NWSL Week 14

I apologize for the significant delay on this post. I have a very good reason though, as I attended the Seattle Reign VS. Orlando Pride game live last night at Memorial Stadium. The standard recap will be the last game in this post, but the experience was wonderful. It was my first time out to an NWSL game, and it was so much fun. I can't wait to go again. With that, let's begin with...

The Western New York Flash hosting FC Kansas City in the first of four games. Nicole Barnhart faces former backup Katelyn Rowland in goal. Here's the game. Molly Menchel tried to find Tiffany McCarty in the second minute for Kansas City, but the timing was a bit off and offside was called. Yael Averbuch of the Blues cleared Jessica McDonald's first long throw-in around the third minute, and the second one was cleared out to Elizabeth Eddy, who found McCall Zerboni offside. Lianne Sanderson's pass for Lynn Williams in the fifth minute went too long and got cleared by Barnhart of Kansas City. Brienne Reed surrendered a corner kick to the Blues in the fifth minute after McDonald and Zerboni couldn't produce from an Abby Dahlkemper pass. Dahlkemper served the corner kick, but McDonald sent it high and wide. Makenzy Doniak sent a ball in for Williams in the eighth minute, who shot wide left under pressure from the Blues' Brittany Taylor. Janice Cayman's cross in the ninth minute was cleared by Averbuch, and then Doniak's second effort went too long out of bounds for the Flash. Taylor of Kansas City blocked McDonald's eleventh minute cross. Rowland grabbed a McCarty cross in the twelfth minute, as the Blues winger got around Cayman. Eddy's pass for Doniak in the fourteenth minute was taken away by Averbuch, and her pass to Erika Tymrak led to the Blues' player getting fouled by Eddy, giving Kansas City more possession. Averbuch sent it in, but Rowland punched it out. Michaela Hahn tried to find Sanderson for Western New York, but the Blues cleared in the fifteenth minute. Taylor had a free kick in the seventeenth minute for the Blues, blocked by Zerboni. Averbuch had a free kick in the nineteenth minute caught by Rowland. Doniak crossed low and Barnhart grabbed it. Cayman took a yellow card in the twenty-first minute for fouling McCarty. Lo'eau LaBonta broke up a Williams breakaway after Taylor's free kick. Cayman flicked a ball on from McDonald's long throw-in in the twenty-third minute, but Barnhart made the catch. Eddy's twenty-fourth minute cross for Western New York went out of bounds. McCarty put a ball in front of Shea Groom in the twenty-fifth minute, but she chipped it over the bar on Kansas City's best chance so far. Williams sent a twenty-seventh minute shot across goal, under heavy pressure from Averbuch of the Blues. Reed had a cross for Kansas City in the twenty-eighth minute, with Courtney Niemiec sending it out. McDonald received a pass from Hahn and tried to crosses, with Taylor finally clearing it. Zerboni had a shot saved by Barnhart in the twenty-ninth minute as the Flash create a flurry of offense. McCarty's thirtieth minute shot went wide right as Dahlkemper closed her down. The hydration break was called after the shot. Dahlkemper blocked a Frances Silva shot in the thirty-third minute after Groom got shut down. Dahlkemper took a long shot that Barnhart saved in the thirty-fourth minute. Mandy Laddish of Kansas City sent one for Silva, but Eddy poked it away in the thirty-sixth minute. Barnhart made a save on Williams on the other end after she took a pass from Sanderson on a potent Flash counterattack. McCarty's thirty-seventh minute shot went wide left for the Blues. Eddy won a free kick due to Averbuch's foul, and Sanderson's thirty-ninth minute free kick went to McDonald, who shot wide right off the outside of the net. Menchel and Taylor provided the best defense here. Dahlkemper connected with Zerboni on the free kick in the fortieth minute, but Barnhart caught the high ball. McCarty, Tymrak, and Groom all strung passes together, but Groom got caught offside in the forty-first minute to end the Kansas City attack. Groom took a ball from Menchel and got around Rowland but sent a thin angled shot across the face of goal and out. Williams got around Taylor in the forty-third minute, but Barnhart stood tall for the save. Zerboni and McDonald combined for a play halted by Averbuch's steal for the Blues. Tymrak danced around about three Flash players (Sanderson, Eddy, and Dahlkemper) before shooting and forcing Rowland into a strong save. Averbuch blocked two offerings from Western New York, a shot by Williams after a cross from Cayman, and then Sanderson got caught offside on the third attempt. Cayman and Laddish had a battle, ending with the Blues' Laddish fouling Western New York's Cayman in stoppage time. Sanderson went to Cayman for the free kick, and Zerboni deflected it into Barnhart's hands. Hahn fouled Silva in stoppage time, earning a yellow card. Rowland caught Reed's cross, ending the half. The game is 0-0 at halftime, and the best players for the visiting Blues have been GK Barnhart, LB Menchel, CBs Averbuch and Taylor, DM LaBonta, LW Tymrak, RW McCarty, and striker Groom. For the Flash, the best efforts came from GK Rowland, LB Cayman, CB Dahlkemper, LW Zerboni, RW Doniak, LF McDonald and RF Williams. Niemiec broke up a McCarty cross, and Reed's second effort went out of bounds in the forty-sixth minute. Silva and Zerboni collided in the forty-eighth minute, but only a Flash corner kick came out of it. Dahlkemper's corner kick went to McDonald in the forty-ninth minute, who headed it firmly on goal, and Barnhart palmed it off the bar and then she caught it on the way down after Zerboni put it back on goal. Reed had a flip throw-in during the fiftieth minute, and while it didn't lead to anything for the Blues, it was a funny moment. Kansas City had a fifty-first minute corner kick from Tymrak which Williams cleared. Williams also had a cross on the other side, but it fell harmlessly to Barnhart. Doniak won a corner kick in the fifty-second minute for Western New York. Dahlkemper put it in for McDonald, but Groom cleared it. Zerboni and McDonald had a sequence of passes off of Niemiec's second effort, but Sanderson was called offside. Groom had acres of space in the fifty-third minute on a ball from LaBonta, but she glanced it just off the crossbar. Niemiec's deflection wasn't seen, so it was a goal kick for Kansas City. Tymrak had the next shot on a similar play in the fifty-fourth minute, but Rowland saved it. Doniak earned a free kick after Menchel's fifty-fifth minute foul, earning the Blues defender a yellow card. Western New York's free kick went from Sanderson to Williams on the low service, and Williams put it over the bar after a deflection off of LaBonta. Sanderson's free kick in the fifty-eighth minute was short for Niemiec, and cleared by LaBonta eventually. Cayman ripped a shot in the fifty-ninth minute, saved by Barnhart. Groom made it 1-0 for the Blues in the sixtieth minute after taking the ball from McCarty and running around Niemiec. Dahlkemper flicked a ball over the bar in the sixty-first minute for the Flash. Zerboni skimmed a shot over the top of the goal in the sixty-second minute. The Flash stole a corner kick as Barnhart made a bad touch out of bounds. The service went off the side netting, losing the gift. Reed pulled off another flip throw in the sixty-fourth minute, but Doniak won a free kick seconds later after Laddish's foul. Averbuch broke up a Zerboni chip in the sixty-fifth minute. McDonald's cross was grabbed by Barnhart in the sixty-sixth minute. McDonald tried again in the sixty-eighth minute, but it ended up on the top of the goal. Barnhart tipped a cross from Cayman to give Western New York a corner kick. Nothing came from the set piece beyond Williams fouling Reed with a high kick. Taylor shut down Williams in the seventy-first minute. Zerboni tried to go long, but Taylor was there again. Doniak ran into the box, but Taylor cleared it in the seventy-second minute. McDonald fired a shot on the next Flash effort, but Barnhart caught it. Taylor blocked a cross from Western New York's Kristen Hamilton. Eddy had a cross tipped by Barnhart and cleared by LaBonta in the seventy-fourth minute. Taylor continued her defensive flurry with a poke on Williams' cross in the seventy-fifth minute. LaBonta cleared a Taylor Smith cross. The Flash are pouring on a thick attack. The second hydration break came in the seventy-sixth minute. Smith's cross went for McDonald, but she couldn't turn on it, and Adriana Leon was too far ahead of it in the eightieth minute. Caroline Kastor cleared a Sanderson cross. McDonald did the long throw into traffic, with Leon trying to corral the Niemiec flick. Barnhart landed on it safely. Smith earned a corner kick off of Averbuch in the eighty-first minute, with Dahlkemper serving it short to Sanderson, who found Williams. The Flash earned a free kick just outside the box, where Sanderson fired it on goal, caught by Barnhart after one hop. Williams fell in the box in the eighty-fourth minute after colliding with Averbuch. Eddy's deflected cross was scooped up by Barnhart in the eighty-fifth minute. The Flash had a flurry in the eighty-sixth minute. McDonald headed a ball off Barnhart's face, which then fell to Hamilton, who was blocked by Taylor off the line, and then Sanderson's rocket third shot was saved by Barnhart. Dahlkemper's corner kick created another flurry eventually cleared by Menchel. Zerboni and Smith had the best effort, while Niemiec missed a shot. Dahlkemper had another corner kick, going for Niemiec, who sent it just wide left in the eighty-eighth minute. Sanderson had a free kick in the eighty-ninth minute, taken on goal on a curve that Barnhart grabbed just ahead of McDonald. Averbuch poked a Smith cross away to Silva. McDonald's stoppage time throw-in went to Niemiec, who sent it out wide right. Taylor shut down Williams in the box, allowing Barnhart to make the grab. The game ended 1-0 for the Blues, with Barnhart the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match for maintaining a clean sheet against a massive barrage of Flash shots.

