The top-flight women's soccer league in the US is back, ready to put the sour taste of the Olympics away with the final push for the club playoffs. We begin the five-game weekend with Friday's match, featuring...
The Orlando Pride hosting the Washington Spirit. Kelsey Wys and Ashlyn Harris are in goal. Here's the game.Washington won a corner kick in the first minute as Cali Farquharson's cross was blocked out of bounds. Christine Nairn's service went to Joanna Lohman, who headed it wide left off a defender. The next corner kick saw Nairn try short and Orlando's Kaylyn Kyle cleared it. Things settled down mostly after this early Spirit attack. Kyle surrendered another corner kick from the Pride, poking it away from Farquharson. Nairn's service in the sixth minute was cleared by Maddy Evans initially and the Pride collectively kept the ball from danger. Cheyna Williams made an attack in the seventh minute for Washington, with Kyle doing enough to disrupt her. Jasmyne Spencer won a ball from Ali Krieger near the end line, and then passed in for Alex Morgan, who laid off for Kristen Edmonds, but she shot over the bar for the Pride. Dunn and Williams tried to combine in the twelfth minute, but it didn't quite work out for Washington. Toni Pressley took an Orlando free kick in the fourteenth minute, which Wys mishandled and Morgan nearly got a poke on before Wys recovered to save the Spirit. Nairn made a steal in the seventeenth minute, going to Farquharson, who tried to pick out Dunn. Krieger had a free kick for the Spirit in the nineteenth minute, finding Farquharson, whose first shot was blocked and her second shot sailed wide left. Kyle and Dani Weatherholt combined to clear a Lohman shot in the twentieth minute. Edmonds tried a shot but whiffed on it, and Lohman made the steal for the Spirit. Cami Levin shut down Williams on her twenty-third minute attack for Washington. Dydasco and Estelle Johnson combined for Washington to block and clear a cross attempt by the Pride's Sam Witteman. Weatherholt's redirected cross in the twenty-seventh minute found Morgan, who headed it on goal and forced Wys into a big save. Edmonds took the corner kick for Orlando in the twenty-seventh minute, and it trickled out to Levin eventually, who shot wide left. Morgan challenged Wys pretty hard in the twenty-eighth minute, but the Washington keeper did enough to get the ball away. Pressley of the Pride fouled Washington's Farquharson in the twenty-ninth minute, earning a yellow card. Nairn's free kick went for goal but was wide right. Edmonds did a free kick in the thirty-second minute for Orlando, cleared immediately by Williams. Harris had to make a save in the thirty-third minute on a hard shot from Nairn. Krieger took a yellow card for a thirty-fourth minute foul on Spencer. Williams couldn't get around Kyle on a Dunn pass in the thirty-sixth minute. Dydasco danced around Weatherholt in the thirty-sixth minute, finding Williams, who also made a move before roofing a shot and giving Washington a 1-0 lead. Nairn's thirty-ninth minute free kick was easily cleared by Kyle of the Pride. Morgan's forty-first minute cross was picked up by Wys after a hop too long for Spencer. Witteman's forty-third minute long ball for Morgan caught the Pride striker offside. Krieger's pass in stoppage time was too much for Dunn to handle, and Harris got there first. The game went into halftime at 1-0, with the best players for the Spirit being LB Dydasco, RB Krieger, LW Nairn, RW Lohman, LF Farquharson, and RF Williams. The Pride's top players are CB Kyle, DM Evans, LW Spencer, and striker Morgan. Dunn tried a cross in the forty-eighth minute a bit too long for any Spirit teammate, allowing Orlando's Levin to clear it. Morgan found Spencer in the fiftieth minute as Orlando started to mount an attack, but no shooting chance occurred. Nairn blocked an Evans pass into the box in the fifty-second minute. The Spirit made it 2-0 with a Nairn goal in the fifty-fifth minute, coming on a passing sequence from Katie Stengel and Williams. In the fifty-ninth minute, Witteman and Morgan connected for a chance, which landed on the top of Wys' net. Dunn, Lohman, and Stengel combined for a chance that forced Harris into a save at her post in the sixty-first minute. Nairn's corner kick didn't cause any trouble. Dunn got fouled by Witteman and Weatherholt just outside the box, giving Nairn a free kick for the Spirit in the sixty-third minute. Stengel managed to direct it just wide left of goal. Evans chipped a shot in the sixty-fourth minute, going wide left of