NWSL Week 12

The schedule structure shifts to weekends only for the rest of this month. We begin with four Saturday games, the first one listed being...

The Washington Spirit hosting the Chicago Red Stars. Michele Dalton and Kelsey Wys are the backups in goal. Here's the game. Christine Nairn tried a ball toward Francisca Ordega in the third minute for Washington, but Sam Johnson picked it off for Chicago. The Red Stars' Casey Short took a shot after going around the Spirit's Alyssa Kleiner, but Wys was there in the fourth minute for a save. Cali Farquharson took a cross in the fifth minute, which deflected out for a Spirit corner kick thanks to Chicago's Katie Naughton. Nairn's service for Washington dropped to Ordega, whose shot was deflected out for another corner kick. Nairn tried again in the sixth minute and the low service was cleared by Vanessa DiBernardo. Tori Huster made a good block on a Short pass in the eighth minute to give the Spirit possession in the midfield. Arin Gilliland of Chicago took the ball out wide but lost it to Caprice Dydasco of Washington in the tenth minute. Alyssa Mautz tried to pick out Short in the eleventh minute, but the ball ran too close to Wys, who picked it up. Megan Oyster blocked a shot by Gilliland in the thirteenth minute, giving Chicago a corner kick. DiBernardo handled the service on this set piece, going short for Danielle Colaprico, and then Estefania Banini blocked it. Gilliland put it into the mix, but the Red Stars got caught offside in the cluster. Short stole a pass from Kleiner to Farquharson on the left wing of the Washington formation. Sam Johnson fouled Ordega just outside the box in the fifteenth minute, and Nairn served up the free kick. DiBernardo made the clear on the play. Ordega had a cross blocked by Sam Johnson in the sixteenth minute as Washington shows some pressure. A Chicago attack in the seventeenth minute died as Sofia Huerta was called for a handball. Huerta got called offside on a deep ball from Naughton in the nineteenth minute. Washington made it 1-0 with a give-and-go between Ordega and Banini, with the latter getting the goal on a low shot that got around the hand of Dalton after the return pass. Nairn helped earlier in the play from the midfield as the left flank took control of the play. DiBernardo took a pass from Amanda Da Costa in the twenty-second minute before crossing it in, with Wys making the grab as Estelle Johnson shielded it. Huerta tracked down a ball from Naughton and won a corner kick off of Oyster in the twenty-fifth minute. DiBernardo did the service, going to Mautz, who headed it right at Wys. Taylor Comeau made an attack against Dydasco in the twenty-sixth minute, but the Spirit defender guarded it out for a goal kick. Huerta got around Dydasco in the twenty-seventh minute, but her pass went to Huster, who cleared for Washington out to Ordega. Farquharson had a cross toward Banini, but it was sent away and the Red Stars took over in the twenty-seventh minute. Kleiner got the ball and crossed into Ordega, who ran a bit too hard at Naughton and committed a foul. Dalton would have saved it anyway in the twenty-ninth minute. Kleiner made a block on a pass from Da Costa toward Mautz. Dydasco blocked the throw-in away from Huerta to give Washington possession. The heat in the region caused a water break in the thirty-first minute. Ordega made a good steal on DiBernardo, and then passed to Banini to break pressure. Gilliland had a nice cross in the thirty-fifth minute, which DiBernardo headed wide right for Chicago as they search for a goal. Short's cross ran too long for Mautz or Huerta to get to, and Dydasco tracked it down in the thirty-seventh minute for the Spirit. Estelle Johnson cleaned up a heavy touch from Short as she went against Kleiner again in the thirty-eighth minute. Short had another shot, and Wys made the save on the the right post as one faces goal. In the forty-first minute, Mautz fouled Banini as the Washington forward tried a nutmeg, and Mautz took a yellow card for it. Mautz took a shot after Gilliland and Comeau strung passes together in the forty-fifth minute for Chicago. Wys made the save even as DiBernardo charged near her around Estelle Johnson. Colaprico's pass to Mautz was cleared away by Kleiner in stoppage time. Colaprico and Ordega battled a bit, with Colaprico eventually making the steal. The game went into halftime at 1-0. The Red Stars' top players were CB Johnson, RB Short, DM DiBernardo, RW Mautz, and LF Huerta, while the Spirit's best efforts came from GK Wys, CB Oyster, DCM Huster, LW Nairn, CF Ordega, and LF Banini. In the forty-seventh minute, Ordega took a yellow card for her foul on Sam Johnson. Short got the best of Kleiner in the forty-eighth minute as the Spirit have looked like the stronger team early in the second half. DiBernardo lost control of Short's cross, and Nairn charged for Washington. Gilliland made a block on the other side in the fiftieth minute as Ordega looked to cross, creating a Spirit corner kick. Nairn served it in where DiBernardo cleared it. Nairn sent it back in, and it went over Huster's head and out to turn it over to Chicago. Banini tried to flick a ball over Jen Hoy after it bounced to her from Huster after a free kick by Nairn. Joanna Lohman finally had a shot in the fifty-third minute for the Spirit, but Red Stars keeper Dalton made the save. Ordega went head-to-head against Naughton in the fifty-fifth minute, and then dropped back to Lohman, who fired wide right as the Spirit buzz around the net. Farquharson did her defensive duty against Gilliland and DiBernardo on Chicago's left wing side. Ordega won a corner