In the second game, Sky Blue FC welcomes the Washington Spirit. Kelsey Wys and Caroline Casey protect the nets. Watch the game here. Shawna Gordon had a shot for Sky Blue after Leah Galton sent a ball in, but Washington's Caprice Dydasco blocked it. Galton turned wrecking ball on Joanna Lohman, Megan Oyster, and Whitney Church all colliding with her in the third minute. Erin Simon of Sky Blue held off Cheyna Williams' run for Washington in the fifth minute. Taylor Lytle switched fields for Galton in the sixth minute, and the Sky Blue winger shot wide around Church but off target of Wys' Spirit net. The game so far has lacked many dangerous opportunities. Williams couldn't get to the ball in the twelfth minute, ending up fouling Simon of Sky Blue. Erica Skroski had a free kick in the thirteenth minute for Sky Blue, but she couldn't quite pick out Natasha Kai. Skorski sent a long ball in but without any teammate around in the fifteenth minute, giving the Spirit possession on a goal kick from Wys. Simon put a ball in the box for Sky Blue in the sixteenth minute, but Dydasco cleared it out for a corner kick. Catherine Zimmerman couldn't run it down. Galton took the corner kick, but it went through the box, and Christie Rampone got caught offside. Williams tried to make a break in the eighteenth minute for Washington, but Simon poked the ball away from her cleanly. Rampone intercepted Francisca Ordega's cross in the twentieth minute. Washington kept possession until Williams was offside in the box. Ordega poked one away from Skroski, but Rampone blocked the cross in the twenty-first minute. Tori Huster sent a ball forward for Washington, which Kristin Grubka sent away for Sky Blue. Dydasco cleared Lytle's twenty-third minute cross, allowing Washington a counterattack. Lohman's cross ran away from the Spirit and to Casey. In the twenty-fourth minute, Sky Blue started it at 1-0 with a Galton goal from a tough angle, coming after a pass from Simon. Galton got around Church, and Oyster was too late. Kai had a shot in the twenty-fifth minute that Wys just poked. Skroski was responsible for the through ball that beat Estelle Johnson of Washington. Lytle chipped a ball into a pack for Sky Blue in the twenty-sixth minute, with Lohman finishing the Washington clearance. Church just intercepted Lytle's return for Galton on a give-and-go in the twenty-eighth minute. Gordon's pass for Zimmerman got picked off by Dydasco as Sky Blue continues to dominate play. Lytle took a long shot in the twenty-ninth minute going off target. Galton sent a cross in that Church had to deflect out for a corner kick in the thirtieth minute. Gordon took the service for Grubka, who headed it off a Spirit player out for another corner kick. Gordon's second try also went to Grubka out wide right. The hydration break came in the thirty-first minute. Zimmerman put in a crisp cross in the thirty-fourth minute, and it proved too long for Galton. Simon put a ball out on Ordega's crossing attempt, giving Washington the corner kick. Christine Nairn, who has been quiet today, served in the set piece for Johnson, who found Lohman, but Casey saved it and Simon took it away. Grubka poked away Nairn's through ball in the thirty-seventh minute, but the Spirit got it back soon and built from the back again. Rampone made a block on a Nairn cross in the thirty-eighth minute. On the other side, Kai challenged Church but lost the ball out of bounds and Washington takes a goal kick. Kai found Lytle to establish the Sky Blue attack in the fortieth minute, but Zimmerman's pass to Kai found the forward offside, even as she took a diving header. Rampone blocked an Estefania Banini header for Washington on the other side. Johnson cleared away a Galton cross in the forty-third minute. Ordega flubbed a cross for the Spirit, which Grubka cleared, and Rampone cleared a second effort. Zimmerman finally sent Sky Blue forward again. Zimmermand tried for Lytle on a cross in the forty-fourth minute, but Wys caught it. Ordega came up injured just before the half, causing a slight delay. She was subbed out for Katie Stengel due to the injury. Banini put a shot on goal in stoppage time, which Casey saved. Church had the original service on the play. Simon got one away from Williams as Washington maintains an attack late in the half. Banini sent a ball for Nairn, who was offside on the play. The game went into halftime at 1-0. The best players for the Spirit have been LB Dydasco, CB Johnson, RW Lohman, and RF Williams. For Sky Blue, the top players have been LB Simon, CB Rampone, DM Gordon, RW Lytle, LW Galton, and LF Kai. Williams couldn't get around Rampone without fouling her in the forty-sixth minute. Simon's throw-in got headed away by Oyster in the forty-ninth minute. The second half started a bit slowly, much like the first half. Nairn's cross went over the goal and out of bounds in the fifty-fourth minute for the Spirit. Zimmerman had a shot that hit Lytle in the fifty-fourth minute. Stengel tried a shot on the other side for Washington after a Nairn pass, which Rampone blocked. Galton got around Johnson and passed beyond Oyster, with Dydasco sending it away from Zimmerman to prevent a dangerous shot in the fifty-sixth minute. Galton's corner kick went to Lytle, but Wys pounded it away. Stengel's fifty-seventh minute cross went behind the Sky Blue net. Lohman and Skroski bumped, but it didn't prevent Lohman's cross from coming in. It went over Williams, and Simon handled the defense. Lohman got a shot in the box that Skroski blocked from short distance Grubka previously block on Williams' shot, hitting the post to set up Lohman, marking a flurry of activity for Washington. Galton sent a shot just wide across goal as she ran at Wys and Johnson. Gordon put a ball long in the sixtieth minute, with Wys redistributing for the Spirit. Lytle couldn't get through Huster in the sixty-second minute, even as Sky Blue held the ball for awhile. Williams went to Stengel on the other side, and Stengel managed a shot that Casey caught. Lohman took a nice shot through Grubka, but Casey dove for the save. Banini had the pass to Lohman. Grubka blocked a hard shot from Nairn in the sixty-fourth minute. Grubka then headed away a cross by Banini. Oyster did well to disrupt Galton as Sky Blue made an attack. Things are moving a bit back-and-forth now. Grubka stole one from Banini in the box in the sixty-sixth minute. Gordon put Lytle through in the sixty-eighth minute, and Lytle tried to direct it toward goal, but it went out before it got there. Maya Hayes of Sky Blue went around Washington's Alyssa Kleiner in the sixty-ninth minute, passing to Lytle, who fired it high. Banini won a corner kick for the Spirit off of Grubka in the seventy-second minute. Nairn's set piece went for Williams and landed at Huster's feet. She put it in, but Kai sent it out for another corner kick from the other side. Nairn served this one to Oyster, who headed it out wide left. Lytle and Galton went with a pair of quick passes, although Oyster sent the cross from Lytle out for a corner kick by Sky Blue. In the seventy-fifth minute, Galton served the corner kick to to Kai, and Rampone put it in the mix. Williams finally cleared it for the Spirit. Oyster also contributed defensively. Skroski blocked Stengel's seventy-sixth minute cross. Kai and Dydasco crashed hard into one another in the seventy-seventh minute after running at the ball from Galton's clearance. While the players were injured, the rest of the teams took their hydration break. Kai was up before Dydasco, and received her medical treatment on the sideline. Both players returned to the game. Skroski and Hayes combined, but Dydasco cleared the cross from Hayes away cleanly in the eighty-second minute. Sky Blue earned a free kick as Hayes was fouled on the right wing just outside the box. Skroski served this one in, but Oyster headed it away. Nairn won a corner kick off of Grubka in the eighty-fourth minute, earning a Washington corner kick. Nairn put this one in, with Skroski knocking it out for another corner kick. The second one popped back out for Nairn, who shot a bit wide right. Grubka blocked a Nairn shot in the eighty-sixth minute, springing Kelly Conheeney, and then Oyster fouled Kai on the break. Sky Blue's free kick went from Domi Richardson directly on goal and caught by Wys. Richardson fouled Nairn in the eighty-ninth in a decent position. Nairn took the free kick, which got blocked by the firm Sky Blue defense. Richardson tried to pick out Hayes in stoppage time, but Wys sent it away from far out of her position. Sky Blue has begun to kill the clock, with Simon and Lytle on the left side. Lohman sent a shot wide about halfway through the added time, after a sequence with Stengel and Nairn passes. Sky Blue shut things down well, winning 1-0. Galton was the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match, with GK Casey and RB Skroski also garnering positive attention in the second half. The CB Oyster and LF sub Stengel earned honorable mentions for the Spirit in one of their weaker efforts of the season.

Next up, the Chicago Red Stars bring in the Houston Dash. Bianca Henninger and Michele Dalton protect the nets. You can find the game here. Taylor Comeau had a cross in the second minute for Chicago that Stephanie Ochs cleared for Houston. The Red Stars quickly earned a corner kick, taken by Vanessa DiBernardo and going short for Danielle Colaprico, who buried it in the second minute as she traveled into the box before her shot deflected in. Originally, the goal was credited to Sofia Huerta, but review proved it bounced off of Cari Roccaro, and the goal was credited for Colaprico in the end. Huerta helped to take a Rachel Daly pass for Chioma Ubogagu away as the Dash tried to make something happen in the fifth minute. Kealia Ohai had a ball into the box in the sixth minute for Houston, but Colaprico sent it away to the other side. Ellie Brush cleared away a dangerous ball from Huerta toward Cara Walls in the ninth minute. Chicago did earn a corner kick, which DiBernardo served in for Short, but Ochs and Cami Privett managed the clearance. DiBernardo's long pass ran long for Jen Hoy in the eleventh minute for the Red Stars. Hoy just lost the ball on a Walls through ball as Ochs passed back to Henninger. Chicago still looks like the more organized team so far. Megan Crosson of the Dash had to head Short's cross away from Huerta and out for a corner kick. DiBernardo's service went to Short and deflected off a Houston player for another corner kick from DiBernardo in the fourteenth minute. This one went on top of the goal, which Henninger had covered had it dipped at all. Crosson tried a cross in the fifteenth minute, but it went out of bounds. Privett of Houston stopped Short of Chicago pretty well in the seventeenth minute. Arin Gilliland of the Red Stars came forward and won a corner kick off of Roccaro in the eighteenth minute, allowing another service by DiBernardo. She crossed it in and it came back out to her at the top of the box, where DiBernardo left the shot on top of the net again. Colaprico gave one away to Ubogagu, but blocked the first effort to Daly and then the cross in for Denise O'Sullivan to atone for her mistake. Ohai had a twentieth minute shot go wide right for the Dash. Hoy was taken down in the box in the twenty-first minute, but it was ruled clean. DiBernardo rocketed another one off the crossbar soon after. Ubogagu's cross went long and behind Daly, allowing Short to mop it up in the twenty-third minute. Ohai earned a corner kick for Houston soon after, allowing Crosson to serve one in. Amber Brooks had a look, but the Red Stars stayed strong in defense. Crosson's free kick in the twenty-sixth minute eventually came to O'Sullivan, and then Brooks, and she lost it out as Chicago took over for the goal kick. Ubogagu drew a foul in a decent spot for Houston, earning the free kick. Daly took this one, going for Privett, but Brooks fouled Johnson to kill the Dash attack. Daly and Katie Naughton had a battle in the corner. Ubogagu then tried a thirtieth minute shot and sent it over the bar. Privett saw a deflected cross almost find Daly, but a heavy touch ended up going out of bounds. Ochs put in a cross that Dalton caught in the thirty-first minute. Walls tried to battle with Privett but couldn't get around the Houston defender in the thirty-third minute. Heurta eventually got a shot to go wide right for the Red Stars. Ohai won a corner kick off of Short in the thirty-fourth minute, which Crosson took and Dalton caught. Huerta got a ball to Walls in the thirty-fifth minute, and Walls sent it too far in front of Hoy and out for a Henninger goal kick for Houston. O'Sullivan had a cross in the thirty-sixth minute cleared by Gilliland and then a Crosson through ball was caught by Dalton. Ubogagu ran down a ball ahead of Sam Johnson of the Red Stars in the thirty-seventh minute, but Daly dummied it and no one was behind her. Naughton's long ball nearly found Hoy, but Roccaro cleared for the Dash. Daly nearly caused Dalton problems on the long boot from the Red Stars keeper. Ochs had a cross blocked in the fortieth minute as Houston has seen more crosses and offense later in the half. Ohai's forty-first minute cross went too long for Ochs to track down on the other side. Gilliland sent a cross into the center of the box as DiBernardo shot wide left with Hoy nearly blocking it. On the other side, O'Sullivan hooked a shot wide left in the forty-third minute for the Dash. Daly's free kick was blocked out by Short. Ohai saw her cross flicked by Naughton into the corner. The game went into halftime at 1-0. The top Dash performers have been LB Crosson, RB Privett, RW Ohai, LF Daly, and RF Ubogagu. For the Red Stars, the top players are LB Short, RB Gilliland, DMs Colaprico and DiBernardo, and RW Huerta. Gilliland tried to poke one in, but Henninger grabbed it up for Houston in the forty-sixth minute. Gilliland's forty-seventh minute cross went over Hoy, but the Red Stars do look to be back into form early in the half. Chicago earned a free kick as Ohai fouled Short in the forty-ninth minute. Colaprico took it, looking for Naughton but finding Privett with the block for the Dash instead. Huerta couldn't control the ball in the box, and Roccaro cleared it away for Houston the fifty-first minute. After that free kick, the game went a bit stagnant for awhile. Daly fed Ohai out wide in the fifty-fifth minute, with Johnson deflecting it out for a corner kick. Crosson's service deflected off of Colaprico and she got a second chance. This one was better, going short to O'Sullivan, then taking it back and putting a cross in Dalton's arms. Dalton went long for Huerta, and then passed along to Hoy, but nothing came of it for Chicago. Ubogagu's fifty-ninth minute cross was picked up by Dalton without another Dash player in range. Walls saw a pass picked off by Privett in the sixty-second minute. DiBernardo was fouled by Crosson in the sixty-third minute, and the Dash's Crosson took a yellow card, likely for persistent infringement or the foul itself. The free kick went Colaprico to DiBernardo, and her cross bounced off Ubogagu for a corner kick. DiBernardo found Huerta, and Walls kept it in, but the Red Stars' chance ended when Daly got fouled. Privett went very long in the sixty-sixth minute, going out of bounds for a Dalton goal kick. Ochs did just enough to keep Alyssa Mautz of Chicago off the ball in the sixty-eighth minute, giving up a corner kick in the process. DiBernardo's service went to Colaprico on the short play, and DiBernardo got it back for a rocket shot saved off the line by O'Sullivan. Mautz didn't get a shot off in the seventy-first minute, but Comeau had a try from distance go over the bar. Daly nutmegged Short but her pass into the box was poked away by Gilliland in the seventy-second minute. Gilliland gave Houston a corner kick in the seventy-fourth minute, and Crosson did the service, going off of Colaprico for a second try as it went out again. The second one was again better, but ran long and flew over Privett's head. Colaprico made a block on an Ohai cross in the seventy-sixth minute, with the Dash appearing to pick up the pace again later in the half. A second chance from Ohai went into the outside of the netting. Gilliland found Huerta on a high cross, but Huerta headed it straight down to Henninger. Ohai won a corner kick off of Gilliland in the seventy-eighth minute. Ochs put this one in, but it was headed out, and Crosson took the next corner kick from the other side. DiBernardo knocked this one out, and Crosson tried again, but couldn't keep it in bounds. Melissa Henderson of Houston and DiBernardo battled quite a bit in the eightieth minute in the midfield. Mautz knocked an eighty-first minute cross off of Roccaro. In the eighty-second minute, Ohai fed Daly in the box, and Daly turned to shoot, putting it between Short's legs and into the bottom left corner past Dalton, tying the game at 1 for the Dash. Daly found Ohai, causing Johnson to dive to block it, and she tried a couple more times to find Henderson in the eighty-fourth minute. Chicago earned a corner kick in the eighty-sixth minute, with DiBernardo going for Comeau, but Naughton was called for a foul, halting the play. Mautz and Huerta got a couple of touches before trying to pick out the newest Red Star Stephanie McCaffrey, who was just offside. Houston got a free kick in the eighty-eighth minute, taken by Ohai and caught after a bobble by Dalton. Roccaro broke up the counterattack by taking it away from McCaffrey. Gilliland's long ball went beyond McCaffrey to Henninger. Huerta's cross in the ninetieth minute was cleared by Brush. McCaffrey had a stoppage time cross to DiBernardo, and the latter sent it just wide left of goal. Mautz took a shot over the bar for the Red Stars. Gilliland picked out Mautz on the next Chicago attack, but the sub sent it wide right. The game ended 1-1, with the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match being Colaprico. Other players impressing in the second half were the Dash's ACM O'Sullivan and the Red Stars' sub Mautz.