Wys' goal. Whitney Church blocked a Morgan shot in the sixty-eighth minute after Edmonds and Spencer set up shop for the Pride in the box of Washington. Edmonds fed Spencer for a sixty-ninth minute shot that got deflected by Dydasco for an Orlando corner kick. Edmonds' service curled onto the top of the goal. In the seventy-first minute, Levin took a pass from Spencer and crossed it in for Sarah Hagen, and the sub buried it to cut the score to 2-1 on the Pride's first goal of the night. Krieger blocked a Spencer run in the box in the seventy-second minute as Orlando seems to have more confidence. Tori Huster took a shot for Washington that Harris dove to save. Francisca Ordega managed a shot in the seventy-fourth minute for the Spirit. Ordega went around Witteman and tried a cross in the seventy-sixth minute, but she hit the outside netting. Williams had a shot in the seventy-ninth minute go just wide right after she got around Pressley. Kyle poked the ball away from Stengel in the eighty-second minute, giving Washington a corner kick. This didn't produce anything of danger. In the eighty-third minute, Morgan received a ball over the top and shot wide right. Ordega tried a cutback to Stengel in the eighty-fifth minute, which Orlando's Monica broke up. Dydasco blocked a Spencer cross in the eighty-sixth minute. Alyssa Kleiner ripped a shot wide left and low in the eighty-seventh minute for the Spirit. Ordega tried to pick out Kleiner in the eighty-ninth minute, but Levin proved disruptive. Jamia Fields managed a shot in the ninetieth minute for the Pride, caught by Wys for the save. Levin had a cross floated in to Wys' arms. The game ended at 2-1, with Williams the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match. Also impressing was the RB Levin.
On Saturday, the first of three games saw the Seattle Reign FC welcome the Portland Thorns FC in the first of two Cascadia clashes for the cities this weekend (see my MLS post tomorrow for Sounders v. Timbers). Michelle Betos and Haley Kopmeyer protect the nets. You can find the game here. Merritt Mathias finally cleared a third minute Portland attack after Kopmeyer was forced into a save. Jess Fishlock flipped a ball in for Seattle, but it went long in the fourth minute. In the fifth minute, Fishlock's pass for Mathias caught the Reign's forward offside. Beverly Yanez and Rumi Utsugi couldn't quite connect in the seventh minute for Seattle, but they did produce a corner kick. Nahomi Kawasumi served it in, and Kim Little had a couple of chances blocked. Manon Melis saw her shot deflected by Katherine Reynolds to create another corner kick in the eighth minute. The shot from Melis went high and wide. Nadia Nadim had a run in the eleventh minute, taking a pass from the midfield and fired it on goal, which Kopmeyer saved. Melis won a corner kick off of Reynolds in the fourteenth minute. Kawasumi went straight at goal, caught by Betos. Little put a ball in the box in the sixteenth minute, which Betos bobbled. Kawasumi found it for the Reign, but the Thorns keeper recovered to stop the play. Little and Fishlock combined in the nineteenth minute for a shot, which hooked wide right for Seattle. Fishlock went long in the twenty-second minute, but Reynolds broke it up before Yanez could get there, disrupting a solid Seattle attack. Little had a shot on the next attack that Betos handled well for Portland. The Thorns' Nadim tried to find Mallory Weber, but Lauren Barnes of the Reign broke up the play in the twenty-fourth minute. Mathias had a shot through Meghan Klingenberg of Portland in the twenty-fifth minute, saved by Betos. Kendall Fletcher of Seattle broke up Nadim's pass for Tobin Heath as the Thorns have built a few more attacks. In the twenty-seventh minute, the Reign went up 1-0 on a Melis goal, passed from Kawasumi. Fletcher and Yanez cleared a twenty-ninth minute free kick from Heath. Kawasumi won a corner kick in the thirty-third minute off of Reynolds. She took it herself for Seattle, going for Fletcher, whose header was blocked away and eventually cleared by Portland. Fishlock found Kawasumi out wide in the thirty-seventh minute, which Betos sent away. Kawasumi's corner kick didn't produce a shot opportunity, but the Reign kept it in for awhile with heavy pressure. Heath took a pass from Lindsey Horan in the fortieth minute after the Thorns built an attack deep in Reign territory, but Heath's shot was wide right. Heath had another try through Fletcher's leg that Kopmeyer saved in the forty-first minute. Barnes blocked a Meleana Shim cross in the forty-third