kick in the fifty-eighth minute, and Nairn took the service, which went over Lohman's head and out of bounds. Huerta made a big run before laying off to Jannelle Flaws, who crossed it in for Gilliland. Wys just parried it away, and then Estelle Johnson's clearance bounced off of DiBernardo, who went down shaken up. Ordega lost a ball to Johnson and Naughton in the sixty-third minute after the injury delay. Flaws couldn't quite get to a service in the sixty-third minute. Naughton deflected a cross from Cheyna Williams toward Lohman and Banini as Washington remains strong in the attack in the sixty-fifth minute. Dydasco took a shot from deep, and Dalton made a leaping punch for the save and a Spirit corner kick. Nairn's service went to Lohman before Naughton gained it. Ordega and Williams tried to keep it onside, but couldn't and the Red Stars took the ball. Williams crossed into the box in the sixty-eighth minute, and Dalton bobbled it, but Gilliland got it out safely for the Red Stars to deny Lohman a shooting chance. Naughton surrendered a corner kick on a Banini run in the sixty-eighth minute. Nairn did the service again, going for Lohman but punched by Dalton out wide. Flaws sent a Banini cross away. Nairn took a deep shot in the seventieth minute that went wide left. On the other side, Oyster blocked a shot from Comeau. Williams and Ordega combined in the seventy-first minute, with the latter also shooting wide left. Williams knocked a cross off of Gilliland in the seventy-third minute, giving the Spirit another corner kick. Nairn took the service in the seventy-fourth minute, and the substitute Katie Stengel put the ball in the net on her first touch, giving Washington a 2-0 lead. The water break came in the seventy-sixth minute. Kleiner's seventy-ninth minute cross was caught by Dalton, and the Spirit look to clamp down to see this game out. In the eightieth minute, Stengel sent one in for Williams, who headed it wide right. Comeau made a good disruption against Williams in the eighty-second minute. DiBernardo ripped a shot wide left in the eighty-fourth minute after Huerta lost the ball against Estelle Johnson. In the eighty-fifth minute, DiBernardo's free kick fell harmlessly to Wys as the Red Stars are probing for a goal. Huster headed out a Gilliland cross in the eighty-sixth minute. Banini got the ball in the box but lost control for the Spirit, allowing Dalton to grab it up. Dydasco blocked out Gilliland's cross, giving the Red Stars a corner kick. DiBernardo served it in for Huerta, but Estelle Johnson got it away. She was hurt on the play, and had to come out, leaving the Spirit to play a plethora of stoppage time shorthanded. DiBernardo's corner kick fell to Johnson, who ripped a shot into a mass of players as the Red Stars are running out of time. Gilliland had a through ball to Flaws blocked away be Whitney Church deep into stoppage time. Dydasco broke up Gilliland's run but gave Chicago a corner kick, which DiBernardo put in for Gilliland. It fell to Flaws, whose shot was deflected. Church finally cleared it, securing the 2-0 win for the Spirit. The Outsider Sports Woman of the Match is Banini for her goal. Also impressing in the second half for the Spirit were the RW Lohman and sub CF Stengel, while the Red Stars saw better efforts from the LB Gilliland.

Kicking off at the same time, the Western New York Flash welcome the Seattle Reign to Frontier Field, a baseball stadium in Rochester. Haley Kopmeyer and Katelyn Rowland protect the nets. The game can be found at the link. Seattle's Kim Little had a dangerous chance in the second minute, crossing in front of goal, but Manon Melis couldn't get a touch on it. The camera angle and quality makes it difficult to pick out player numbers. Makenzy Doniak had a cross bounce off of a Reign player for a corner kick. Abby Dahlkemper went short for Lianne Sanderson, who sent it in and the Western New York Flash had dangerous chances. Elli Reed made the first clearance, and the crossbar saved the second effort. Nahomi Kawasumi tried a cross in the fifth minute for the Reign, who tried to find Beverly Yanez. Doniak and Abby Erceg tried a few balls toward goal in the sixth minute. Reed tried to find Melis in the seventh minute, but Rowland grabbed it. Jess Fishlock went long in the ninth minute, but again Rowland was there for the Flash. Keelin Winters couldn't connect with Melis in the tenth minute, as the Reign have had more dangerous chances so far. Jaelene Hinkle, Sanderson, Jessica McDonald, and Lynn Williams strung passes together, but the last one was offside for the Flash. Doniak saw a cross run long and out of bounds for Western New York in the thirteenth minute. Kendall Fletcher's fourteenth minute long ball was sent away by Dahlkemper, but Melis had a shot on the rebound and went wide right. Lauren Barnes of Seattle saw Western New York's Courtney Niemiec block a cross. Fishlock and Reed cleared a McDonald long throw in the nineteenth minute. Yanez tried to cross into the box, but Dahlkemper was there, and the Flash defender cleared another effort from Little soon after. McCall Zerboni saw a twentieth minute cross caught by Kopmeyer. Sanderson and Barnes collided in the box, allowing the ball to harmlessly roll to Kopmeyer in the twenty-first minute. Fishlock rocked a shot for Seattle on the other side, but Rowland caught it cleanly for the save. In the twenty-second minute, the Reign scored as Melis sent the ball across goal, where Kawasumi got past Hinkle and scored to make it 1-0. Dahlkemper and Niemiec also failed to disrupt the play for Western New York. Barnes cleared Sanderson's twenty-fourth minute was