The final game of the week had the Seattle Reign FC hosting the Orlando Pride. Kaitlyn Savage and Haley Kopmeyer are between the posts. The game can be found here. Seattle's Jess Fishlock had a first minute shot go wide left. Jamia Fields of Orlando made a steal against Kim Little of the Reign in the third minute. Sam Witteman went a bit too long for Christina Burkenroad in the fourth minute as the Pride start making moves forward. Fishlock blocked a crossing attempt from Fields in the fifth minute. Nahomi Kawasumi and Manon Melis tried to combine for Seattle in the sixth minute, but nothing came of this attack. Little went out wide for Melis in the seventh minute, but Toni Pressley of Orlando blocked the cross. Kawasumi took a long ball from Little in the ninth minute, but Witteman just poked it out in time to surrender the corner kick. Lauren Barnes took the set piece for the Reign, going for Kendall Fletcher, who collided hard with Maddy Evans of the Pride and both players stayed down for awhile. Barnes stopped Fields in the twelfth minute as the Orlando forward made a strong run on the right side of the offensive formation. On the next foray forward, it was Carson Pickett of Seattle shutting down Fields in the thirteenth minute. Burkenroad fed Jasmyne Spencer with a long ball, and she got a shot off, but Kopmeyer saved it out for a corner kick. Kristen Edmonds' corner kick for Orlando was punched weakly by Kopmeyer, but the Reign were able to prevent any dangerous shooting attempts. Kawasumi left one for Melis, who made a swerving run and fired a long shot on goal, which Savage saved for the Pride in the sixteenth minute. Keelin Winters and Little nearly connected for Seattle on the next attack, but Winters was fouled while passing, giving the Reign a free kick in a good spot. The seventeenth minute free kick was taken by Barnes directly on goal, with Savage collecting the ball on one hop for the save. Fields put in a cross in the eighteenth minute that Spencer couldn't quite get to. Fletcher later cleared a second effort as Orlando puts some pressure on. Elli Reed blocked a Witteman cross in the nineteenth minute. Merritt Mathias put one for Kawasumi on the wing, and this cross was blocked out for a corner kick from Barnes toward Fletcher. It was sent back into the area and Dani Weatherholt fouled Fletcher in the box, drawing a penalty kick for the Reign. Little took it and sent Savage the wrong way as Little buried it in the left side for a 1-0 Seattle lead. Mathias couldn't get a pass to Kawasumi after an interception from Witteman for the Pride. Kawasumi got the ball back and took a shot in the twenty-third minute, shooting high on the pass from Little. Weatherholt stole a ball from Winters to stop a Seattle attack in the twenty-fourth minute. Kaylyn Kyle finally made a steal after a spell of possession by the Reign, giving the Pride time to settle back into shape in the twenty-fifth minute. Little had a shot in the twenty-sixth minute shot deflected, and Mathias tried a rebound that Pressley put out for a Barnes corner kick. Her service went across goal and off an Orlando player for a corner kick from the other side, taken by Kawasumi and punched out by Savage. Cami Levin broke up a play keyed by Melis in the twenty-seventh minute. Kawasumi had a cross blocked by Evans in the twenty-eighth minute, but they maintained pressure in their offensive third. Little chipped in for Winters in the twenty-ninth minute, which Savage saved and knocked back off of Winters to give Orlando a goal kick. Pressley fouled Mathias in a dangerous area for Seattle, with Kawasumi taking it for Winters. It dropped to Fishlock, who buried the thirtieth minute shot to make it 2-0 Reign. Fishlock made a steal in the thirty-second minute against Spencer of the Pride. Melis got a through ball from Kawasumi in the thirty-third minute, but Savage came out to save it point-blank. Reed fouled Spencer in the thirty-fourth minute, giving the Pride a free kick a few yards outside the box. Edmonds went direct but hit Pickett in the wall as the Reign cleared easily. Evans picked out Spencer going forward, which Fletcher disrupted to get possession back for Seattle. Little went long for Kawasumi in the thirty-eighth minute, trying to chip her but getting distracted by Burkenroad tracking back defensively. Burkenroad took the ball from Edmonds, drawing Kopmeyer out. Burkenroad kept possession and fired a shot on goal, but Fletcher headed it away, and Winters completed the clear. Edmonds had a corner kick in the thirty-ninth minute, going for Kyle, and she sent it wide left. Mathias had a long cross go out of bounds in the forty-second minute, as the Reign spent a lot of time with the ball in the midfield. Melis took a shot in the forty-third minute, straight at Savage. Evans fell as she managed a shot that Kopmeyer had no trouble with. Burkenroad couldn't corral the ball in the box, and she fouled Reed in trying to get it back after a pass from Edmonds. Melis and Little tried to do a give-and-go, with Kyle poking it just quickly enough away to prevent a shot. Little won a corner kick off of Pressley in stoppage time, which Barnes took for Winters but cleared by the Pride. Melis put one in that Witteman took and the half ended with the Reign up 2-0. The Pride's best players have been FB Witteman, CB Pressley, RW Evans, LF Burkenroad, and RF Fields. The Reign's best efforts came from CBs Fletcher and Barnes, DCM Fishlock, RW Winters, LW Little, RF Kawasumi, and CF Melis. Little put a ball in the box in the forty-seventh minute, causing the Pride to break down defensively as Savage and Levin failed to clear it, and Melis buried it into an empty net to make it 3-0 Reign. Mathias tried a low shot in the forty-ninth minute, which was no trouble for Savage. Kawasumi had a pass intercepted by Kyle in the fiftieth minute as she looked for Little. Evans went long for Spencer, who managed a weak cross in the fifty-second minute that Kopmeyer picked up. Fields sent a ball central for Spencer in the fifty-second minute, with Spencer getting in front of Fletcher and poking it in the right post as Kopmeyer froze, cutting it to 3-1. Kawasumi found Melis, who made a deep run and Witteman just poked it out for a corner kick in the fifty-sixth minute. Barnes took the corner kick for Fletcher, who flicked it into the net in the fifty-seventh minute to make it 4-1 Seattle. Fletcher then broke out into a cartwheel and backflip for her celebration for the goal. Kawasumi couldn't get through three Orlando players in the sixty-first minute as the game seemed to hit a lull after the Reign's fourth goal. Melis had a ball in for Kawasumi that Levin flicked up in the sixty-second minute. Pressley then put the ball out for a Seattle corner kick, coming from Barnes and served in toward Winters and Fletcher, but cleared out by Evans when it went too high. Fletcher then had a shot blocked in the sixty-third minute. Barnes blocked an Evans cross in the sixty-fourth minute. Kawasumi went around Levin and fired a shot off of Kyle. Melis tracked it down and tried to find Mathias, but it went a little over her head and Orlando avoided danger. Evans tried to find Weatherholt in the sixty-sixth minute but her cross was long. Pickett blocked an Edmonds cross out for a corner kick in the sixty-eighth minute, and she took it short. Witteman served in to no results. Pickett had a cross on the other side that Savage grabbed. Orlando earned a corner kick through Spencer's attack in the sixty-ninth minute. Edmonds served it in for Kyle, but Kopmeyer punched it away. Spencer fouled Barnes in the seventieth minute after being unable to corral a ball served into the box. Pickett surrendered another corner kick as Spencer pressured her clearing effort. Edmonds served this one in the seventy-first minute, with Kyle getting the ball on the second effort before Barnes put it out for another corner kick. Edmonds' service this time went to Pressley, and Fishlock dribbled it out. Witteman fouled Mathias in the seventy-third minute, giving the Reign a good free kick chance. Little went short and then had a swerving ball caught by Savage as she sent the return pass from Pickett forward. Mathias had a shot go just wide left after Levin headed a ball away from Kawasumi in the seventy-fifth minute. Pressley blocked a through ball from Kawasumi to Mathias in the seventy-sixth minute. Melis found Kawasumi after an initial pass from Mathias, with Levin just poking it away for a corner kick. Barnes went short, and Little ended up with the ball. Levin blocked the first shot, and then carried it away as Kyle poked it away from Little. Kawasumi's cross was blocked by Levin, but Spencer made a steal. Kiersten Dallstream fouled Spencer on the breakaway, and the Seattle sub took a yellow card for it. Becky Edwards had a half-shot in the eighty-third minute for Orlando, going well wide right. Beverly Yanez of the Reign fired back with a shot on goal that Savage saved. Pressley blocked an eighty-fourth minute Fishlock shot, but the Reign kept possession. Levin just stole the ball from Reed as she couldn't fire a shot from a Little pass. Mathias lost a ball to Pressley on a through ball attempt. Dallstream sprung Elston down low, who looked to be out of bounds. Her first effort went off of Kyle, but right back at Elston, and the second effort bounced off of Pressley and behind Savage, making it 5-1 for the Reign on the hustle play by Elston. Sarah Hagen of the Pride quickly sprung Edmonds in the eighty-ninth minute, and she went just under Kopmeyer's knee to make it back to 5-2. Mathias tried to track back defensively. The Reign had a free kick in stoppage time, from Kawasumi over the wall and off the crossbar. Mathias volleyed the rebound wide right. The game ended at 5-2 for the Reign, with the CB Fletcher named Outsider Sports Woman of the Match. Also impressing for the Reign was the sub midfielder Elston, while the Pride's FB Levin, DCM Edmonds, and CF Spencer made better efforts in the second half.