minute, flicking it out for Horan's shot, which went over the bar as the Thorns get closer. In the forty-fourth minute, a Reign attack ended with Little's pass catching Kawasumi offside. Heath won a corner kick off Mathias after a fancy move in the forty-fifth minute. She served it in low and Barnes cleared it. Klingenberg's second effort was deflected by Utsugi. Klingenberg had a cross in stoppage time, but a foul on a Thorns player against Barnes stopped the attack. Betos nearly failed to clear a ball, and Melis was just a split-second too slow to capitalize. Seattle leads 1-0 at halftime. Impressing for the Thorns are RB Reynolds, DM Shim, ACM Horan, LW Heath, and ACM Nadim. For the Reign, the top players have been GK Kopmeyer, CBs Barnes and Fletcher, RB Mathias, DM Fishlock, RW Kawasumi, LW Yanez, and striker Melis. Little sent in a cross in the forty-eighth minute, and Fishlock headed it firmly over the bar. Heath fouled Winters in the forty-ninth minute, and Utsugi's free kick was picked up by Betos safely. The Reign made it 2-0 in the fiftieth minute as Melis intercepted Reynolds' pass to Emily Sonnett and buried it in the corner behind Betos. Fishlock and Melis tried again in the fifty-second minute, but they weren't on the same page for the last pass. Horan forced Barnes into a handball in the fifty-fourth minute, giving Portland a good free kick chance. Barnes took a yellow card for the play. Heath tried for goal, but went wide right. Fishlock surrendered a corner kick after Heath's foray forward for the Thorns in the fifty-sixth minute. Heath tried for Horan, but it was blocked and cleared by Yanez. Heath's cross for Nadim was cleared by Mathias, out for a corner kick. Heath took it in the fifty-eighth minute, which Mathias and Kawasumi combined to clear for the Reign. Mathias cranked a shot off of Klingenberg to earn a corner kick for Seattle. Barnes served it in, which Heath blocked out, and Utsugi fired the deflection wide left. Fishlock slid a ball away from Heath to give Portland a corner kick. Heath took it in the sixty-fourth minute for Horan, which Kopmeyer punched out and Melis fully cleared. Winters deflected a Weber cross in the sixty-fifth minute, but Horan fired the shot wide right. Fishlock took a yellow card for her dissent. Nadim's pass to Heath caught her offside in the sixty-sixth minute. Klingenberg headed a Little cross in the sixty-ninth minute to give the Reign a corner kick. Barnes served it in, where Betos just touched it out. Utsugi's shot was deflected for another Barnes corner kick, going for Little, who hit the post after a deflection early in the play. Reynolds took a yellow card for fouling Melis in the seventy-first minute. Sonnett cleared Barnes' free kick. Kawasumi, Little, and Winters combined for a chance, but Winters took the shot wide left. Horan intercepted a Winters pass after some shaky defense from Portland in the seventy-third minute. Kawasumi did a free kick in the seventy-eighth minute, going for Winters, who headed it over the bar. Heath fired a shot in the eighty-first minute for the Thorns, going over the bar after a built attack from Portland. Reynolds poked a shot on goal, caught by Kopmeyer for the Reign in the eighty-second minute. Barnes gave a corner kick to Portland to block Heath's run. Heath served it, but Little cleared it away in the eighty-third minute. Megan Rapinoe and Utsugi blocked Heath for a corner kick in the eighty-fourth minute. Heath went in and it landed for Nadim, who shot over the bar. Klingenberg disrupted Little's pass for Yanez in the eighty-sixth minute. Sonnett headed a Little pass away for a counterattack by Seattle ending without a shooting chance. Little and Rapinoe continue to build their chemistry back up to kill time against the Thorns. Rapinoe crossed it in for Yanez, but Horan intercepted it and Betos covered it up in the ninetieth minute. Heath's free kick in stoppage time found Allie Long, who flicked it into the top left corner over Kopmeyer. Yanez turned a headed from a Mathias throw-in on goal, which Betos caught. Heath took a corner kick halfway into the stoppage time. Kopmeyer blocked the first one out for another corner kick. Heath served it in again, but Fishlock cleared it. Utsugi cleared a Nadim cross. On the Seattle counterattack, Fishlock found Rapinoe, who buried it in the side netting for a goal, making it 3-1 for the Reign. This proved to be the final, with Melis the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match. Also impressing are the Seattle LB Utsugi and Portland's LB Klingenberg.