blocked by Barnes. The Reign broke out with Fishlock passing to Little, who didn't shoot, and Elizabeth Eddy shut it down defensively for the Flash. Rachel Corsie broke up McDonald's flick in the twenty-sixth minute. Doniak had a pair of crosses in the thirtieth minute fail to find a teammate. Barnes and Sanderson had a battle at the top of the box, with Seattle's Barnes getting the best of it. Barnes had a through ball blocked by Doniak in the thirty-fourth minute. Doniak capitalized on Barnes' trip, passing into Williams, who shot just wide left of the goal in the thirty-sixth minute. Zerboni got around Winters in the thirty-seventh minute, but Williams was offside. McDonald had a thirty-eighth minute long throw toward Erceg that saw Kopmeyer go down with an injury. She stayed down for a significant period of time. The call on the play was initially no goal, but the ruling was reversed in the forty-fifth minute after Kopmeyer was replaced by Andi Tostanoski, the backup goalie. The goal was officially credited in the thirty-ninth minute, making it 1-1. The injury to Kopmeyer appears to be a left ankle. Ultimately, nine minutes of stoppage time were put on the board. Williams crossed into Doniak in stoppage time, and Sanderson eventually got a shot blocked. McDonald had another long throw, and Erceg popped up again, this one with her foot as Tostanoski missed the punch. Western New York now leads 2-1. Barnes had a shot-cross land in Rowland's arms. Kawasumi had a corner kick that was deflected to Melis, who shot way high. Tostanoski grabbed a through ball from Zerboni. Kawasumi got caught offside as Seattle played forward. The game went into halftime at 2-1, with the Flash's top players being CB Dahlkemper, DMs Erceg and Sanderson, RW Doniak, and LF McDonald, while the Reign's best were the LB Barnes, RB Reed, RW Fishlock, RF Kawasumi, and CF Melis. McDonald's forty-seventh minute shot for Western New York was saved by Tostanoski as the forward danced around Reed and Rachel Corsie. Dahlkemper cleared Fishlock's offering for Melis in the forty-eighth minute. Hinkle got a ball up to McDonald, but Tostanoski and Corsie combined to break up the play. McDonald went down with a knock. Tostanoski failed her clearance, but McDonald did nothing more than deflect it. Corsie broke up a long ball from Zerboni to McDonald in the fifty-first minute. Sanderson fired a shot that Tostanoski saved. Niemiec made two stops on Little in the box in the fifty-second minute. Kawasumi flicked a ball to Yanez, who tried to find Melis, but it went over her head. Little's pass to Yanez got broken up by Niemiec in the fifty-fifth minute. Hinkle disrupted Reed well on the next Reign attack. Yanez sent away the short corner service from Sanderson after the restart by Dahlkemper in the fifty-seventh minute. Williams fired a shot after a Zerboni cross. The rebound off of Tostanoski bounced off of Williams and out for a goal kick for Seattle. Sanderson sent a shot wide left across goal in the sixty-first minute for Western New York after Zerboni broke around Reed and Winters. Sanderson went around Barnes and Fletcher before her narrowly missed shot. Fishlock's shot was blocked by Dahlkemper in the sixty-second minute. Kawasumi's free kick in the sixty-third minute was cleared by McDonald. In the sixty-fourth minute, Winters received a yellow card. Hinkle had a cross caught by Tostanoski in the sixty-fifth minute. Doniak took a shot in the sixty-seventh minute under duress from Seattle sub Merritt Mathias, allowing Tostanoski to make the save. Williams put one into the box, and then Barnes cleared it out in the sixty-eighth minute. Hinkle defended Kawasumi well in the sixty-ninth minute after a cross fell to her. Williams tried to go against Fletcher in the seventy-first minute, but it didn't work. Doniak fired a shot wide left. Kawasumi's seventy-second minute chip-cross into the box was caught by Rowland. Reed had a ball trying to find Mathias that Rowland snagged out of the air. Rumi Utsugi sent one in for Little in the seventy-seventh minute, but it was deflected favorably for the Flash. McDonald crossed into Williams, who shot on goal but Tostanoski made the save again. Sanderson had a shot off-target in the eightieth minute for Western New York. Hinkle took a shot on the free kick in the eighty-first minute, and Tostanoski caught it. After a battle between Hinkle and Mathias left the Reign's forward aggrieved, she received a yellow card for dissent. Erceg flicked a ball up to Williams in the eighty-third minute, as she burned around Tostanoski, and then threaded the shot between the keeper and Fletcher, scoring to make it 3-1 for the Flash. Williams ripped a ball wide right on a pass by McDonald. Little forced Rowland into a stop in the eighty-fifth minute. The Flash had a corner kick in the eighty-seventh minute, going short as they begin to kill the clock. Seattle got one back in stoppage time as Utsugi scored on a header from Yanez after a cross by Kawasumi. This cut it to 3-2. Utsugi and Kawasumi nearly combined again after a Fishlock pass, but it went over the bar. Fletcher kept McDonald away from the ball in stoppage time, after Tostanoski got out of position. The game ended 3-2, with DM Erceg named Outsider Sports Woman of the Match. Also impressing in the second half for the Flash were the LW Zerboni and LF Williams, while sub Utsugi showed well for the Reign in a difficult game. NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush released a statement after the game, acknowledging the issues with the field and vowing to hold the league to a higher standard in the future for alternate venues.