Outsider Sports NWSL Best XI - Week 14

GK Nicole Barnhart
LB Erin Simon
CB Kendall Fletcher (my pick for Player of the Week, and it shouldn't even be close)
CB Brittany Taylor
RB Cami Privett
DM Jess Fishlock
DM Danielle Colaprico
LW Leah Galton
RW Kealia Ohai
LF Rachel Daly
RF Shea Groom

Major League Soccer 2016 - Week 20

Full weekend once again for MLS, beginning on Friday with...

Real Salt Lake hosting the San Jose Earthquakes. David Bingham and Nick Rimando are in goal. San Jose began in the ninth minute with a Chris Wondolowski goal. Salt Lake's Tony Beltran had a yellow card for a thirtieth minute foul. Real tied it on a sixty-fourth minute goal by Luke Mulholland, passed from Javier Morales and Joao Plata. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Mulholland the man of the match for his equalizer.

The first of Saturday's seven saw the Portland Timbers welcome the Los Angeles Galaxy. Brian Rowe and Jake Gleeson protect the nets. Los Angeles led off in the seventh minute with a Robbie Keane goal in the seventh minute, via Giovani dos Santos and Jeff Larentowicz. The Galaxy added on with a Gyasi Zardes goal in the eleventh minute, courtesy of Emmanuel Boateng and Jelle Van Damme. Portland got on the board in the forty-first minute with a Zarek Valentin goal, assisted by Darlington Nagbe. The game ended 2-1, with the man of the match being Zardes for his game-winner.

Next up, the Columbus Crew SC bring in Orlando City SC. Joe Bendik and Steve Clark are the goalies. Columbus started in the twentieth minute with a Tony Tchani goal, via Justin Meram. Orlando City's Bendik and Kevin Molino both had yellow cards for fouls in first half stoppage time. This led to the Crew's Ola Kamara converting a penalty kick. Luke Boden of Orlando City had a yellow card for a sixty-second minute foul. Orlando City got on the board with a Molino goal in the sixty-fifth minute. Orlando City tied it in the seventieth minute with a Cyle Larin goal, set up by Molino. The game ended 2-2, with Molino named man of the match for his goal and assist to battle back for the draw.

In Canada, the Montreal Impact host the Philadelphia Union. Andre Blake and Evan Bush are the keepers. Montreal opened in the nineteenth minute on a Didier Drogba goal, via Ambroise Oyongo and Ignacio Piatti. Michael Salazar of the Impact took a yellow card for his foul in the twenty-sixth minute. Philadelphia's Tranquillo Barnetta had a yellow card for a twenty-seventh minute foul. Montreal added on with a forty-second minute goal by Drogba. Calum Mallace of the Impact had a fiftieth minute yellow card for his foul. Montreal extended the lead as Drogba completed his hat trick in the fifty-second minute, courtesy of Piatti. The Union got on the board with a seventy-second minute goal from Chris Pontius, assisted by Walter Restrepo and Fabian Herbers. Raymon Gaddis of Philadelphia took a yellow card for a foul in the seventy-sixth minute. Patrice Bernier of the Impact received a yellow card for an eighty-third minute handball. Montreal replied with a Piatti goal in the eighty-seventh minute, helped along by Oyongo. The Impact padded the lead as Matteo Mancosu scored, thanks to Bernier. The game ended at 5-1, with Drogba the man of the match for his hat trick.

Back stateside, the New England Revolution welcome the Chicago Fire. Sean Johnson and Bobby Shuttleworth are the gloved men. Michael de Leeuw took a yellow card for Chicago for his thirtieth minute foul. In the seventy-seventh minute, Teal Bunbury of New England received a yellow card for a foul. The Revolution got going in the eighty-fifth minute with a Je-Vaughn Watson goal, assisted by Chris Tierney. David Accam of the Fire had a yellow card for a foul in stoppage time. The Revolution won 1-0, with Watson the man of the match for his winner.

Into Canada again, with Toronto FC bringing in DC United. Travis Worra and Alex Bono are the inexperienced goalies. Jay Chapman of Toronto had a yellow card for a seventeenth minute foul. Toronto struck first in the twenty-first minute on a Sebastian Giovinco goal. DC tied it on a Jared Jeffrey goal in the twenty-fourth minute, coming off of Lloyd Sam and Sean Franklin. Marcelo Sarvas of United had a yellow card for his twenty-eighth minute foul. Toronto retook the lead with a twenty-ninth minute Marco Delgado goal. Jeffrey took a yellow card for DC in the thirty-eighth minute for his foul. Toronto added on with a Giovinco goal in the thirty-ninth minute. Toronto saw yellow cards for fouls by Drew Moor in the fifty-fourth minute and Delgado in the sixtieth minute. Toronto iced it at 4-1 with Giovinco goal in stoppage time, helped along by Mark Bloom. Giovinco's hat trick made him the man of the match.

Along to Colorado, with the Rapids hosting FC Dallas. Chris Seitz and Tim Howard protect the nets. Sam Cronin of Colorado took a yellow card for a twenty-fourth minute foul. The Rapids were first to score with a forty-fourth minute goal by Marlon Hairston. Dallas tied it on an eighty-second minute Victor Ulloa goal. Ulloa was the man of the 1-1 match for his equalizer.

Ending Saturday, the Houston Dynamo welcome the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. David Ousted and Joe Willis play goal. Andrew Wenger of Houston had a yellow card for a sixty-second minute foul. Vancouver's Erik Hurtado had a yellow card for an eighty-fourth minute handball. The game ended in a 0-0 draw, with Willis the man of the match for his four-save clean sheet on the road.

The first Sunday game has the New York Red Bulls bringing in New York City FC. Josh Saunders and Luis Robles are in the six-yard boxes. NYCFC's Ethan White had a yellow card for a foul in the thirteenth minute. The Red Bulls drew first blood with a twentieth minute Bradley Wright-Phillips goal, assisted by Sacha Kljestan and Felipe. The Red Bulls added on in the twenty-third minute with a Ronald Zubar goal, passed from Kljestan. The Red Bulls extended the lead as Kljestan scored a penalty kick in the forty-first minute. NYCFC got on the board with a forty-third minute Thomas McNamara goal, passed from RJ Allen and Andrea Pirlo. Zubar of the Red Bulls had a fifty-fifth minute yellow card for his foul, as did Mike Grella in the fifty-eighth minute. In the sixty-fifth minute, NYCFC saw a yellow card for Allen's foul. The Red Bulls shot back with a seventieth minute Wright-Phillips goal. NYCFC had a spate of disciplinary action go against them, as yellow cards were issued for Frank Lampard in the eighty-fifth minute, Federico Bravo in the eighty-eighth minute, and a second yellow card for White in the eighty-ninth minute putting his team at ten men. All were for fouls. The game ended 4-1 for the Red Bulls, with the man of the match being Kljestan.

Finally, Sporting Kansas City hosts the Seattle Sounders FC. Stefan Frei and Tim Melia are between the posts. Kansas City dented the scoreboard on a twenty-first minute goal by Dominic Dwyer, assisted by Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi. Sporting's Espinoza took a yellow card for a foul in the twenty-third minute. Herculez Gomez of Seattle had a forty-third minute yellow card for his foul. Kansas City added on in first half stoppage time with a Jacob Peterson goal, helped along by Saad Abdul-Salaam and Ike Opara. In the fifty-seventh minute, the Sounders' Joevin Jones had a yellow card for a foul. Soni Mustivar of Sporting took a yellow card for his sixty-fifth minute foul. Kansas City extended the lead as Dwyer scored in the seventy-ninth minute. The game ended 3-0, with Dwyer's brace making him the man of the match.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

Major League Soccer 2016 - Week 19

It's a full slate this week, beginning with...

Friday's game, as the Los Angeles Galaxy host the Houston Dynamo. Joe Willis and Brian Rowe are in goal. Collen Warner of Houston took a yellow card for his twenty-fourth minute foul. Giovani dos Santos of Los Angeles took a yellow card for his fifty-fifth minute foul. In the sixty-fourth minute, Jeff Larentowicz took a yellow card for the Galaxy for his foul. Los Angeles got going in the sixty-sixth minute with a Steven Gerrard goal. The game ended 1-0 for the Galaxy, and Gerrard was the man of the match for his winner.

On Saturday, the first of six games has the Columbus Crew SC welcoming DC United. Bill Hamid and Steve Clark are the talented keepers. Wil Trapp of Columbus took a yellow card for his twenty-first minute foul. The Crew dented the scoreboard with a sixty-third minute goal by Ola Kamara, set up by Harrison Afful and Tony Tchani. Columbus went down to ten men as Afful took a straight red card for a seventy-fourth minute foul. The Crew's keeper Clark had a yellow card for time wasting in the eighty-eighth minute, but the tactic failed as DC tied it with an eighty-ninth minute Fabian Espindola goal. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Espindola the man of the match for equalizing late.

Out in Colorado, the Rapids bring in Sporting Kansas City. Tims Melia and Howard protect the nets. Lawrence Olum of Kansas City had a yellow card for a forty-third minute foul. Colorado saw a yellow card for a Sam Cronin foul in the forty-fourth minute. Ike Opara of Sporting had a sixty-third minute yellow card for a foul. The Rapids drew first blood in the seventy-eighth minute with a Marlon Hairston goal, coming off of Dillon Powers in the seventy-eighth minute. The game ended 1-0, with Opara the man of the match for his winner.

Southeast to Texas, where FC Dallas hosts the Chicago Fire. Matt Lampson and Jesse Gonzalez are in the six-yard boxes. Dallas started in the twenty-third minute with a Maximiliano Urruti goal, via Fabian Castillo. Dallas added on with a Mauro Diaz goal in the forty-first minute, courtesy of Kellyn Acosta. Chicago got on the board in stoppage time with an Arturo Alvarez goal. Dallas replied a minute later as Mauro Rosales scored, thanks to Castillo. This sealed a 3-1 win, with the man of the match being Castillo for his two assists.

Back to the Rockies, where Real Salt Lake welcomes the New England Revolution. Bobby Shuttleworth and Nick Rimando are the veteran goalies. Salt Lake had a yellow card for an Aaron Maund foul in the thirty-fourth minute. Lee Nguyen of New England took a yellow card for dissent in the forty-fourth minute. The Revolution's London Woodberry received a yellow card for a forty-sixth minute foul, as did teammate Kei Kamara in the seventy-second minute. The game ended 0-0, with the man of the match being Shuttleworth for a two-save clean sheet.

In Canada, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC bring in Orlando City SC. Joe Bendik and David Ousted are between the posts. Orlando City opened in the fourteenth minute on a Julio Baptista goal, via Luke Boden. Vancouver tied it on a thirty-fifth minute from Nicolas Mezquida. In the forty-third minute, the Whitecaps added on with a Masato Kudo goal, courtesy of Pedro Morales. Orlando City tied it again in the fiftieth minute on a Cyle Larin goal, made possible by Kevin Molino and Darwin Ceren. Orlando City's Servando Carrasco took a yellow card for a sixty-eighth minute foul. Vancouver's Andrew Jacobson had a yellow card for his foul in stoppage time. The game ended 2-2, with the man of the match being Larin for equalizing and scraping a point for Orlando City on the road.

