th minutes, the last of which was assisted by Morgan. The 2022 NWSL Golden Boot winner, Morgan is tied with Dunn, Williams and Ashley Hatch for the league lead in scoring with five goals on the season. Morgan is also currently second in the NWSL with seven goal involvements this regular season, with two assist to go along with her five goals.

The North Carolina Courage extended their unbeaten streak to four games, playing Angel City FC to a 0-0 draw on Saturday night in Cary, North Carolina. It also marked the second consecutive clean sheet for Casey Murphy and the Courage backline, which has been buoyed by the off-season addition of Emily Fox.

Racing Louisville FC made it back-to-back wins in league play and registered its third consecutive win across all competitions with a 2-0 win over the Kansas City Current.

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

Friday, May 26
NWSL: Kansas City Current vs. Houston Dash 8:00 p.m. Paramount+
NWSL: San Diego Wave FC vs. Portland Thorns FC 10:00 p.m. Paramount+
Saturday, May 27
D1 Féminine: Olympique Lyon vs. Stade de Reims 11:30 a.m. Ata Football
NWSL: OL Reign vs. Angel City FC 3:30 p.m. Paramount+
NWSL: Racing Louisville FC vs. North Carolina Courage 8:00 p.m. CBS Sports Network
NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. Orlando Pride 8:00 p.m. Paramount+
Sunday, May 28
NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC 5:00 p.m. Paramount+