The third game kicking off in the first wave is Sky Blue FC hosting the Houston Dash. Bianca Henninger and Caroline Casey are the gloved women. You can find the game here. Kristin Grubka of Sky Blue fouled Melissa Henderson in the first minute, giving Houston an early free kick. Stephanie Ochs couldn't make anything of it for the Dash. Rachel Daly couldn't find Denise O'Sullivan in the second minute, and Christie Rampone shut it down for Sky Blue. A ball from Becca Moros was just too long for Henderson, and Rampone sent it away. Daly was caught offside in the fourth minute on a pass from O'Sullivan. Sam Kerr had a shot in the sixth minute go over the bar for Sky Blue. Daly and Kealia Ohai connected for the Dash, who got into the box but shot over the frame. Daly got around Rampone in the eighth minute, going give-and-go with Henderson, but Daly whiffed on the shot. Moros tried a ball for Henderson, but it ran long to Casey in the tenth minute. Leah Galton got around Moros and tried to feed Natasha Kai, but Sky Blue's forward was caught offside. Erin Simon had a good steal from O'Sullivan in the twelfth minute for Sky Blue. Ohai just missed getting the ball away from Rampone in the thirteenth minute as Houston has seen most of the offensive possession today. Henderson received a pass from Amber Brooks and crossed across goal in the fifteenth minute, although nothing dangerous happened. On the other side, Kerr couldn't control a cross in from Taylor Lytle for Sky Blue. Lytle saw another cross run long and out of bounds in the sixteenth minute for Sky Blue. Daly tried to loop a ball to Henderson up top, but Grubka sent it out just in time in the seventeenth minute. Ochs made a block against Kerr on a crossing attempt in the nineteenth minute. Lytle and Kai reconnected. Kai's shot went over the goal as Sky Blue had a couple of chances. Erica Skroski put a cross into Kai in the twentieth minute, but Kai was offside and Henninger made the save anyway. O'Sullivan nearly found Ohai, but Skroski got there. Rampone then cleared a Brooks effort going forward. The Dash are still looking like the better team. Kerr made a great effort to keep a ball in bounds and find Lytle, who crossed to Kai, who then dove and sent it wide right for Sky Blue's best effort. Ohai blocked a cross from Kerr and then took the ball for Houston after Sky Blue's Lytle sent it out to the flank. Ochs cleared a free kick that started with Simon. In the twenty-sixth minute, Brooks fouled Raquel Rodriguez, giving Sky Blue a dangerous free kick. Rodriguez took the set piece with a shot that sailed high. Ellie Brush and Galton crashed into each other in the twenty-eighth minute, but nothing was called and the Dash took possession. Ochs flubbed a clearance off of Kerr, but Cari Roccaro sent it away after Lytle got the ball out wide. Ochs won a corner kick off of Skroski in the thirtieth minute, and she took it herself, going for Daly, but picked off by Kai. Ohai battled with Rodriguez in the thirty-second minute, with Ohai whistled for the foul that gave Sky Blue more possession. Kerr's cross went over Galton and Kai on the other end. Rampone nearly turned it over to Daly, but she kept control. Kai was offside for Sky Blue on the ball forward. Ohai worked around Simon to cross into the box, where Sarah Killion of Sky Blue headed it back to Simon for a clearance. Houston then earned a corner kick, taken by Ochs in the thirty-seventh minute for Brooks, who couldn't direct it. Kai was bumped and went down. Kerr made a huge break down the wing before crossing into Galton, who couldn't catch it as it went out of bounds. Killion lobbed a ball forward to Kai in the thirty-ninth minute, and she fired just wide left after running straight at the keeper Henninger. Daly's ball for O'Sullivan in the forty-first minute was steered away by Rampone. Brooks ripped a shot in the forty-second minute for Houston, bouncing it off post. Daly lost the ball to Grubka on the second effort. Roccaro just headed Rampone's cross after a give-and-go with Galton. Ochs then lost the ball out for a corner kick for Sky Blue after Kerr lost it. Killion's corner kick went to Grubka and bounced for a shot by Rampone that she sent wide right. The game went into halftime tied 0-0. The best players for the visiting Dash have been CBs Brush and Roccaro, LB Ochs, LW O'Sullivan, LF Daly, and RF Henderson. Sky Blue's top efforts have come from CB Rampone, DMs Rodriguez and Killion, RW Kerr, ACM Lytle, and striker Kai. Killion tried to lob a ball forward for Sky Blue in the forty-sixth minute, but Kai didn't run onto it. Lytle's forty-eighth minute cross produced a corner kick when Ochs headed it out. Killion served it in but Sky Blue couldn't keep it. O'Sullivan tried a pass for Henderson that Grubka broke up to kill the counterattack. Rodriguez took a shot on a pass from Simon go far wide left. Kerr had a cross in the fifty-first minute that went deflected over the bar by Henninger for a corner kick for Sky Blue. Killion's service went to Kai, which Henninger caught quite easily. Ochs fouled Rodriguez in the fifty-second minute, giving Sky Blue a good free kick. They took it quickly and owned possession. Galton had a shot in the fifty-third minute that Brush blocked after Kai had flicked it onto her. Lytle scored with a deep shot in the fifty-fourth minute after a pass from Killion, making it 1-0 for Sky Blue. In the fifty-fifth minute, Kai received a yellow card for a collision with Roccaro of the Dash. Daly couldn't quite pick out O'Sullivan in the fifty-seventh minute, as Simon intercepted it. Simon saw her fifty-ninth minute cross blocked out by Ochs as the Dash are holding onto a decent defensive shape. Ochs sent another one out for a corner kick for Sky Blue. Killion's sixtieth minute service went to Grubka, but Daly sent it forward. Henderson sent it farther forward, but Casey just beat Ohai to the ball, stemming the danger away for Sky Blue. Daly and O'Sullivan