Saturday ends in California, as the San Jose Earthquakes host Toronto FC. Alex Bono and David Bingham handle the goalie duties. San Jose led off in the thirtieth minute with a Quincy Amarikwa goal, passed from Fatai Alashe. The Earthquakes saw a yellow card for a thirty-third minute foul by Alashe. San Jose went down to ten men in the forty-second minute as Anibal Godoy took a straight red card for his foul. Toronto tied it on a Justin Morrow goal in the forty-fourth minute, assisted by Jordan Hamilton and Steven Beitashour. The Earthquakes went down to nine men in the fifty-third minute as Alberto Quintero received a straight red card for a foul. Still, San Jose pulled ahead on a seventieth minute Simon Dawkins goal, courtesy of Cordell Cato. This stood for a 2-1 win, with Dawkins the man of the match.

On Sunday, the first game is a Cascadia Cup Rivalry match between the Portland Thorns and Seattle Sounders FC. Stefan Frei and Jake Gleeson man the nets. Jack Jewsbury of Portland had an eleventh minute yellow card for a foul. Joevin Jones in the thirty-seventh minute took a yellow card for his foul for Seattle. The Timbers began in the forty-fourth minute with a Diego Valeri goal, via Lucas Melano. Portland added on with a fiftieth minute Valeri goal, assisted by Jermaine Taylor. The Sounders got one back with a Chad Marshall goal in the fifty-ninth minute, coming off of Andreas Ivanschitz. The Timbers replied with a sixty-fourth minute Fanendo Adi goal, passed from Melano. Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso had a yellow card for a sixty-sixth minute foul. The game ended 3-1, with Valeri the man of the match with his brace.

Eastward to Montreal, with the Impact welcoming New York City FC. Josh Saunders and Evan Bush are in goal. New York City struck first in the thirty-fifth minute with a David Villa goal, assisted by Thomas McNamara. New York City added on in first half stoppage time with a Jack Harrison goal, via McNamara. Hassoun Camara of Montreal took a yellow card for a fiftieth minute foul. The Impact tied it in the fifty-fifth minute with a Harry Shipp goal, made possible by Ambroise Oyongo. New York City had a yellow card in the seventy-second minute for a Mikey Lopez foul. Montreal's Victor Cabrera received a yellow card for a foul in the seventy-fourth minute. New York City replied with an eighty-fifth minute Frank Lampard goal. Saunders, the New York City keeper, took a yellow card for time wasting in the eighty-eighth minute. The game ended 3-1, with McNamara the man of the match for his two assists.

Finally, the Philadelphia Union bring in the New York Red Bulls. Luis Robles and Andre Blake are the gloved men. New York was first to score in the twenty-seventh minute with a Sacha Kljestan goal, via Bradley Wright-Phillips. Philadelphia had yellow cards for Brian Carroll in the thirty-sixth minute and Ilsinho in the forty-third minute, both for fouls. The Red Bulls added on in the forty-fourth minute as Kljestan scored again. New York's Sal Zizzo took a yellow card for his sixty-sixth minute foul. On the ensuing penalty kick, the Union got on the board as C.J. Sapong converted. Philadelphia tied it on a Chris Pontius goal in the sixty-eighth minute, assisted by Fabian Herbers. In the seventy-second minute, the Union went down to ten men as Ilsinho took a straight red card for violent conduct. The Red Bulls had a yellow card for a Connor Lade foul in the seventy-third minute. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, with Kljestan the man of the match for his brace.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

NWSL Week 13

We're back with a schedule similar to last week's, although with 100% less poor pitch structures. We begin with...

FC Kansas City hosting the Washington Spirit. Kelsey Wys and Nicole Barnhart are in goal. The game can be found here. The game started a bit slowly, contested in the midfield, with Kansas City holding a lot of possession in their defensive areas. Tiffany McCarty tried to dribble into the box for the Blues, but Tori Huster broke that up. On another attack, Lo'eau LaBonta's pass caught McCarty offside as the Blues continue to pace the game. Mandy Laddish worked into the attack for Kansas City in the sixth minute, and McCarty got a cross off that Wys caught at the post. The Spirit had a free kick after Yael Averbuch fouled Francisca Ordega in the seventh minute. Christine Nairn's service for Washington went to Joanna Lohman, who shot wide right. Estefania Banini took a shot on a pass from Huster in the ninth minute, but Barnhart made the save. Katie Bowen picked out Shea Groom for Kansas City in the ninth minute on the counterattack, which Wys saved on the low shot. Frances Silva tried to slip one in for Groom in the eleventh minute, but Wys arrived first. Estelle Johnson broke up a run by McCarty with a hard foul in the twelfth minute, giving the Blues a free kick. Averbuch did the service, which went long and out of bounds. Erika Tymrak and Bowen combined, but Bowen's cross was blocked by the Spirit's Whitney Church. Ordega and Banini tried a give-and-go, but Brittany Taylor intercepted it for Kansas City in the sixteenth minute. Taylor fouled Ordega on the next Washington attack in the seventeenth minute. Nairn took the free kick in a dangerous position, going out wide for Church, whose cross just missed Cheyna Williams. Tymrak fouled Lohman in the eighteenth minute, and the Spirit had another offensive free kick chance. Nairn served it for Megan Oyster, but her header went harmlessly wide of goal. Taylor's service in the twentieth minute was covered by Lohman. Kansas City kept possession with a long cross from Brienne Reed before Washington took over. Reed made a stop as Nairn tried to find Banini in the twenty-first minute. McCarty won a corner kick off of Caprice Dydasco in the twenty-second minute for the Blues, stringing passes from Averbuch and Silva. Tymrak's service landed as a foul was called against the Blues' Taylor in the box. Averbuch, Silva, and McCarty combined again, resulting in another Blues corner kick in the twenty-fifth minute. Tymrak served this one for McCarty, and Williams cleared it for Washington. Kansas City kept control until McCarty was caught offside on the second effort. Bowen made a steal from Church in the twenty-sixth minute to keep the ball with Kansas City. Tymrak got a cross off to McCarty, but Dydasco cleared it over the crossbar for a corner kick. Tymrak took the service low to McCarty, who tried a couple times but with Ordega and Wys among other Washington players in the way. Dydasco sent Reed flipping on a steal in the twenty-eighth minute. On the counterattack, Banini was fouled by LaBonta, who took a yellow card for the Blues. Ordega of Washington went down hurt in the thirtieth minute, requiring medical attention. She returned without issue. Groom challenged Wys' clearance in the thirty-second minute, but it didn't deflect into a dangerous spot. Tymrak managed to get around Church but had to drop back to Taylor, who couldn't find Laddish in the thirty-fourth minute. Nairn's free kick in the thirty-sixth minute led to Huster playing it out off Laddish for a Spirit corner kick. Nairn took this as well, but the whistle blew quickly for a foul and Kansas City took possession. A thirty-seventh minute cross by Banini was caught by Barnhart ahead of Nairn's run. Williams had a shot that Barnhart kept out as it went wide. Williams had another shot go wide right, as the Spirit have taken a bit of control in the thirty-eighth minute. LaBonta took a deep shot off target for the Blues in the thirty-ninth minute. Silva had a chip for Tymrak that went too long. Tymrak put a ball in for McCarty, which Dydasco headed out. Silva and Tymrak tried to combine in the forty-second minute, but Wys grabbed Silva's shot, all after Johnson headed down a LaBonta long ball. Bowen took a pass from McCarty and tried to cross it back into her, but Wys made a leaping catch to end the Kansas City threat. Nairn's forty-fifth minute cross failed after Ordega's play was blocked by Averbuch. Bowen fouled Williams in stoppage time, giving Washington a late free kick. Nairn's service went to Lohman, who knocked it down. Banini did the rest, dancing through a pair of defenders to score for a 1-0 Spirit lead that they took into halftime. The best players for the Spirit were the GK Wys, LB Dydasco, CB Oyster, DCM Huster, RW Nairn, LW Lohman, and LF Banini. For Kansas City, the top players have been CB Averbuch, RW McCarty, ACM Silva, LW Tymrak, and striker Groom. Tymrak had a great cross in the forty-sixth minute, finding Silva, who nearly scored had it not been for a stunning save by Wys. Johnson broke up a pass from Groom to McCarty, giving the Spirit some relief. McCarty made a steal from Lohman on the Washington attack, and the Blues took over. Taylor took a free kick for Silva in the forty-eighth minute, but Church sent it away. Tymrak got a cross around Church in the forty-ninth minute, which Wys then grabbed. Tymrak sent a ball over the bar after taking the ball from Silva's pass after Reed's throw-in. The Blues have settled in nicely to start the second half. Nairn's free kick in the fifty-first minute was dropped by Barnhart and hit by Huster, which Silva saved. Ordega played it off Bowen for the corner kick. Nairn served it to Johnson, but it was defended and cleared by Laddish. Groom got crunched by Church in the fifty-second minute, with advantage played for Laddish to take a shot on goal saved by Wys. Groom required medical attention, creating a bit of a stoppage. She was able to return. Williams put a cross in for Lohman in the fifty-fifth minute, and Lohman headed it onto the top of the net after a slight deflection by Averbuch. Nairn couldn't quite connect with Ordega in the fifty-seventh minute. Ordega's cross on the next Washington attack led to a corner kick when Averbuch bumped it out. Nairn booted it in, where it bounced around the box before Lohman eventually put it in. Ordega initially headed it out to Church and Oyster, and then Ordega and Johnson took multiple shots blocked before Lohman finished for a 2-0 Spirit lead. Silva made a run straight at the Washington defense before slipping a ball just too far ahead of Groom. In the sixty-second minute, Dydasco took a yellow card for a foul on Reed as the Blues defender sent the ball forward. Tymrak found Silva in the box in the sixty-fourth minute, but Wys was able to cover the weak redirection. Nairn had a sixty-fifth minute free kick for Lohman, who popped it up, allowing Blues keeper Barnhart to catch it. Taylor made a long run through the center of the park for Kansas City in the sixty-sixth minute, shooting over the bar against Dydasco's coverage. Tymrak had a ball for McCarty that Dydasco had to send out for a corner kick. The Blues' service came in the sixty-ninth minute from Tymrak, and was headed in by Silva to cut the deficit to 2-1, with Washington still in the lead. Dydasco's cross from Katie Stengel in the seventy-first minute was headed out by Taylor. Lohman then received a yellow card for fouling Silva as the Blues tried to counterattack. Tymrak put a ball in front of goal after going around Church. Huster cleared it just away from Laddish. Tymrak's corner kick ran long and found Bowen, who sent it back in for Taylor. It went out for a Washington goal kick. Huster fouled Groom in the seventy-fourth minute, setting up Averbuch for a free kick from a distance. She took it as a shot, but it was short and caught by Wys just outside her six-yard box. Oyster got the best of Laddish in a battle in the seventy-fifth minute. The Spirit have had to be defensively sound with the Blues attacking after their goal. Tymrak sent a ball to McCarty that Dydasco made a block on. Bowen and Tymrak combined to clear Nairn's free kick in the seventy-seventh minute. Groom and Laddish supported the counterattack, but Johnson defended and drew a foul to give Washington the ball again. Lohman had a cross go way long in the seventy-ninth minute. Averbuch just broke up a through ball from Ordega to Stengel, giving away a corner kick to the Spirit. Nairn's service in the eighty-first minute went for Lohman, but Groom headed it out. Johnson took a shot that got deflected by a Blues defender for another Washington corner kick. This time, Nairn's service was punched over by Barnhart. Nairn came back to the near side for a third corner kick in the eighty-second minute. Averbuch cleared it only as far as Banini, who struck with her second goal on the volley in the eighty-third minute, going to the left post to score it for a 3-1 Washington lead. Bowen made a good run in the eighty-fourth minute, going against Washington's Alyssa Kleiner, but she couldn't get a shot off. Nairn and Stengel combined to make a steal from LaBonta in the eighty-sixth minute. Huster kept Tymrak out of the box as Kansas City continued to pour the attack forward. Laddish ripped a shot in the ninetieth minute that Wys caught on the line drive. Lohman deflected it slightly. Seconds into stoppage time, Groom took a ball from Reed's throw-in, shooting across her body to get the goal and send Wys the wrong way. The game is at 3-2, with Kansas City pushing in stoppage time. LaBonta had a shot just trickle to Wys. Averbuch went deep to Caroline Kastor as part of the urgency, but Kastor sent it to Wys on two hops. Groom won a corner kick off Dydasco, with Tymrak taking it for the Blues. She sent it for Groom, who put it wide left. Kleiner made a defensive stop on Tymrak after an Averbuch serve forward. Taylor took a low shot that Wys grabbed, marking the last chance for the Blues. The game ended 3-2 for the Spirit, with Banini the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match with her brace. The CF Ordega of the Spirit looked well in retrospect, while the Blues saw good work from LB Bowen and DM Laddish in the second half.

