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

MLS Midweek 7/13/16

Six games were on the schedule for midweek, although the weather in places threatened some of these events. We begin with one such game, as...

The Columbus Crew SC host Toronto FC. Alex Bono and Steve Clark man the nets. Mark Bloom of Toronto had a yellow card for his thirty-second minute foul. Columbus got going in the fifty-fourth minute with a Harrison Afful goal. Toronto tied it on a Jordan Hamilton goal in the sixty-fourth minute, thanks to Jay Chapman and Benoit Cheyrou. The game ended at 1-1, with the man of the match being Hamilton for the equalizer.

East to the New York Red Bulls welcoming Orlando City SC. Joe Bendik and Luis Robles are in goal. New York started with a thirty-seventh minute goal by Connor Lade, set up by Bradley Wright-Phillips and Alex Muyl. The Red Bulls' Muyl took a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. Orlando City had yellow cards given to David Mateos in the forty-ninth minute and Brek Shea in the fifty-second minute, the first for a foul and the second for dissent. New York added on with a fifty-ninth minute goal by Felipe. Orlando City's Cristian Higuita took a yellow card for dissent in the sixty-eighth minute. The game ended 2-0 for the Red Bulls, with Lade the man of the match for his winner.

In the only game delayed from the start by weather, the Chicago Fire kicked off about two hours later as they brought in Sporting Kansas City. Tim Melia and Sean Johnson play goal. Chicago opened in the nineteenth minute with a Michael de Leeuw goal, made possible by Razvan Cocis and Brandon Vincent. The Fire had a yellow card for a Khaly Thiam foul in the twenty-sixth minute. Soni Mustivar of Kansas City had a yellow card for his twenty-ninth minute foul. Chicago's Alturo Alvarez had a yellow card in the sixty-eighth minute for a foul. Sporting's Dominic Dwyer received a yellow card for a seventy-first minute foul. Joao Meira of the Fire took a yellow card for a seventy-ninth minute foul. Kansas City saw a yellow card for Jimmy Medranda in the eighty-fifth minute for his foul. The game ended 1-0, with the man of the match being de Leeuw for his winner.

Westward to Portland, with the Timbers hosting the Montreal Impact. Evan Bush and Jake Gleeson protect the nets. Portland led off with a fourteenth minute goal by Jack McInerney, via Jack Jewsbury. Montreal saw a yellow card for an eighteenth minute Ignacio Piatti foul. The Impact tied it on a forty-fourth minute Piatti goal. In the sixty-eighth minute, Harry Shipp took a yellow card for his foul for Montreal. The Timbers' Fanendo Adi and the Impact's Hassoun Camara each had yellow cards in the seventieth minute, one for a foul and the other for dissent. The game ended 1-1, with Piatti the man of the match for his equalizer.

Up to Seattle, as the Sounders FC welcome FC Dallas. Chris Seitz and Stefan Frei are the gloved men. Dallas went down to ten men after Maynor Figueroa took a red card for a handball in the penalty area in the fourth minute. Seattle began with a sixth minute Clint Dempsey penalty kick goal. The Sounders added on with an eighteenth minute Andreas Ivanschitz goal, courtesy of Osvaldo Alonso. Seattle extended the lead as Jordan Morris scored in the twenty-second minute, with the help of Dempsey and Alonso. Juan Esteban Ortiz of Dallas had a yellow card for his thirty-third minute foul, but Dempsey of the Sounders took a straight red card at the same time for violent conduct, leveling the field at ten players each. Seattle padded the lead with a sixty-first minute goal by Joevin Jones, coming off of Oniel Fisher. The Sounders continued with a seventy-third minute Cristian Roldan goal, assisted by Ivanschitz. Seattle cruised to a 5-0 with, with Ivanschitz awarded the man of the match honors for his goal and assist.

Finally, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC bring in Real Salt Lake. Jeff Attinella and David Ousted are the reliable keepers. Jordan Allen of Salt Lake had a yellow card for a thirteenth minute foul. Vancouver's Andrew Jacobson had a yellow card for his twenty-fifth minute foul. Real's Tony Beltran received a yellow card for his twenty-eighth minute foul. Salt Lake saw a miscue in the thirty-fourth minute by Justen Glad lead to the Whitecaps' first goal. Vancouver added on in the thirty-seventh minute with a Cristian Techera goal, courtesy of Christian Bolanos. Kendall Waston of the Whitecaps took a yellow card in the fifty-fourth minute for his foul. Real had yellow cards given to Luke Mulholland in the fifty-ninth minute and Olmes Garcia in the seventy-fourth minute. Marcel de Jong of Vancouver took a yellow card for an eighty-ninth minute foul. The game ended at 2-0, with Techera the man of the match for his clincher.

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Major League Soccer 2016 - Week 18

The weekend is full with ten games, beginning with two on Friday. The first sees...

Orlando City SC and the Houston Dynamo face off. Tyler Deric and Joe Bendik man the nets. The game went without a card or a goal, ending 0-0. Bendik's three-save clean sheet made him the man of the match.

The other Friday game saw the San Jose Earthquakes host FC Dallas. Chris Seitz and David Bingham play goal. In the twenty-ninth minute, Alberto Quintero of San Jose had a yellow card for his foul. Dallas saw a yellow card for a thirty-first minute Matt Hedges foul. Dallas got going with a Maximiliano Urruti goal in the fifty-first minute. In the fifty-ninth minute, the Earthquakes saw a yellow card for an Anibal Godoy foul. Dallas had a yellow card assessed to Mauro Diaz for his sixty-first minute foul. In the seventy-second minute, Atiba Harris of Dallas took a yellow card for his seventy-second minute foul. The game ended 1-0, with Urruti the man of the match for his winner.