had a weak connection with Simon getting in the way for Sky Blue. Ochs got around Kerr in the sixty-fifth minute and found Daly with a pass, but Daly sent it wide left on the redirect for Houston. Kerr got the ball out wide and found Kai, who left it for Rodriguez, whose shot was blocked by Moros in the box. It looked like a potential handball but wasn't called. Kai had the second effort go weak and picked up by Henninger. Grubka blocked Brooks' flick in the sixty-seventh minute, allowing Casey an easy grab. Galton's sixty-eighth minute cross was caught by Henninger. Ohai saw a free kick in the sixty-ninth minute run just a bit long for Cami Privett, and Casey grabbed it. Daly and Chioma Ubogagu tried to spring a Houston attack before Simon cleared for Sky Blue in the seventieth minute. Killion laid off for a deep shot from Rodriguez that Henninger deflected out for a corner kick in the seventy-first minute. Killion's service went toward Kai but was cleared by Privett. Lytle ripped a shot in the seventy-second minute after Rodriguez lost the ball to Roccaro. Killion served the corner kick for Grubka, who never got a head on it. Kai and Henninger collided and went down in the seventy-third minute on a 50/50 ball. Ubogagu went through Simon and Killion on a seventy-seventh minute run, firing a shot almost too hot to handle for Casey. Lytle put in a through ball for the seventy-eighth minute, which Kerr sent just wide left. Galton's cross to Maya Hayes was broken up by Roccaro in the eightieth minute. Rodriguez saw a through ball to Hayes in the eighty-first minute, and Hayes went around Brush before seeing her shot deflect off Roccaro for a corner kick. Killion's service was eventually cleared by Daly. O'Sullivan passed it on to Ubogagu, who shot on goal and Casey saved it. Moros just intercepted a pass from Hayes looking for Kerr in the eighty-fifth minute. The Dash turned it back up the field and earned a corner kick, which Megan Crosson put into the box and Casey caught. Moros and Rodriguez collided in the eighty-fifth minute, and she had to be helped off, but came back on to keep the Dash at full strength. Roccaro tried to build offense for Houston in stoppage time, seeing two shots blocked. Ubogagu also had a shot blocked. Deep in stoppage time, Rodriguez and Caity Heap got tangled up, giving Houston a free kick despite Heap getting the yellow card. Ubogagu shot on the free kick, and went over the goal. The game ended 1-0 for Sky Blue, with ACM Lytle named Outsider Sports Woman of the Match. No one stood out in the second half.

The nightcap saw the Portland Thorns FC bring in FC Kansas City. Nicole Barnhart and Michelle Betos protect the nets. The game can be found here. Tiffany McCarty had a cross toward Erika Tymrak in the second minute, but couldn't quite find her, and Portland's Shade Pratt cleared. Nadia Nadim tried to flip a ball over Yael Averbuch, but the Thorns striker couldn't prevent Brittany Taylor from getting to it. McKenzie Berryhill had two tries for Portland, with Taylor blocking both, and in the third minute, Taylor kept Hayley Raso away from it after a Dagny Brynjarsdottir through ball. Frances Silva took a shot for the Blues in the fifth minute after Shea Groom left the McCarty cross for her. Mandy Laddish carried from defense to offense to create the chance. Raso's cross for the Thorns in the sixth minute just missed Dagny. Taylor tried to go long for Katie Bowen, but Mallory Weber broke it up for Portland. Brienne Reed had a cross for Kansas City in the eighth minute, with Emily Menges clearing for the Thorns. Berryhill held off Shea Groom just long enough for Betos to grab the ball. Dagny lost the ball to Groom, but Menges got it back from McCarty. Nadim poked a low cross around Taylor in the tenth minute, with Barnhart harmlessly grabbing and giving the Blues possession. Reed got a cross off for Kansas City, which McCarty flicked on and Groom bicycle-kicked wide left. Katherine Reynolds just poked one away from Groom, which caught Tymrak in the hand for a handball. Portland took over in the twelfth minute. Lo'eau LaBonta blocked a Meleana Shim shot after a pass from Raso was poked out by Averbuch. Kansas City won a corner kick thanks to McCarty's work in the thirteenth minute. Tymrak did the service, going for Averbuch but just out of her reach. Pratt cleared a cross from Averbuch on the second effort for the Blues. Tymrak had a cross in the fifteenth minute after going around Weber, but Reynolds and Celeste Boureille cleared. Tymrak got it back and took a shot on goal in the sixteenth minute, which Betos punched out for a corner kick. Boureille failed on defense against Tymrak. Berryhill deflected Tymrak's service, falling to Averbuch who set Laddish up for a wide shot. Kansas City is dominating the offensive chances. Menges made a steal against McCarty in the seventeenth minute. Dagny fouled Laddish in the nineteenth minute, resulting in a good free kick chance for the Blues. Averbuch took the free kick, serving it toward Taylor, but Dagny blocked it and the whistle blew for a foul. Weber couldn't find Nadim or Pratt as LaBonta cleared it. Laddish pounced on Reynolds' mistake, and took a shot, but Betos made the kick save in the twenty-first minute to keep the score level. Kansas City built from the back in the twenty-third minute. McCarty sent in two crosses, one to Tymrak, who hit the post, and then McCarty's second cross around Berryhill found Groom, who headed it down and in past Betos. Kansas City leads 1-0. Averbuch took the ball away from Pratt and Shim in the twenty-sixth minute. Groom and Silva combined for a give-and-go, with Groom firing wide left on the low shot. Kansas City has slowed to a possession game since scoring. Dagny put a header softly into the box, with Barnhart falling on it as Raso charged in the thirty-first minute. Weber made a steal against Tymrak to slow a Blues attack in the thirty-second minute. The Blues had a good