In the night's second game, the Orlando Pride welcome the Chicago Red Stars. Michele Dalton and Kaitlyn Savage receive the starting nods in goal. Here's the game. Jamia Fields of Orlando sent a ball off Sam Johnson of Chicago for a corner kick in the second minute. Toni Pressley took the corner kick for the Pride, but Katie Naughton cleared it, and then Becky Edwards lost it out to end Orlando's possession. Sam Witteman played strong against Sofia Huerta of the Red Stars in the third minute. The Pride have had the better of possession, including a series of passes starting with Levin, then Pressley, Witteman, Jasmyne Spencer, Sarah Hagen, and Edwards before Levin missed it in the seventh minute. Danielle Colaprico broke up a Maddy Evans effort after Kaylyn Kyle went long for Fields in another Orlando attack. Spencer nearly got to a ball from Fields that Evans left, but Arin Gilliland broke it up for Chicago. Vanessa DiBernardo made an attack forward in the eleventh minute, but couldn't find a teammate under pressure from the Pride's Edwards. Naughton headed away a Levin cross after passes from Fields, Spencer, and Edmonds, who made a steal on pass between Chicago's Taylor Comeau and Cara Walls. The Red Stars have looked disorganized so far. Pressley had to come up big to deny Jen Hoy of a shot, creating a Chicago corner kick. DiBernardo did the corner kick, which wasn't all that dangerous for the Red Stars in the thirteenth minute. DiBernardo tried to get Walls, but the latter Chicago player was offside, and Savage had it covered for Orlando anyway. Edwards defended well enough to limit Walls to a weak shot on a pass from Huerta in the fourteenth minute. Hoy won a corner kick off Kyle, with DiBernardo serving to Naughton, with Hagen just deflecting it away. A shot from outside the box went over the bar, coming from Comeau. Spencer took a shot in the nineteenth minute that Dalton saved, going against Naughton and two other Red Stars in defense. Colaprico, Naughton, and Johnson disrupted another Spencer run into the box in the twentieth minute. Walls tried to feed DiBernardo in the twenty-second minute, and got fouled for her trouble after the long ball came from Naughton. Walls got the ball on the right side in the twenty-third minute, and she laid off for Huerta, who crossed to Comeau, who got in front of Levin and headed it past Savage with pace to give the Red Stars a 1-0 lead. Levin sent a cross into the outside of the side netting in the twenty-fourth minute, disassembling a good Pride foray. Walls put a weak shot on goal in the twenty-seventh minute for Chicago, which Savage picked up easily. Kyle made a big tackle on Walls after Comeau passed to her. Huerta got the ball, but her cross went out of bounds. A hydration break was called in the thirty-first minute. Fields took a ball from Levin, and Fields crossed it toward Hagen, but it didn't work, and Chicago took over in the thirty-fourth minute. Kyle managed to shut down Hoy after a pass on the left wing from Casey Short. DiBernardo took a shot in the thirty-fifth minute, but Savage made the save. Fields got to a ball from Evans, but a double-deflection off of Short and then Fields led to a Chicago goal kick. DiBernardo took a shot that went off the post, and this caught Hoy offside when she tried a second effort, with Kyle there to cover it anyway in the thirty-ninth minute. Hoy fed Walls in the forty-first minute for a shot on a big counterattack chance. This came after Spencer made Gilliland look bad. DiBernardo took another shot on foal in the forty-third minute. In the forty-fourth minute, Gilliland took a yellow card for fouling Spencer on her next foray forward for the Pride. Edmonds did the free kick in the forty-fifth minute, forcing Dalton into the punch. Gilliland cleared a cross in from Levin. Huerta's cross, going against Witteman and Edwards was blocked by Pressley in stoppage time. Kyle just poked the ball away from Hoy in the box on the next Chicago attack. Levin crossed in for Evans, who put it on goal but without much threat to Dalton. Witteman made a good steal from DiBernardo near the end of the stoppage time. The game went into halftime 1-0 for the Red Stars. Impressing for Chicago were the CB Naughton, DM DiBernardo, RW Huerta, LW Comeau, and RF Hoy. For the Pride, their best efforts have come from LB Witteman, CB Kyle, DCM Edwards, LW Edmonds, RW Evans, and LF Spencer. In the forty-seventh minute, Comeau made a run forward for Chicago, but lost it out to Levin. Spencer couldn't quite get around Naughton on the counterattack for Orlando. Fields had a low cross in the forty-eighth minute, but deflected it off Short for a corner kick. Edmonds served it to Kyle, but Dalton just caught it in time. Comeau found Huerta with a cross, but her header took one bounce and Savage made the grab. Hoy's shot was blocked by Pressley in the fiftieth minute, forcing Savage to dive to prevent the corner kick. Fields got around both Comeau and Short before sending it back to Evans, and then Edwards' pass was errant and Gilliland took it away. Colaprico fouled Witteman on the next Pride attack, giving them a free kick in a decent spot. In the fifty-second minute, Edmonds couldn't serve it past Naughton to pick out Hagen, and Kyle was offside on the second effort. Orlando continued the dangerous chances, with Spencer crossing in front of goal to no avail. Colaprico just broke up a ball from Fields, and then Levin put it in again and Dalton caught it before Hagen or Kyle could get there. Spencer couldn't get around Gilliland in the fifty-sixth minute. DiBernardo couldn't quite get to Walls as the Red Stars made a counterattack, with Savage stepping up for the stop. Dani Weatherholt made a strong steal against Comeau in the sixtieth minute to disrupt a Chicago attack. Levin took a ball away from Comeau on a cross by DiBernardo in the sixty-second minute. The Pride got a free kick in the sixty-fourth minute that Edmonds sent in, going for Hagen, but it landed to Weatherholt, and then Kyle was close, but Naughton sent it out for a corner kick. Edmonds served it for Kyle, whose header was cleared off the line by Gilliland and right to the arms of Dalton. Naughton made a poke away from Edmonds after a Witteman pass. Spencer had a cross sent off target by Gilliland in the sixty-fifth minute as well, as Orlando is make a flurry of attacks. Johnson blocked a Levin cross in the sixty-sixth minute in an effort to clear it out for Chicago. DiBernardo tried for Comeau in the seventy-first minute, but the header went at Savage. Leah Fortune took a long shot for the Pride, which Dalton grabbed with ease. Christina Burkenroad went one on many in the seventy-third minute, losing out to Johnson. Dalton made a critical error in the seventy-fourth minute, turning over to Edmonds, who shot right on goal. At that moment, thunder and lightning started, creating a fifty-five minute weather delay. Kyle picked off Huerta's pass for Walls in the seventy-sixth minute. Burkenroad managed a cross, trying to get Spencer, but Dalton made the punch in the seventy-seventh minute. Fortune and Edmonds combined for a give-and-go, but Fortune's cross ended in Dalton's arms. Naughton cleared Witteman's cross in the eighty-first minute, and Evans had the second effort well over the crossbar. Orlando began to have trouble retaining the ball in their search for an equalizer. Witteman put a cross into the eighty-fifth minute after Edmonds' pass, but Dalton made the grab again as the steady Chicago keeper is doing everything she can for the team. Naughton made a good disruption on Burkenroad's through ball, shielding it out for a goal kick by Dalton. In the eighty-sixth minute, Alyssa Mautz of Chicago chipped it over the goal. Burkenroad went hard at Dalton, who cleared it just in time. In the eighty-eighth minute, Spencer flicked on to Burkenroad after a Levin through ball, who was offside, meaning her goal didn't count. Pressley had a free kick in the eighty-ninth minute, cleared by Naughton initially. Fortune, Kyle, and Spencer all had touches, but Dalton grabbed it as the end grows nearer. Naughton and Gilliland turned a Levin cross away. DiBernardo stole the ball from Evans in stoppage time and took it to the corner to kill the clock. Kyle started the counterattack for the Pride, but they lost it out of bounds. Naughton blocked a pair of Weatherholt crosses. Evans took a yellow card for fouling Colaprico deep in stoppage time. Short put the ball out for an Orlando corner kick. Edmonds took it after earning it, sending it in where Mautz headed it away. Burkenroad lost it out, and the flurry ends with Chicago taking the 1-0 win. The Outsider Sports Woman of the Match is Huerta, who had many strong services during the game, including the assist for the winner. Also impressing for the Red Stars were the RB Gilliland and GK Dalton. The RB Levin impressed for the Pride.