Following that, Sky Blue FC hosts the Chicago Red Stars. Alyssa Naeher and Caroline Stanley draw the starts in goal. The game is at this link. Arin Gilliland of Chicago couldn't quite get around Erin Simon of Sky Blue in the second minute. Christen Press found Stephanie McCaffrey on the next Red Stars attack, which Sky Blue's Christie Rampone disrupted before a good shot could occur. Casey Short and Sam Johnson nearly set up Sam Kerr of Sky Blue for a chance after some lazy passing between the Chicago defenders. The game has seen quick transitions and giveaways in the midfield. Kerr and Erica Skroski broke up a Short possession for Chicago after a pass from Cara Walls, forcing the Red Stars to regroup against the stingy Sky Blue defense. Julie Johnston started a Chicago attack with a long ball for Press in the eleventh minute, and then McCaffrey passed back to Walls, who shot on goal and Stanley saved it for Sky Blue. Press saw her shot in the twelfth minute blocked by Sarah Killion after Walls and Vanessa DiBernardo strung passes together. The Red Stars have had stronger offense so far. Taylor Lytle of Sky Blue found Kerr in the fifteenth minute, but the shot in was picked up by Naeher with ease. McCaffrey lined a shot on goal that Stanley saved on the other side as Chicago quickly made an attack. Johnson broke up a Skroski cross in the seventeenth minute as Sky Blue pushed forward briefly. Natasha Kai put some pressure on Johnston and Naeher, but the Red Stars managed to clear it just in time. Press' eighteenth minute shot was blocked out for a corner kick. DiBernardo took this one for Johnston, but Kai got it first. Press had a cross for Walls, who shot it off of Rampone for another corner kick in the nineteenth minute. DiBernardo served it on top of the net as everyone in the box crashed near the goal. Kristin Grubka broke up a pass from DiBernardo to Walls in the twentieth minute. Kerr won a corner kick off of Short for Sky Blue in the twenty-first minute. Leah Galton served it for Raquel Rodriguez, which Naeher scooped up. Gilliland's cross in the twenty-third minute was picked off by Rampone of Sky Blue. Press fired a shot on goal for the Red Stars in the twenty-fourth minute, saved by Stanley. Johnson poked away a Kerr through ball in the twenty-fifth minute. McCaffrey ripped a shot in the twenty-seventh minute after crafty work from Walls and Press, and Stanley tipped it over for a corner kick. DiBernardo went over everyone with the service. McCaffrey had a second service land off a deflection for DiBernardo, whose shot was caught by Stanley. Press' twenty-ninth minute shot went over the bar, with the Red Stars still pacing the attack. Lytle's through ball for Kai didn't connect as Johnston shielded the ball to allow Naeher to get there. Kai had a shot in the thirtieth minute, saved by Naeher. In the thirty-first minute, McCaffrey scored from a very sharp angle after getting around Rampone, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead. Kerr couldn't control a pass from Skroski in the thirty-second minute. Kai tracked down a ball from Galton, and served up a ball for Rodriguez, whose deflected shot hit the side netting. Sky Blue earned a corner kick, taken by Galton. Lytle tried a shot that got blocked as Chicago cleared and countered from there. Short's thirty-sixth minute cross was blocked out for a corner kick by Sky Blue's Skroski. DiBernardo's service was cleared by Grubka, and then Press shot high. Kerr, Lytle, and Killion all tried to make things happen, but Johnston and DiBernardo blocked for the Red Stars. Killion had a shot saved by Naeher and cleared off the line by Gilliland, followed by Gilliland blocking a Killion header off of a Kai flick, and Kerr put the ball in the net, but it was waved off. The score remained at 1-0 for the Red Stars after a crazy flurry in the thirty-ninth minute. DiBernardo's fortieth minute shot went over Stanley's goal. Simon surrendered a corner kick after poking the ball off McCaffrey's foot during her run. DiBernardo served in for Johnston in the forty-second minute, and Press' shot was saved by Stanley. McCaffrey's cross in for DiBernardo, and the subsequent centering pass was cleared by Grubka in the forty-fourth minute. Skroski just blocked a big run and shooting chance from Sofia Huerta. The game went into halftime at 1-0, with the Red Stars' top performances from GK Naeher, RB Gilliland, CB Johnston, DM DiBernardo, RF McCaffrey, and LF Press. Sky Blue's best players have been RB Skroski, CB Grubka, DM Rodriguez, RW Kerr, and LW Lytle. McCaffrey couldn't get around both Skroski and Grubka in the forty-seventh minute. Galton blocked a Gilliland cross in the fiftieth minute. A second effort for Gilliland went too long under pressure from Kelley O'Hara. Galton sent a fifty-first minute cross into Kai, who headed it off the bar and her second try went over the bar, with Johnson defending. Kerr battled well and won against Short in the fifty-third minute on another Red Stars attack. Press had some nifty footwork in the box, but there was a foul negating her efforts in the fifty-fifth minute. Galton