play with Reed and McCarty on the right flank of the Kansas City attack, but Laddish's return to that side evaded Reed, giving the Thorns the ball. McCarty fired a shot that Menges blocked out for a corner kick. Tymrak did the set piece in the thirty-fifth minute, and Dagny cleared it. Laddish finally got a shot off for the Blues, which Betos caught cleanly. Pratt got around Bowen in the thirty-seventh minute, shooting on goal and forcing Barnhart to parry it up for a corner kick. Nadim served it toward Berryhill, but Laddish cleared it. Taylor deflected a Raso shot in the fortieth minute as the Thorns have taken some possession recently. Nadim flicked on to Shim, who found Dagny and then dropped back to Boureille. The Thorns never got off a true shot in the forty-first minute. McCarty got around Raso, who stayed down, but Menges mopped up for Portland to prevent the Blues from making the attack dangerous. LaBonta made a good steal from Pratt, also drawing a foul to give Kansas City control. Portland spent some time late in the half in the Blues' defensive third. Raso tried to find Shim, but it didn't work, bouncing out to Dagny, who fired on goal and Barnhart came up with the save. A lazy back pass from Taylor saw Barnhart caught out of position against a charging Nadim, but Averbuch cleaned it up. Kansas City took a 1-0 lead into halftime, with their best performers being GK Barnhart, CBs Averbuch and Taylor, DM Laddish, LW Tymrak, RW McCarty, and striker Groom in a fairly comprehensive performance. For the Thorns, the top players were LB Berryhill, CB Menges, DM Dagny, and striker Nadim. Raso's cross in the forty-seventh minute was cleared by Laddish. Reed couldn't win the ball from Raso, giving the Thorns a goal kick. Reynolds did a free kick in the forty-ninth minute, which Dagny flicked on into the path of Barnhart. Tymrak sent a ball forward in the fiftieth minute, and Silva got a poke on it, sending it just wide left of Betos' net. Silva, Groom, and McCarty combined for a shot that Betos left sitting in the box, and then it was cleared away by Menges. On the counterattack, Reed fouled Raso, and the Blues defender took a yellow card. Nadim served up the free kick for Portland, with Groom heading it away from Berryhill and clear for Kansas City. Averbuch broke up Weber's ball for Dagny, putting McCarty and Raso in a battle for the ball that the Blues came out with. McCarty had two crosses in the fifty-fourth minute, the first blocked by Berryhill and the second find a flying Groom, who headed it to the top left corner to make it 2-0 for Kansas City. LaBonta made a steal from Boureille in the fifty-fifth minute. Groom's cross in the fifty-eighth minute went long, with McCarty bouncing it off of Berryhill for a corner kick. Tymrak served it into Taylor, who headed it wide right. Weber couldn't quite get onto the ball in the sixtieth minute, as Barnhart grabbed up the through ball. Nadim took a yellow card for her sixty-second minute foul on LaBonta. The Blues' free kick came from Bowen and went over the head of Reed. Reed had trouble clearing the ball in the sixty-fourth minute, with Raso being her primary nemesis. This led to the Thorns getting a cross from Dagny to Nadim, but it was caught by Barnhart. LaBonta made a challenge on Raso and won the ball, with a free kick eventually awarded to Kansas City as the game turns physical. Shim took a big shot after Weber beat Bowen to the ball, which Barnhart had to parry out for a corner kick. Nadim went too close to Groom, who cleared it. Nadim had a shot blocked on a pass from Jennifer Skogerboe, and then Boureille lost it out of bounds. Tymrak saw a cross deflected back to her hand, giving the Thorns possession in the sixty-ninth minute. Taylor and Laddish combined to shut down an effort from Raso in the seventy-first minute. Bowen and Silva worked a ball to McCarty, who fired a shot that Betos stopped in the seventy-second minute. LaBonta and Taylor combined to shut down Nadim and then with the help of a mass of Blues teammates, block Boureille's shot. The Thorns had a massive stretch of passes, with nearly every field player getting a touch before Raso's cross bounced off of Reed. Portland got a free kick in the seventy sixth minute, which Nadim served in to Dagny, who tripped and saw Barnhart and Taylor fall out of position. As the ball dribbled toward the end line, Kat Williamson came in and poked it home to cut the game to 2-1. Groom shanked a shot after Silva laid it off for her in the seventy-seventh minute. Portland had a corner kick in the seventy-ninth minute, with Nadim crossing it in, and LaBonta and Laddish clearing before Dagny committed a foul to kill the Thorns attack. Reynolds sent a ball into the box for Nadim in the eighty-second minute, but Barnhart grabbed it. Once again, Portland is making a big late game press after being behind for most of the game. Boureille put Dagny in against Taylor, who cleared it for the Blues. Tymrak and McCarty had an exchange ruined by Menges, who started the eighty-fourth minute Thorns counter. Weber had a weak cross into Barnhart as the Thorns pour crosses and shots on. Sam Lofton of the Thorns lost the ball to McCarty, who worked with Groom a bit before losing it out when Bowen couldn't run it down. Shim took an eighty-seventh minute Portland free kick, which Barnhart punched over Dagny. Lofton rocked a shot right at Barnhart, shooting past Groom. Lofton's cross was headed wide left by Boureille. Nadim found Raso in stoppage time, who went around Bowen and got fouled at the top of the box by Averbuch. The Thorns get one last dangerous free kick that Nadim will take from the left side of the arc. Nadim put it way over the goal. Nadim fed Weber with a flick, and Barnhart just palmed it down. The Blues took the 2-1 victory. The striker Groom was the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match. The Thorns saw growth from ACM Boureille and LW Raso in the second half.