The third Saturday game had the Houston Dash hosting the Portland Thorns FC. Michelle Betos and Bianca Henninger play goal. The game can be found at the link. Houston started with the pressure, as Becca Moros saw a cross blocked by Kat Williamson. Hayley Raso had Portland's first shot in the fourth minute as the Dash's Amber Brooks made a giveaway. Maureen Fitzgerald and Mallory Weber had touches for the Thorns as well on the play. Melissa Henderson tried to find Chioma Ubogagu in the fifth minute, but Katherine Reynolds was there first to shut it down. Williamson had a sloppy pass that Houston's Denise O'Sullivan picked off, but her through ball caught Ubogagu offside. In the seventh minute, Daly put a ball in off the bottom of the crossbar behind Betos, after a sequence saw her spring Kealia Ohai, who crossed it in. Henderson dummied the ball, and Daly struck to make it 1-0. Raso went against Ohai and nearly found Nadia Nadim, but Cari Roccaro cleared it for Houston. as the Thorns failed to produce a shot on the tenth minute attack. Celeste Boureille had a weak giveaway to Cami Privett on the second effort for Portland. Ohai made a steal in the eleventh minute and passed to Daly, who managed a shot that Betos got down to save. Ubogagu took a shot that went wide right in the thirteenth minute after receiving the ball from Privett. Emily Menges cleared away a Moros through ball for Ubogagu. O'Sullivan sent a shot wide left in the fifteenth minute, as the Dash continue to dominate the offense. Ellie Brush nearly caused trouble, as the Houston defender's pass back to Henninger allowed Raso a shot that went wide left. Daly made a steal against Boureille in the sixteenth minute, and Ohai took it out wide, passing into O'Sullivan, who sent the shot high. O'Sullivan stole the ball from Nadim in the eighteenth minute to start another Houston attack. Ohai saw a pass from Williamson briefly taken away, intended for Henderson, but the Dash got the ball back quickly in the twentieth minute. Henderson and Ubogagu combined for a chance, with Menges sending it out for a Houston corner kick. Henderson served it in, where Williamson headed it up and Betos caught it safely. Weber gave Portland a decent chance, going against Henderson and Moros before passing to Nadim, who laid it off for Boureille, and her shot went over the bar in the twenty-fifth minute. Williamson fouled Ubogagu in the twenty-sixth minute, giving the Dash a very dangerous free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Daly took the free kick, forcing Betos into a diving save as she punched it over the bar. The corner kick was taken by Henderson in the twenty-eighth minute, going harmlessly to Nadim, who headed it forward. Brooks blocked it and got it to Daly, who won a corner kick off of Williamson. Henderson served another one in for Privett and Daly, but neither got onto it. Moros broke up a counterattack against Weber and Meleana Shim. Privett found Ubogagu, who sent it along for Henderson, but her cross was sent out for a throw-in. The hydration break came around the thirty-first minute. Raso just missed Nadim on a pass after a long ball, and Brooks was there to take over for Houston in the thirty-fourth minute. Ubogagu won a corner kick off of Reynolds in the thirty-seventh minute, after Henderson's pass forward. Henderson served in the corner kick for Privett, who put it into the six-yard box, and Betos fell on it just before Roccaro could hit it, as Raso helped defend. Jennifer Skogerboe found Raso, but she lost it to Privett and fouled her. Shim had a shot for the Thorns in the thirty-ninth minute which Roccaro blocked for Houston. Shim then took a yellow card for a foul on Brush. Raso and Daly collided in the fortieth minute, earning the Dash a free kick. Ohai took this one, floating it in to Betos' hands. Portland had some pressure after a Shim shot in the forty-first minute, but Houston did well to hold possession. Raso had two center balls blocked by Privett and Brush before the Dash took over. Williamson's long ball in the forty-third minute was taken by Brooks to spring a Houston attack. Weber disrupted this with a tackle on Henderson. Henderson finally blocked a Shim shot in the forty-fifth minute after a long sequence of passes for the Thorns. Ohai and Menges had a battle in stoppage time, ending with a foul by Ohai in the offensive zone for the Dash. Moros had a free kick go to Ubogagu and then Ohai in the box, but without a shot as Sam Lofton cleared for Portland. Houston took the 1-0 lead into halftime. Impressing for the Thorns are CBs Reynolds and Menges, DMs Shim and Boureille, LW Raso, and striker Nadim. For the Dash, the top player have been CB Roccaro, DM Brooks, RW Ohai, ACM O'Sullivan, LW Henderson, RF Daly, and LF Ubogagu. This isn't a knock on the Dash's defense, but more a statement of how few challenges they've faced to be judged on. Portland had a free kick in the forty-sixth minute. Nadim's service went over Raso, as well as Brush and Roccaro, for a goal kick. Daly did a lot of work to get the ball, and Ohai sent a cross into Betos' hands. Boureille fouled Daly in the forty-eighth minute, giving Houston a decent free kick chance. Ohai couldn't find Henderson, and Raso took it away. Moros sent a cross in for Ohai in the forty-ninth minute, who forced Lofton to give up a corner kick. Henderson put the ball in for Brooks, who flicked it just over the bar after a low service. Menges made a good stop on Ubogagu's pass toward Daly. Ohai had a cross in the fifty-third minute that Henderson couldn't get to due to Skogerboe's defense. Ohai went around a statue resembling Lofton, and then won a corner kick off Menges. Henderson's fifty-fourth minute service was sent to O'Sullivan, who sent it across the box and out wide. Daly managed to get it back after Boureille whiffed the service, and O'Sullivan sent a shot wide left. Nadim won a ball off of Roccaro, but Brush cleared it. In the fifty-sixth minute, Menges again blocked an Ohai cross. Brooks had a free kick that got out to Ohai, and she sent it in, but Betos covered it in the fifty-seventh minute. Ubogagu won a corner kick off of Skogerboe in the fifty-eighth minute, and Henderson served another set piece in, and Ohai couldn't get a shot off. The Thorns tried to counter but couldn't meander down the field fast enough. Privett shut down Raso in the sixtieth minute on the Thorns attack, surrendering a corner kick. Nadim served this one, going over Skogerboe and Shade Pratt. The game seemed to slow a bit after the hour mark. The Thorns had a bit more time with the ball, as O'Sullivan stole from Weber in the sixty-fourth minute. Nadim sent a ball out on a flubbed cross in the sixty-fifth minute. Ubogagu found Ohai after Lofton failed to clear, and she put it in for O'Sullivan, who couldn't shoot against Menges and Reynolds. Ohai then had a shot that Betos had to poke over the bar. Henderson took the corner kick in the sixty-eighth minute, serving in, where Menges cleared. Ohai's shot popped out for Moros, whose cross found Brooks, who put it in to make it 2-0 for the Dash in the sixty-ninth minute. Privett shut down Raso for a corner kick in the seventieth minute. Nadim served it in long, missing Skogerboe. Portland had a seventy-second minute free kick taken by Reynolds and going for Pratt, cleared by Roccaro. Weber got a shot off, and Henninger sent it over the bar for a corner kick. Shim's service went to Skogerboe and Reynolds, but Ohai cleared it away. Moros blocked a Shim cross in the seventy-third minute. Ubogagu went between Skogerboe and Menges, but Betos saved the shot off her legs. Stephanie Ochs saw a shot blocked by Pratt as Houston breaks a bit of the pressure with counterattacks. Raso's pass to Nadim was broken up by Moros after Raso outran Privett. The hydration break came in the seventy-fifth minute. Privett had a cross in the eightieth minute that was cleared. Moros took a shot that went wide left. Raso took a yellow card for an eighty-first minute foul, or a persistent infringement. Lofton sent a ball forward for the Thorns in the eighty-second minute, which Henninger picked up. In the eighty-third minute, Ohai took a shot off the right post and in to make it 3-0 for the Dash. In the eighty-fifth minute, Ochs just sent a ball over the bar. Pratt couldn't get through three Dash defenders. Roccaro blocked a Boureille through ball and then a Shim effort forward as well. Ochs made a steal in stoppage time from Weber after Raso's pass into the box. McKenzie Berryhill had a cross that Henninger punched out and a corner kick resulted from the second effort. Nadim took the service to Berryhill, who headed it wide, and the game was called at 3-0 for the Dash. Ohai was the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match with a goal and assist. Other impressive efforts include RB Privett and LB Ochs for the Dash, and outside back Skogerboe for the Thorns.

The last Saturday game saw the Seattle Reign FC bring in the Western New York Flash. Katelyn Rowland faces a lesser foe in Andi Tostanoski in goal. You can find the game by following the link. Seattle saw Jess Fishlock send a ball forward for Beverly Yanez, but Elizabeth Eddy sent it back to Rowland safely in the first minute. Lynn Williams of Western New York countered and earned a corner kick off of Lauren Barnes of the Reign. Jaelene Hinkle served it in for Abby Dahlkemper, who didn't produce a shot. Fishlock blocked it. The Flash had a defensive breakdown in the middle of the park, allowing Manon Melis to slip through Dahlkemper and Abby Erceg, shooting low and past Rowland for a 1-0 Reign lead in the third minute. Western New York's Makenzy Doniak's cross in the fifty minute was picked off by Seattle's Kim Little. Rumi Utsugi's cross found Nahomi Kawasumi, who left off for Fishlock. Her shot in the seventh minute went over the bar. Seattle earned a corner kick in the eighth minute, with the game being fairly open so far. Kawasumi served it in, but Dahlkemper sent it away. Melis had a cross in the ninth minute to Yanez, but Rowland got it first and the Flash tried to build from the back. Barnes blocked a couple of Jessica McDonald crosses, eventually losing it out for a Flash corner kick. Hinkle served it short to Lianne Sanderson, but the cross was not dangerous. McDonald had a shot after her own long throw-in, and Barnes had block. McCall Zerboni also had a shot blocked by Kawasumi in the twelfth minute. Fishlock cleared a McDonald long throw. Melis and Yanez combined after Fishlock chipped in, with Yanez' shot deflected by Rowland out for a corner kick. Seattle didn't produce a shot on the effort. Doniak's cross was blocked by Barnes in the sixteenth minute as the Flash finally started another attack after some midfield time. Melis was caught offside on the counterattack for the Reign. Dahlkemper saw a cross go over McDonald and headed by Elli Reed. Fishlock then blocked a Hinkle cross. Keelin Winters headed out Sanderson's chip after Fishlock's clearance from McDonald's throw-in in the eighteenth minute came to her. Hinkle made a cross that Fishlock slid to knock down in the nineteenth minute. Winters did well to break up Sanderson and Hinkle's passing sequence in the twentieth minute. Williams had a cross along the goal line that Tostanoski covered in the twenty-second minute. Little's cross to Kawasumi was covered by Hinkle, but a turnover allowed Melis to take a shot that Rowland saved after Reed's pass in the twenty-third minute. Zerboni earned a free kick just outside the box after a foul by Reed, which earned a twenty-fifth minute yellow card. Sanderson took the free kick for McDonald, who put the ball in the net with her header, but she was offside thanks to Winters and Kawasumi stepping up for the Reign, as the Flash miss a chance for an equalizer. Melis had a heavy touch on a cross from Kawasumi in the twenty-seventh minute as Seattle broke pressure for awhile. Kawasumi found Little, and then Yanez went to Melis, who shot a bit high over the goal in the twenty-eighth minute. Dahlkemper flipped a Kawasumi cross out. Dahlkemper had a couple of pokes before Reed cleared a long throw-in by McDonald in the thirty-first minute. Kawasumi took a shot off the bar in the thirty-second minute after Melis flicked it to her on the pass. Doniak got fouled by Winters from behind in the thirty-third minute, giving Winters a yellow card. Kendall Fletcher got up over McDonald on the Hinkle free kick. Fishlock sent a ball long for Melis, but Rowland cleared it away in the thirty-fifth minute. Barnes cleared an Eddy cross in the thirty-sixth minute. Fletcher intercepted Sanderson's through ball for Williams in the thirty-eighth minute. Kawasumi took a cross in the fortieth minute, just missing Melis' running header attempt, allowing Rowland to grab it for Western New York. Little intercepted the ball from Williams after Reed and Fletcher did some work in the corner defensively for Seattle. Hinkle's cross in the forty-second minute was deflected by Fletcher. Yanez blocked Eddy's cross attempt in the forty-fourth minute, but fouled Erceg later. Hinkle served it in, and Yanez sent it out this time. Zerboni's cross got past McDonald and bounced out for a corner kick off Utsugi. Hinkle's forty-fifth minute corner kick went to Dahlkemper, who put it back across goal, and McDonald headed it home for the Flash, tying the game at 1. This was the score at halftime. Playing well for the Flash were the CB Dahlkemper, LB Hinkle, DM Erceg, RW Doniak, and RF McDonald. For the Reign, their top efforts came from RB Reed, CB Barnes, DMs Winters and Fishlock, RF Kawasumi, and LF Melis. Zerboni had a yellow card in the forty-seventh minute for her foul on Little. Little tried to pick out Melis in the forty-eighth minute, and Dahlkemper sent it away. Fletcher shut down Williams and McDonald in the forty-ninth minute, allowing Tostanoski to make a grab. Eddy's cross in the fiftieth minute was cleared by Fletcher, but Western New York stayed high in attack. Hinkle had a cross go out of bounds to ultimately end the attack. The Flash were denied a goal after McDonald's long throw-in was outed by Fishlock. Dahlkemper took the shot, which Erceg deflected into the goal, but she did so from an offside position and the score remained 1-1. McDonald made a run with the ball from Sanderson against Barnes, firing a shot that Tostanoski covered for the save in the fifty-third minute. Fletcher blocked a Williams shot and sent it to Zerboni, blocked by Kawasumi on the second effort as Western New York has found a new gear. Dahlkemper did a corner kick in the fifty-fifth minute, going for McDonald. Winters and Fletcher blocked this, and Barnes blocked another one in the mob, and then Williams got a shot off as well going over the bar. Fishlock fed Kawasumi for a chip shot in the fifty-eighth minute, but Rowland tracked back to make the same for Western New York. Barnes blocked a McDonald long throw-in, and then blocked Hinkle's pass out to Sanderson, who ultimately shot wide in the fifty-ninth minute. On the Seattle counterattack, Yanez's cross went straight to Rowland. Hinkle had a free kick in the sixty-second minute that Erceg headed wide right with the Flash still pressuring for a tiebreaker. McDonald's sixty-third minute throw-in was headed out by Fishlock for a corner kick, which Hinkle took. This went short to Sanderson, who faked Barnes and Kawasumi, but couldn't beat Fletcher, and McDonald's shot went wide right. The Flash got another corner kick in the sixty-fifth minute, going from Hinkle straight to Barnes at the near post. Hinkle broke up a Kawasumi run on a pass from Little. Fletcher kept Williams and McDonald at bay, and then Fishlock broke up Sanderson's through ball in the sixty-eighth minute. Kawasumi tried to find Yanez, but the latter was offside in the seventieth minute as the Reign pushed forward for a bit. Fletcher blocked a McDonald shot in the seventy-first minute and Tostanoski grabbed the second effort from Sanderson. Taylor Smith, Sanderson, and McDonald combined for a shot attempt saved by Tostanoski in the seventy-sixth minute. Zerboni had a seventy-ninth minute cross land out of bounds behind Tostanoski's goal. Fletcher headed away Eddy's cross, and then Winters shut down Williams in the eightieth minute. Reed put one in for Lindsay Elston of Seattle, but Rowland grabbed it in time. Elston put a ball in for Fishlock in the eighty-first minute, forcing Western New York's Courtney Niemiec to put it out for a corner kick. Kawasumi went low, and Dahlkemper cleared it out. Merritt Mathias deflected it back in, falling to Fishlock, who shot wide left on the second try. Elston fed Little in the eighty-third minute, and she got tripped up by Niemiec cleanly, and Rowland sent it away. Fletcher cleaned up a Williams cross in the eighty-fifth minute after Barnes misplayed it a bit in the corner. Fishlock fouled Sanderson in the eighty-sixth minute, producing a good free kick chance for the Flash. Hinkle took it on goal, and Tostanoski caught it over Hinkle. In the eighty-eighth minute, the Flash had a corner kick, which Hinkle took and Tostanoski caught over McDonald. Winters found Little in the eighty-ninth minute, and Hinkle put it out for a Reign corner kick. Barnes took it and went to Utsugi, but it was headed out by Western New York. Fishlock took a yellow card for a foul in stoppage time against Sanderson. Dahlkemper's free kick went to Smith, who went to the corner, signalling happiness with the scoreline. The game ended as such, tied 1-1, with the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match being Barnes, whose defense kept the game under control even as the Flash dominated the second half. Impressing for the Reign in the second half were GK Tostanoski and CB Fletcher, while the Flash saw good effort from DM Sanderson in the second half.