won a corner kick off of Gilliland in the fifty-ninth minute for Sky Blue. O'Hara took the set piece short and got it back, but Naeher handled the cross. Lytle's long sixtieth minute shot went wide left and a bit low. Rampone held off a run by Walls on a McCaffrey pass to give Sky Blue possession in the sixty-first minute. Johnston blocked a Lytle cross and then a shot from Kerr went wide left. O'Hara had a dangerous cross poked by Short toward her own goal, and Naeher reacted quickly to avoid friendly fire. Kerr saw a pair of crosses blocked, the latter by Danielle Colaprico of the Red Stars. Sky Blue had shaky defense in the sixty-sixth minute on bad plays by Stanley and O'Hara, but Press failed to release a shot for Chicago. Press did well in the sixty-ninth minute to set up DiBernardo for a big shot that grazed the top of the net. Press and DiBernardo combined again in the seventy-first minute, saved by Stanley. DiBernardo took the corner kick, cleared by Galton to Maya Hayes of Sky Blue on the counterattack. Press made good moves around Killion but couldn't pass around Grubka on a central run in the seventy-second minute. Skroski broke up DiBernardo's pass for Walls in the seventy-third minute. A giveaway from Stanley led to DiBernardo setting up Press for the goal, making it 2-0 for the Red Stars. Press had a cross blocked in the seventy-eighth minute. Alyssa Mautz won a corner kick off of Skroski in the seventy-ninth minute. DiBernardo went for Gilliland, who bounced it down to Huerta, who ripped it home for a 3-0 Chicago lead in the eightieth minute. O'Hara passed to Kerr in the eighty-first minute, who shot it high over the bar. An eighty-third minute O'Hara free kick went wide right. Johnston made a big break in the eighty-fifth minute to keep the ball away from Kerr. Press ran right at Grubka and Rampone in the eighty-sixth minute, firing a shot that Stanley had to parry away for a corner kick. DiBernardo went into the box again, with three headers by Chicago before it turned on target, and Kerr sent it away. Colaprico did an eighty-seventh minute corner kick, cleared by Rodriguez. Gilliland battled with Galton in the eighty-eighth minute, allowing Naeher to catch the bouncing ball. Sky Blue had a free kick in stoppage time, ending on a wide Rampone shot after a header bounced it out to her. Mautz fouled O'Hara in stoppage time, earning a yellow card. Galton's cross in the third minute of added time, after O'Hara was helped off, deflected off of Kerr and into the net to make it 3-1. This was the final. The Outsider Sports Woman of the Match is DiBernardo, while other strong performances came from CB Johnson and RW Huerta of the Red Stars and LF Galton of Sky Blue in the second half.
Ending Saturday's slate, the Western New York Flash bring in the Houston Dash. Lydia Williams and Sabrina D'Angelo are the gloved women. The game can be found here. Western New York quickly made an attack in the first minute, with Makenzy Doniak crossing in for Lianne Sanderson, who fired a little high. Houston answered with Janine Beckie crossing to Kealia Ohai, and she laid it off for Morgan Brian, who shot it over the bar in the second minute. Abby Erceg of the Flash blocked an Andressa shot for the Dash in the third minute after Ohai's pass. Western New York's Lynn Williams passed over for Jessica McDonald in the fourth minute, but she flubbed the shot and Lydia Williams saved it for Houston. Samantha Mewis found Lynn Williams in the sixth minute for a shot, but Lydia Williams saved it. Cari Roccaro and Becca Moros combined to clear a cross from Doniak in the twelfth minute. Mewis intercepted a passing sequence between Brian and Denise O'Sullivan. On the other side, Lynn Williams lost the ball to Houston's Cami Privett. Doniak won a corner kick off of Moros in the nineteenth minute for Western New York. Jaelene Hinkle took the set piece, going long and tracked down but cleared poorly by Ohai. McCall Zerboni nearly had a shot on a long throw from McDonald, but O'Sullivan defended well and produced a goal kick for the Dash. Elizabeth Eddy shut down Ohai in the twenty-first minute to relieve pressure for the Flash. Ohai's cross in the twenty-third minute was caught by D'Angelo. Privett picked off a pass from Hinkle to McDonald, but she got it back from Poliana. Western New York missed a few chances to shoot and Houston took over through Brian. McDonald fired a shot high in the twenty-fourth minute. Roccaro and Privett again combined to clear a ball from the right wing of the Western New York formation. Zerboni couldn't pick out Doniak, with Roccaro and Moros pressuring the pass in the twenty-seventh minute. Houston struck first in the twenty-eighth minute, with a sequence starting with Brian, who found Ohai, and then it went back to Beckie off of Erceg, and O'Sullivan finished for a 1-0 lead. Moros' through ball to O'Sullivan was a bit long and D'Angelo grabbed it in the twenty-ninth minute. Roccaro outran Lynn Williams to get to Sanderson's long ball in the thirtieth minute. McDonald's long throw went for Erceg, who just missed pulling a shot off. Hinkle's free