On Saturday, the first of six games sees the Seattle Sounders FC welcome the Los Angeles Galaxy. Brian Rowe and Stefan Frei are the reliable keepers. Los Angeles began in the fifteenth minute on a Robbie Keane goal set up by Gyasi Zardes and Dave Romney. In the sixty-ninth minute, the Galaxy's Romney took a yellow card for his foul. The game ended 1-0, with the man of the match being Keane for his winner.

East to Philadelphia, where the Union bring in DC United. Bill Hamid and Andre Blake are the quality keepers. Kofi Opare of DC had a yellow card for his nineteenth minute foul. Philadelphia led off in the twentieth minute with a Roland Alberg penalty kick goal. The Union added on in the thirty-seventh minute with an Ilsinho penalty kick goal. Philadelphia extended the lead in the forty-seventh minute as Ilsinho scored again, thanks to C.J. Sapong and Alberg. Opare took a second yellow card in the sixty-fifth minute, putting United down to ten men. The Union won 3-0, with Ilsinho the man of the match with the brace.

Along to New England, with the Revolution hosting the Columbus Crew SC. Steve Clark and Brad Knighton man the nets. New England opened in the third minute with a Lee Nguyen goal. London Woodberry of the Revolution had a yellow card for a nineteenth minute foul. Columbus' Tony Tchani took a yellow card for his foul in the twenty-seventh minute. The Revolution's Andrew Farrell took a yellow card for a thirtieth minute foul. New England went up 2-0 when the Crew's Wil Trapp committed an own goal in the thirty-fourth minute. In the forty-second minute, Columbus got on the board with an Ola Kamara goal, assisted by Tchani. In the sixty-seventh minute, New England keeper Knighton had a yellow card for time wasting. The Revolution added on in the seventy-first minute with a Kei Kamara goal, passed from Teal Bunbury. New England's Kelyn Rowe had a yellow card for a seventy-ninth minute foul. The game ended 3-1, with the man of the match being Nguyen for his early goal.

Up in Canada, Toronto FC welcomes the Chicago Fire. Sean Johnson and Alex Bono draw the starts in goal. Toronto started with a ninth minute Justin Morrow goal, via Sebastian Giovinco and Jonathan Osorio. This stood for a 1-0 win, and made Morrow the man of the match.

Back stateside, Real Salt Lake bring in the Montreal Impact. Evan Bush and Nick Rimando are the goalies. Montreal was first to score in the eighth minute with a Harry Shipp goal. Victor Cabrera of the Impact took a yellow card for a sixteenth minute foul. Chris Wingert of Salt Lake had a yellow card for a sixty-second minute foul. Justen Glad of Real took a yellow card for his seventieth minute foul. In the seventy-sixth minute, Kyle Beckerman of Salt Lake had a yellow card for a foul. Real tied it on a seventy-ninth minute Yura Movsisyan penalty kick goal. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, thanks to the man of the match Movsisyan.

Saturday's last game sees the Vancouver Whitecaps FC host the Colorado Rapids. Tim Howard and David Ousted protect the nets. Vancouver struck first in the tenth minute with a Kendall Waston goal, assisted by Christian Bolanos and Pedro Morales. Colorado had a yellow card for Jared Watts in the thirty-seventh minute for his foul. Shkelzen Gashi of the Rapids had a yellow card in the fifty-sixth minute for his foul. Colorado tied it in the fifty-ninth minute on a Kevin Doyle goal, coming off of Gashi and Marco Pappa. The Rapids went down to ten men in the seventy-first minute as Eric Miller took a straight red card for his foul. Pappa had a yellow card for Colorado for time wasting in the seventy-fourth minute. The Whitecaps took the lead back with a Cristian Techera penalty kick goal in the eighty-seventh minute. The Rapids tied it with a stoppage time goal by Axel Sjoberg, set up by Doyle. The game ended 2-2, with Doyle being the man of the match for his goal, assist, and save.

On Sunday, the New York Red Bulls welcome the Portland Timbers. Jake Gleeson and Luis Robles guard the woodwork. Portland saw a yellow card in the fourteenth minute for Diego Chara for his foul. Felipe of New York had a yellow card for a fortieth minute foul. Alvas Powell took a yellow card for his sixty-fourth minute foul for the Timbers. The game ended 0-0, with Gleeson the man of the match on his four-save clean sheet under heavy pressure.

Finally, Sporting Kansas City brings in New York City FC. Josh Saunders and Tim Melia are the keepers. Kansas City drew first blood in the eighth minute on a Benny Feilhaber goal. New York City tied it on a fourteenth minute goal by Frank Lampard, courtesy of Ronald Matarrita and Andrea Pirlo. Sporting took the lead back with a Jimmy Medranda goal in the sixteenth minute. Kansas City added on in the fifty-first minute with an Ike Opara goal. In the eighty-third minute, David Villa of New York City had a yellow card for his foul. The game ended 3-1 for Sporting, with Medranda the man of the match.

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NWSL Week 12

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

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

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

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

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

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

Outsider Sports NWSL Best XI - Week 12

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