35,038: Chicago Red Stars Break NWSL Attendance Record 🏟️ 🇺🇲

It’s June 10, 2024. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Happy Monday, TWG readers! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends… the NWSL is back and as chaotic as ever. The Olympics are just 44 days away. And TWG had its first ever live show in Kansas City last week thanks to our good friends at Olipop! What a time to be alive.

Kansas City — you are as special as I remember. The live show was so much fun. Rog and I got to speak with Kristen Hamilton and Elizabeth Ball about Halloween costumes, Mr. and Mrs. Long (you can be in on the joke, just listen to the show) and barbecue. Then we spoke with Chris Long of the ownership group and Lisa Nguyen, food influencer and KC Current fan. And last but not least, crowd favorite and celly queen, Lo Labonta joined us onstage for some shenanigans.

The show itself was an absolute blast — the audience was laughing, there were pictures and videos up on the screen behind us, and the Olipop was flowing. The TWG squad did an incredible job behind the scenes making sure everything ran smoothly and it was so much fun to perform a show like that LIVE with an audience. Thank you so much to everyone who showed up and everyone who listened to the show afterwards. It’s still available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

We’ll be bringing you Good Vibes tomorrow with Lynn Williams, just in time to recap all things NWSL from this past weekend, including the game at Wrigley Field, the red card debacle, and Gotham’s unbeaten streak. 

Then on Thursday, we have an emotional interview with Kelley O’Hara. We BOTH tear up talking about our retirements and how hard it is dealing with injury. I was so grateful to Kelley for being so open and willing to discuss what she’s going through, and I think it’s really important for people to hear.

We also have a couple of big interviews this week (👀) so keep your eyes on our socials for some clues and question requests.

Keep reading for all the details you need to know about this past week in soccer. Thanks for being here!

Love,

Sam 

I. NWSL Matchday 12: Chicago Red Stars break NWSL attendance record as 35,053 fans pack Wrigley Field 🏟️ 🇺🇲

a. For the first time ever, the Chicago Red Stars played at the historic home of the Cubs, Wrigley Field this weekend. As 35,038 joyous fans packed the stadium, they broke the NWSL’s regular season attendance record in the process. Expansion side Bay FC proved the victors in the affair, claiming a 2-1 victory over the home team. Despite the loss, a lovely moment was clinched in stoppage time for the Red Stars: electric forward and team top scorer Penelope Hocking scored the lone goal for Chicago, making her the second Hocking to score at Wrigley Field after Penelope's dad Denny hit homeruns there as a professional baseball player for the Twins.⚾ Another lovely moment for the weekend: 110,845 fans attended games across the league, the most in NWSL history. 📈

b. Gotham started slow this year as injuries rocked their lineup, but they’ve found firm footing as key players regained health. The impact of those players was clear over the weekend, as Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Angel City FC featured goals from the inimitable Crystal Dunn and crafty magician Rose Lavelle. The victory is their sixth win of the season, with five of those wins earned in what is now a seven game unbeaten streak. 

More: After the game, Gotham honored TWG’s own NWSL legend, Lynn Williams, who recently set the all goals, all competitions record in NWSL when she scored her 79th against Chicago.  

c. Undisputed celly queen Lo’aeu LaBonta and her Kansas City teammates are having the time of their life this season. Sunday’s 5-2 goalfest at home against Seattle Reign was yet another thriller for fans, marking an incredible 23 goals scored in their first six games at the historic CPKC Stadium. That’s an NWSL record. With the win, KCC are back on top of the standings ahead of Orlando Pride. 

II. Tough decisions ahead for Emma Hayes after strong starts against South Korea 🇺🇲

a. The Emma Hayes era set off to a strong start this June with two wins in two friendlies against South Korea. The second, transpiring last Tuesday in St. Paul, featured a vastly rotated squad with goals from Crystal Dunn (Gotham) playing as a forward, a work of attacking magic that Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) finished off, and 16-year-old Lily Yohannes (Ajax) in a mesmerizing debut. With the Olympics just 44 days away, Emma must now face the first major challenge of her tenure: deciding who to bring.  

b. The Olympic roster is an unforgiving 18 player team that leaves little room for error and no matter what, leaves elite talents at home this summer. Across the field, Hayes has near-impossible decisions to make, and ill-timed injuries could throw a wrench in her plans (Presumed number one keeper Alyssa Naeher missed Hayes’ first camp with injury, for example, though went the full 90 for Chicago Saturday night). While talents like left back Jenna Nighswonger (Gotham) and Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns) have laid convincing claim to their positions in recent months, other areas of the field are more up in the air. And with a deep reservoir of exceptionally talented forwards at her disposal (Morgan, Macario, Swanson, Smith, Rodman, Dunn, Williams, and more), selecting her attacking personnel may be the most difficult choice of them all. 