kick was caught by Lydia Williams in the thirty-second minute. Doniak won a corner kick in the thirty-third minute for Western New York. Hinkle served it in short for Sanderson, and the cross from the different angle didn't work out, getting the Flash caught offside. Mewis found McDonald, whose long run ended with a shot saved by Lydia Williams in the thirty-fifth minute. Lynn Williams took a ball on the right wing for the Flash, getting around Moros, and passing into the box, where McDonald left it for Sanderson, who buried it, tying the game at 1. Previously on the play, Ohai lost the ball to Doniak for the forward ball in the thirty-sixth minute. Privett headed out McDonald's long throw in the thirty-eighth minute. Mewis blocked Andressa's thirty-ninth minute free kick. Erceg shut down Beckie's crossing attempt in the fortieth minute. Ohai had a cross from the other side for the Dash, which Beckie headed well over the bar. In the forty-first minute, O'Sullivan received a yellow card for impeding Sanderson's chance at restarting the play. Poliana kept the ball away from Zerboni on a long ball by Abby Dahlkemper. Erceg won a corner kick for Western New York in the forty-third minute. Beckie cleared after Lydia Williams palmed it clear on the service by Dahlkemper. Hinkle's cross in the forty-fourth minute was cleared by Houston's Amber Brooks. Mewis then fired a shot off target. The game went into halftime tied at 1. The Dash's best efforts came from GK Williams, CBs Roccaro and Privett, ACM O'Sullivan, RW Andressa, LF Ohai, and RF Beckie. The Flash's best performances were from CB Erceg, DCM Mewis, RW Doniak, ACM Sanderson, LF Williams, and RF McDonald. Ohai had a forty-sixth minute cross that D'Angelo grabbed on a hop. Brian stole a ball from Zerboni and worked into the box but couldn't get a clean shot off, nor could O'Sullivan, and Western New York retook possession. Eddy won a battle with Brian in the fiftieth minute to keep the Dash midfielder from crossing the ball. Mewis had a long shot on goal that Lydia Williams saved, and Lynn Williams sent the shot wide right in the fifty-first minute. In the fifty-third minute, Ohai received a pass from Moros and made a long run to curl a ball into the net, giving Houston a 2-1 lead. O'Sullivan cleared a Mewis attempt in the fifty-fifth minute. Lynn Williams got a ball crossed in during the fifty-eighth minute for the Flash, finding Doniak, who scored on a practically open net to retie the game at 2. Mewis and Sanderson laid the foundation for the goal as Lynn Williams had the ball before the goal. Brian couldn't pick out Beckie in the sixtieth minute. Andressa ripped a shot in the sixty-first minute that D'Angelo had to save over the bar for a Houston corner kick. Privett headed the service wide left. Privett denied a McDonald cross in the sixty-second minute as the game has turned wide open. D'Angelo made a save on Ohai in the sixty-third minute after a cross from Poliana. The Flash got a corner kick on the other side, taken by Hinkle but cleared by Beckie of Houston. Dahlkemper blocked a cross from O'Sullivan to keep it away from Ohai. Andressa's free kick after a foul by Zerboni nearly found Ohai, but D'Angelo made the stop. Lydia Williams punched a Hinkle free kick away, ceding a corner kick in the seventieth minute. Hinkle took this one for Sanderson, who served in for Mewis, and her header was blocked and eventually cleared by Houston. Dahlkemper's seventy-third minute free kick was punched out by Lydia Williams. Erceg headed a second effort wide right. Beckie set up Rachel Daly for a seventy-fifth minute shot that went way over the bar. Poliana's seventy-sixth minute cross found Daly, but she sent it wide right under pressure from Eddy. Privett and O'Sullivan combined to stymie Mewis' big run into the Dash box. In the eightieth minute, Hinkle took a long shot that Lydia Williams palmed over the bar for a Western New York corner kick. Privett headed the service from Dahlkemper away in the eighty-first minute. Taylor Smith of the Flash ended a sequence beginning with McDonald's long throw after Sanderson and Lynn Williams had touches to keep the play alive. Mewis blocked a long-range effort from Brooks in the eighty-fourth minute. Smith, Williams, and Sanderson combined to try to find McDonald, but Poliana cleared it. In the eighty-fifth minute, the Flash got a corner kick, and Hinkle served it in. It landed for Janice Cayman on the other side of the field, and she was fouled by Daly, who took a yellow card for it. Sanderson took the free kick, but Lydia Williams punched it out. Daly set up Andressa for a shot in the eighty-seventh minute, but she sent it too far over the goal. Hinkle had a ninetieth minute corner kick, going short for Sanderson and then to Erceg. Ohai cleared it to the sideline. Moros blocked one for Sanderson, and Mewis shot went wide in stoppage time. The game ended 2-2, with the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match being Ohai for her spectacular goal and role in many good chances. Also impressing for the Dash were the LB Moros, and the RF McDonald for the Flash.