Finally, the Orlando Pride host the Boston Breakers to end the week. Jami Kranich and Kaitlyn Savage are the little-known goalies. You can find the game at this link. Boston's Eunice Beckmann wasted no time in taking a first minute shot well wide left. Mollie Pathman cleared a ball in the box intended for Orlando's Jasmyne Spencer from Becky Edwards. Sam Witteman put a cross in for the Pride in the third minute, which the Breakers' Kassey Kallman cleared easily. Jamia Fields tried to pick out Sarah Hagen, but Kallman blocked it again in the fourth minute as Boston looks good. On the other side in the fifth minute, Orlando had a defensive breakdown. Cami Levin and Savage couldn't corral the through ball Louise Schillgard sent in for Boston, and Pathman scored easily into an empty net for a 1-0 lead. Spencer had a shot blocked by Julie King, and a second effort went out for a goal kick by Boston keeper Kranich. Christen Westphal fouled Fields, giving the Pride a free kick. Kristen Edmonds took the set piece, and Hagen headed it on goal, where Kranich saved it. Maddy Evans made a good interception for Orlando, but Hagen lost control in the tenth minute. Toni Pressley disrupted the run of Boston's Beckmann with a good shove to make the steal. Schillgard had a free kick for the Breakers in the thirteenth minute punched out by Savage. King picked off a pass from Spencer as Orlando looked to build an attack. In the fourteenth minute, Stephanie McCaffrey of Boston fouled Witteman, and the Breakers forward was lucky to avoid a booking. Edmonds put in a quick ball for Spencer, who couldn't get there before Kranich in the fifteenth minute. Evans went too long for Edwards in the eighteenth minute and Kranich sent it back for Boston. Witteman put a ball forward for Edmonds, but Kranich was there again for the Breakers. Evans and Edmonds connected, with the latter shooting and Kranich making the save. Edwards blocked a shot from Schillgard in the twenty-third minute. Spencer won a corner kick for Orlando off of Westphal in the twenty-sixth minute. Edmonds served it for Kaylyn Kyle and missed, and Pressley couldn't track it down. Beckmann countered with a cross in the twenty-seventh minute for Pathman, who just missed poking it on goal. Schillgard then earned a corner kick for the Breakers in the twenty-eighth minute. Schillgard also did the service, going for Kallman, but the Pride stood tall defensively. Pressley nearly lost the ball to Schillgard in the thirtieth minute, but managed to get it back to Savage. Katie Schoepfer's pass to Pathman was picked off by Fields and the Pride gained possession. A lot of the game has been a battle in the midfield. Edmonds had a cross in the thirty-second minute which Kranich caught cleanly. Spencer got tripped by Elby in the thirty-fourth minute, and the Breakers' Elby received a yellow card. The Pride saw a free kick in a good spot for Edmonds, but it got through everyone, and Kranich guarded the net well, with Schoepfer clearing it. Also, Westphal went off injured (unclear how it happened), and Elisa Krieghoff is in the game. Spencer received a ball from Fields, but the Breakers cleared it in the thirty-sixth minute. Pressley made a good steal against McCaffrey in the thirty-seventh minute to break up a Boston attack. Kyle finished the clearance. Edwards put a ball in for Edmonds, and she fired a rocket off the right post, the Pride's best chance to tie it so far. Spencer got around Elby but couldn't do the same to King and lost it, with Kranich taking the goal kick for Boston. Evans got a ball to Fields, but she put the ball way over the goal in the forty-first minute. Edwards passed to Hagen in the forty-second minute but couldn't leave it for a Pride teammate, allowing Boston to clear through King. Krieghoff countered well for the Breakers, giving them some possession in the attacking third. Pathman broke Edmonds' pass for Fields in the forty-fourth minute as the game opened up late in the half. Schillgard made a run in stoppage time that Edmonds disrupted. The game went into halftime with the rarity of a 1-0 Breakers lead. Boston's top players were the GK Kranich, CBs King and Kallman, LB/LW Pathman, LW/LF Beckmann, and RF Schillgard, while the Pride have seen strong play from LB Witteman, CB Kyle, DCM Edwards, RW Edmonds, LW Evans, and outside forwards Spencer and Fields. Orlando got a free kick in the forty-sixth minute, with Edmonds taking the service short for Pressley, who fired wide left. Schillgard sent one for Beckmann, but Levin stepped up to it in the forty-seventh minute. Schillgard's cross was caught by Savage in the forty-eighth minute. Schillgard's cross in deflected off Pressley and dropped to Beckmann, who ripped a ball just slightly high in the forty-ninth minute as the Breakers make a push. In the forty-ninth