Finally, Sunday's game sees the Boston Breakers host Sky Blue FC. Caroline Casey and Jami Kranich protect the nets. This game can be found here. This is also the last game of Mollie Pathman's career for the Breakers, as she announced her retirement earlier this week. Leah Galton tried to flick a ball onto Natasha Kai in the first minute, but the Sky Blue forward was caught offside. Sky Blue tried to go forward again, with Erin Simon finding Galton just offside again. Boston struck first in the third with an Angela Salem goal on the third shot. The play began with Stephanie McCaffrey's cross from the left wing, after Eunice Beckmann had shots blocked by Simon and Casey after Stephanie Verdoia's flick, giving the Breakers a 1-0 lead. Sarah Killion saw her free kick in the seventh minute for Sky Blue cleared by Verdoia for Boston. Louise Schillgard had a cross in the eighth minute going for Verdoia, who headed wide left of Casey's net. Kristin Grubka cleared out a Julie King throw-in in the tenth minute, and Boston had to chase it down in their own end after the initial attack failed. McCaffrey had a cross in the twelfth minute that Casey dove on to prevent any chaos in the penalty area. Beckmann did well to steal the ball from Sky Blue's Taylor Lytle in the midfield. Kassey Kallman headed a ball out under pressure from Kai of Sky Blue, creating a corner kick. Killion stepped up for the service, going over Raquel Rodriguez of Sky Blue and cleared by Kallman for the Breakers. Galton saw a cross in the seventeenth minute for Sky Blue bounce off Kallman for a corner kick. Killion served this one in for Kai, but Beckmann headed it away. Lytle tried to find Kai, but she was offside. Christie Rampone just managed to keep Beckmann away from the ball in the offensive zone for Boston. Mollie Pathman of the Breakers put in some work against Catherine Zimmerman of Sky Blue in the nineteenth minute. Pathman had a cross in that Casey punched out, and McCaffrey's second effort bounced off of a Sky Blue defender for a corner kick. The Breakers' set piece came from Schillgard to King, going around to Christen Westphal and Salem. Verdoia got knocked down in the box and Schillgard got into the mix, but no shot came in the twenty-third minute. Grubka headed out a King long throw-in for another one by King. Katie Schoepfer got onto this one, sending it wide left of the goal after she got open around Sky Blue's Simon. Galton won a corner kick off of King in the twenty-sixth minute. Killion served it into a crowd, and the whistle killed the play as King was fouled in the mess. Grubka was the closest Sky Blue player to the ball. Galton and Westphal went at each other again in the twenty-seventh minute, and Westphal fouled Galton in the box, giving Sky Blue a penalty kick. Killion took the penalty kick, and slotted it in the right side of the net. Kranich had the right idea but Killion's placement was better, and the game is now tied at 1. Galton put a cross in for Sky Blue in the thirtieth minute, and Kallman sent it out for another corner kick. Killion's service went toward Kai, going over her and off of Kallman out for another corner kick. Galton took this one, which went in front of Kranich and Lytle had contact but sent it over the net. At the end of the play, a hydration break was called in the thirty-first minute. Pathman blocked a Zimmerman cross in the thirty-fifth minute. Galton took a pass from Rodriguez and tried to center the ball, but King and Westphal cleared it. Kai took a ball from Rodriguez in the thirty-eighth minute and crossed in where Galton headed it down and in for a goal, making it 2-1 Sky Blue. Galton had a cross in the thirty-ninth minute for Sky Blue, but this went out of bounds. Sky Blue has grown into the game as it has gotten late in the first half. Kallman cleared a Galton cross in the forty-first minute. Grubka and Simon each had a block on McCaffrey in the forty-second minute, and then Schillgard's cross to Beckmann ended in a header saved by Casey. Beckmann initially got it to McCaffrey as well, and Rampone provided defensive support for Sky Blue on the flurry of activity. Lytle poked a ball into Kai, who danced around a couple of defenders and fired a low shot that Kranich dived to save in the forty-fourth minute. The game ended with Sky Blue ahead 2-1, and their best players were CB Grubka, LB Simon, DMs Killion and Rodriguez, LW Galton, and LF Kai. The Breakers' best players were CB Kallman, DM Salem, LW Verdoia, RF Beckmann, and LF McCaffrey. Verdoia's forty-sixth minute through ball for Boston missed Beckmann and landed with Simon of Sky Blue instead. Pathman cross in the forty-ninth minute was intercepted by Simon and Sky Blue pushed forward. Galton had a fiftieth minute cross corralled by the Breakers. Schillgard's long ball caught Beckmann offside in the fifty-first minute for Boston. Kallman threaded the needle between Zimmerman and Lytle to Pathman, who just couldn't run down the ball after a deflection. Beckmann won a corner kick for the Breakers in the fifty-fourth minute, giving Schillgard a chance to serve a ball in, but Casey caught the ball unchallenged. Erica Skroski of Sky Blue did a good poke to keep the ball away from Beckmann on Salem's long try in the fifty-seventh minute for Boston. Kai corralled a ball from Galton, and then sent out wide for Zimmermand and back to Lytle, who curled a shot wide left of Kranich's net in the fifty-ninth minute. McCaffrey's cross fell to Schillgard on the counterattack, but she lost it to Rampone and Simon. Pathman won a corner kick off of Grubka in the sixtieth minute. Casey caught the Schillgard corner kick in the sixty-first minute. Galton had a shot in the sixty-third minute that Kranich poked away, and then Rodriguez forced Kranich into another save. Brittany Ratcliffe sent a cross in for the Breakers in the sixty-fifth minute, which Casey caught. McCaffrey couldn't run down a bouncing ball in the box, allowing Casey to grab it in the sixty-sixth minute. Boston continued to add pressure with McCaffrey in the sixty-seventh minute sending a ball forward for Beckmann, but too long and into the hands of Casey. The chances slowed a bit as the game got caught in the midfield a bit more prior to the second half hydration break. Galton made a big run in the seventy-third minute to earn a corner kick as she outran King and deflected the ball off Kallman. Killion's set piece went to Lytle, who sent it out wide to Grubka, and that came back to Skroski, who headed it past Kranich to make it 3-1 for Sky Blue. The hydration break came shortly after the restart of play. Zimmerman had a seventy-eighth minute cross to Maya Hayes for Sky Blue, but King got there first to clear it. Galton put a ball into the box that went wide of Hayes in the eightieth minute, as Sky Blue should have no trouble holding on for this game. Hayes tried to weave through the Breakers defense in the eighty-second minute, but Kylie Strom cleared it away. McCaffrey got the worst of a collision with Grubka after a foray forward, but popped right up as Sky Blue took over possession in the eighty-third minute. Schillgard had a free kick in the eighty-fifth minute for Boston, sending it in perfectly for King to head in and cut the deficit to 3-2 for the Breakers. Kallman had a free kick hop once and caught by Casey before Elise Krieghoff could take a chance at it. Strom cleared a Galton cross away in the eighty-ninth minute. Verdoia pushed forward for the Breakers, and Killion took over with a rough steal for Sky Blue. Lytle made a run in the ninetieth minute to find Hayes, who had a shot saved by Kranich. Kallman poked it away from Kelly Conheeney, and then Galton served it in for Hayes, and Kranich dove onto it for a great sequence from the keeper. Schillgard and Salem combined for a chance that Grubka tipped away in stoppage time. The Breakers are putting everything into their effort in stoppage time. McCaffrey received a pass from Schillgard and ran at Grubka before shooting high. Galton fouled Ratcliffe to give the Breakers a free kick. Schillgard served it in for King, but Galton headed it out. Ratcliffe sent one for Krieghoff, but she couldn't get it, and Sky Blue won 3-2. The Outsider Sports Woman of the Match was Galton, for a goal and drawing the foul that led to the penalty kick, as well as some vicious left wing runs. Impressing in the second half for the Breakers were RW Schillgard and CB King, while the Sky Blue RB Skroski and RW Lytle also improved.

Outsider Sports NWSL Best XI Week 13

GK Michele Dalton
RB Elli Reed
CB Lauren Barnes
CB Katie Naughton
LB Jaelene Hinkle
DCM Vanessa DiBernardo
RW Kealia Ohai
ACM Sofia Huerta
LW Leah Galton
RF Rachel Daly
LF Estefania Banini