Finally, Sunday's single game has FC Kansas City hosting the Boston Breakers. Jami Kranich and Nicole Barnhart are in the six-yard box. The game can be found here. Kansas City's Erika Tymrak blocked a cross from Boston's Brittany Ratcliffe in the second minute. The Blues' Frances Silva got tripped just outside the box by the Breakers' Julie King, giving the hosts a good free kick opportunity. Yael Averbuch took the set piece and went for goal, striking it low and watching Kranich save it for Boston in the fifth minute. Louise Schillgard set up Ratcliffe for a sixth minute shot that went just over the bar on a fast break for Boston. Brooke Elby had another shot in quick succession, which Barnhart saved. Silva won a corner kick for Kansas City in the seventh minute. Heather O'Reilly served it in dangerously, but Boston cleared it. Mandy Laddish had a second effort blocked out by Natasha Dowie. Laddish blocked a shot coming from a Ratcliffe cross in the tenth minute, as the Breakers continue to build strong chances. Silva found O'Reilly behind the Breakers defense in the eleventh minute, and the Blues midfielder got a shot off, but Kranich parried it away cleanly. O'Reilly's cross in the twelfth minute nearly found Shea Groom for the Blues, but it went through the box and out of bounds untouched. Boston had a dangerous chance as Schillgard found Dowie, who centered the ball for a shot by Stephanie Verdoia, which Barnhart bobbled a lot before grabbing in the fourteenth minute. The Breakers kept the pressure up with a Katie Schoepfer shot in the fifteenth minute. Kassey Kallman broke up a run and pass between Tymrak and Silva of Kansas City in the nineteenth minute. Laddish found O'Reilly out wide, and she crossed in for Silva, who headed it wide right narrowly, a great chance for the Blues. Elby had a cross in the twenty-first minute just out of reach of Dowie and Schillgard. Ratcliffe received a pass from Angela Salem in the twenty-second minute, but her cross was picked off by Averbuch of Kansas City. Laddish found O'Reilly on a big run in the twenty-fourth minute, but the Kansas City midfielder shot it wide left one-on-one against Kranich. Groom had a shot off of an Averbuch pass in the twenty-fifth minute, but Kranich had no trouble stopping it for the Breakers. Becky Sauerbrunn of the Blues broke up a pass from Ratcliffe in the twenty-seventh minute. Ratcliffe's shot on a Dowie pass in the thirty-third minute was blocked by Averbuch. Schoepfer had the next shot for Boston, also blocked away by Averbuch. O'Reilly took a pass from Tymrak, and she centered it for Silva, who was just denied by Kallman, who cleared it. Sauerbrunn blocked a Schoepfer shot in the thirty-fifth minute. Schillgard's cross for Verdoia in the thirty-sixth minute went for naught, as Verdoia headed it wide right, ending a spell of Breakers possession. Boston finally got what they wanted on a Schoepfer goal in the thirty-eighth minute, firing a second shot after Lo'eau LaBonta blocked the first one. This came after a number of passes among Boston's front six. The Breakers lead 1-0. Dowie just a lost a ball to Averbuch in the fortieth minute. Groom had a big run into the box to take a pass from Brittany Taylor in the forty-first minute, but Groom's shot missed its target, and the follow-thru injured Whitney Engen of Boston a bit. Elby just broke up a pass from Laddish to O'Reilly in the forty-third minute, and managed to avoid giving up a corner kick as well. Dowie managed to dance around Averbuch in the forty-fifth minute, but Barnhart palmed the curling shot away for a corner kick for the Breakers. Barnhart then caught the Schillgard service. Laddish had a shot just over the bar after O'Reilly tracked the ball down in stoppage time. Silva went give-and-go with O'Reilly after a pass from Katie Bowen, but that shot also soared over the bar. The game went into halftime at 1-0. Impressing for the Breakers are the LB Elby, CB Kallman, DMs Schoepfer and Salem, LW Ratcliffe, RF Schillgard, and LF Dowie. For the Blues, the top players are CBs Averbuch and Sauerbrunn, DM Laddish, RW O'Reilly, ACM Silva, and striker Groom. Laddish