minute, Schillgard received a yellow card for her foul on Evans. Elby did well to break up a run from Spencer in the fifty-first minute. Evans found Edmonds on a weaving run, and Edmonds fired a shot that Kranich dropped down to save in the fifty-second minute. Schillgard sent a ball into the box in the fifty-third minute, catching King offside as the Breakers were close again. McCaffrey had a bad shot in the fifty-fourth minute after going against Levin of Orlando. McCaffrey and Levin battled again, with the cross cleared by Evans. Boston got a corner kick in the fifty-fifth minute, taken by Schillgard to Kallman. The ball bounced out to Rachel Wood, who shot over the bar. Angela Salem broke up a Fields cross, and a second offering went off Elby and cleared further in due time. King cleared an Edmonds free kick in the fifty-eighth minute for Orlando. King then disrupted a pass from Edwards to Hagen. The Pride saw another free kick in the fifty-ninth minute that saw one Witteman cross cleared by King and the second catching Kyle offside. Fields saw her cross cleared by King in the sixty-first minute, as the Breakers CB is weathering most of this Orlando flurry of action. Witteman cleared a sixty-second minute Kallman free kick, and then Salem took a shot on the second try for Boston, going over the goal. Wood and Evans battled as Boston knocked the ball around starting with Salem, but Wood was called for the foul in the sixty-fourth minute. Spencer countered with a shot for Orlando, but it was too soft and Kranich saved it. Schillgard crossed to McCaffrey in the sixty-fifth minute, and McCaffrey centered it for Beckmann, but she put it way too high. McCaffrey, Krieghoff, and Salem all got touches before Schillgard got around Evans and fired a shot wide left in the sixty-seventh minute. Beckmann quickly won a corner kick off Pressley in the sixty-eighth minute, giving Schillgard a chance to serve in, but Pressley sent it away. Beckmann stole one from Kyle but her pass was too strong for Krieghoff, and Witteman took it for the Pride. Elby fed Beckmann, but Witteman drew a foul in the seventy-fourth minute to give Orlando control. Fields went around King in the seventy-fifth minute, but Kallman and Elby shut it down for the Breakers, who are holding onto the 1-0 lead with about fifteen minutes to go. McCaffrey went out wide for Schillgard, who stayed onside very well, and the cross split between Pride keeper Savage and Beckmann of the Breakers. Dani Weatherholt got a shot after Fields was blocked by Elby on the cross by Levin in the seventy-eighth minute. Kallman did well to block a ball out and keep it away from Spencer in the eightieth minute. Brittany Ratcliffe's pass into the box was a bit too strong for McCaffrey and Savage was there first for the Pride. Wood fouled Weatherholt in the eighty-third minute, giving Orlando a free kick in a dangerous spot as the Breakers are trying to hold on. Pressley took the shot on the set piece, shooting high. Evans had a shot for Orlando in the eighty-fifth minute, which Kranich caught, all after Edmonds tried to get to Spencer and didn't fully succeed on the play. Kyle tried to find Spencer, but King intercepted the pass. Leah Fortune fed Spencer but lost control in the eighty-sixth minute. Orlando is sustaining significant pressure on the Boston defense. Pathman cleared Weatherholt's, springing McCaffrey, who went against Pressley, getting one shot blocked and a second one saved by Savage. Schillgard took the corner kick short to McCaffrey. Ratcliffe put the ball out wide for McCaffrey and she sent it in weakly. On the counterattack, Elby had to foul Edmonds on a break, and it was Elby's second yellow card of the game, earning her an ejection and giving the Breakers a disadvantage with only ten players on the field. The free kick for Orlando in the ninetieth minute belonged to Edmonds, and she scored into the side netting, a perfect free kick to tie the game at 1. Edmonds sprung Spencer, and King fouled her, producing a free kick for Orlando on the other side as King took a yellow card this time. Fortune took the free kick, and she sent it just over the bar. Edmonds set up Pressley for a massive shot saved by Kranich, and then the ball came back and Spencer nearly missed it. On the next foray, the Pride took a 2-1 lead as Fortune flicked a ball in for Edmonds, who chipped it in but collided hard with Kranich, and the keeper took a yellow card. The game ended 2-1, and Edmonds was the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match for her brace in the ninetieth minute and stoppage time.

Outsider Sports NWSL Best XI - Week 12

GK Kelsey Wys
DF Christie Rampone
DF Julie King
DF Stephanie Ochs
DCM Abby Erceg
RW Kristen Edmonds
ACM Taylor Lytle
LW Tiffany McCarty (out of position
RF Estefania Banini
CF Shea Groom
LF Jessica McDonald