had a fiftieth minute long pass go too long for Groom, ending the Blues attack as Kranich grabbed it. Dowie almost had a shot running against Averbuch in the fifty-second minute, but she was offside. O'Reilly found Groom on the other side, but Kranich grabbed it off of Groom's foot as the game picks up its pace again after a slow start to the half. Bowen of the Blues beat Ratcliffe to a Schillgard cross in the fifty-fifth minute. King finally poked a ball away from Bowen after the Kansas City defender made a deep run through the middle of the field in the fifty-sixth minute. On the other side, Barnhart just got to a ball before Ratcliffe. O'Reilly won a corner kick off of Schillgard in the fifty-seventh minute, and then she served it for Groom but it went high. Laddish's second effort caught O'Reilly offside. O'Reilly ripped a shot wide in the fifty-eighth minute for the Blues, who have organized quite a spell of possession. O'Reilly, Tymrak, and Laddish combined for a dangerous chance near Kranich's net, producing a corner kick in the fifty-ninth minute. O'Reilly served this one high, and Kranich punched out. The second effort was cleared by King of the Breakers. King headed a Silva cross away from O'Reilly in the sixty-first minute, but Kansas City remains in firm control of the ball. Groom danced around the box and passed to O'Reilly, whose shot hit Kranich and went out for another Blues corner kick in the sixty-second minute. O'Reilly's corner kick was cleared by Kristie Mewis. Kansas City had another corner kick in the sixty-third minute, which Averbuch sent to the middle of the box, and Dowie cleared. The Blues got another corner kick off of Sauerbrunn's service. Averbuch went for Groom, but it was blocked away. LaBonta kicked it out and Boston finally relieved the pressure. Kallman cleaned up a Taylor pass in the sixty-fifth minute. On the other side, Averbuch cleared King's cross to safety for the Blues. Sauerbrunn kept a ball away from Dowie on an Elby cross in the sixty-seventh minute. Salem had a shot in the sixty-eighth minute caught by Barnhart after an extensive passing sequence by Boston. Kallman blocked O'Reilly's sixty-ninth minute cross. Averbuch had a free kick that found Tiffany McCarty, who hit the outside of the net on her shot for Kansas City. McCarty had a deflected shot in the seventy-second minute that forced Kranich to make a play. Silva got fouled in the seventy-third minute, setting up the Blues for a good free kick. Taylor took this one, going for goal and shooting it high over the bar. Taylor's cross in the seventy-eighth minute found McCarty, who headed it off a Breakers defender after pressure from Averbuch kept the play alive for Kansas City. O'Reilly got a free kick in the seventy-ninth minute, but she served it too far. The Breakers made it 2-0 after Mewis ripped a shot off the bar, and the rebound fell to Dowie, who laid off for Mewis' second shot, which found the back of the net. O'Reilly had a big cross to Groom in the eighty-third minute, but the header went straight at Kranich. Caroline Kastor made a big play in the box for Kansas City, forcing Kranich into a diving stop in the eighty-seventh minute. Engen and King combined to disrupt a McCarty cross on another Blues attack. Taylor made a big run in the eighty-ninth minute, but got dispossessed by Kallman in the box. Engen blocked a Groom run in the ninetieth minute. Taylor's free kick in stoppage time went out of bounds off of a Breaker, creating a corner kick. O'Reilly's service was punched out by Kranich, and the Blues didn't get a second try on the play. The game ended at 2-0 for the Breakers. The DM Schoepfer earned the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match honors. Impressing in the second half were GK Kranich and RW sub Mewis for Boston and RB Taylor of Kansas City.
Outsider Sports NWSL Best XI - Week 16
GK Jami Kranich
RB Arin Gilliland
CB Yael Averbuch
CB Cami Privett
LB Caprice Dydasco
DM Vanessa DiBernardo
DM Katie Schoepfer
RW Makenzy Doniak
LW Kealia Ohai (out of position this week)
RF Cheyna Williams
LF Manon Melis
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