More: ‘Emma Hayes’ first big USWNT conundrum: Olympic roster cuts’

Also: ‘Dream debut turns into reality for 16-year-old Lily Yohannes’ 

III. Euro ‘25 qualifying update: England win second test against Les Bleues in France, Germany and Spain first to officially qualify 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇪🇸🇩🇪🌍

a. England’s Lionesses are in third-place behind France and Sweden after four matches in the Euro Qualifying group of death. Though with a trademark golazo from Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway and University of North Carolina’s own Alessia Russo (Arsenal), England closed the recent international window with a spark of hope in France, defeating the home side 2-1. With two matches to go this July, England could still directly qualify for the Euros with positive results against Ireland and Sweden, or else will face a berth via the playoffs this fall. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

More: ‘England sink France to avenge home defeat’

b. Reigning World Cup champions Spain and eight-time European champions Germany clinched qualification for Euro 2025 last Tuesday, becoming the first teams to officially join hosts Switzerland in the 16-team event. With two more matches to go in the group stage, six more teams from League A will directly qualify this July. The remaining teams will seek a final spot via the playoffs, starting this fall. 🇪🇸🇩🇪

More: ‘Germany and World Cup champions Spain qualify for Euro 2025’

IV. News and Notes 📰

a. Australia has named their Olympic squad for this summer’s tournament, now just 44 days away. The Matildas are coming off their best-ever result in the World Cup after losing to England in the semi-final last summer, and will compete in Group B alongside the US, Germany and Zambia. 🇦🇺

b. The draw is complete for the first-ever Concacaf Champions Cup, kicking off this August 2024. The inaugural event will be played from August through May 2025, and serves as the only path to qualifying for the newly launched FIFA Club World Cup. 🌎

c. Sinead Farelly has announced her retirement from the game citing post-concussive syndrome. Sinead was among the brave whistleblowers that triggered investigations into abuse in NWSL in 2021, kickstarting a new era of increased accountability for the game. Her return to the sport after years away saw her lift a Championship. 💛

d. Sabrina Wittmann has been named the first female football coach of a men’s team in Germany’s top three tiers as she takes hold of FC Ingolstadt 04 on a permanent basis. 🇩🇪

e. Caroline Reyna, the younger brother of USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna, is taking part in the US U15 Women’s Youth National Team tournament in Germany this month. 🇺🇲

🏆 Join our Men’s UEFA EURO 2024 Fantasy League and win the EUROs even if England don’t

The Men’s UEFA EURO 2024 is right around the corner, with the first match beginning this Friday, June 14th. And there is not just action on the pitch, but off of it as well. We are partnering with UEFA EURO 2024 to join the official Fantasy League of the tournament. It’s quite simple, pick your players, click submit, and you can win a whole range of prizes throughout the tournament as you watch along. Run, don’t walk to join the official UEFA EURO 2024 Fantasy League this summer and be sure to look at the top of the leaderboard for his entry “Jack Grealish’s Calves”.

V. Parting Shots 🥃

Chicago Red Stars weren’t the only record setting team drawing big crowds for women’s football over the past week. The Matildas played before their 14th straight sold out crowd last week, as 76,798 fans showed up in Sydney to watch Australia vs China. Elsewhere, 18,000 supporters showed out for a third tier German football match, to support Union Berlin clinch promotion with an 8-0 victory over Henstedt-Ulzburg. 🇦🇺🇨🇳🇩🇪

VI. Good Reads 📚

i. From Donald McRae in The Guardian, an interview with Khalida Popal on founding Afghanistan’s women’s football team, ‘I was accused of wanting to brainwash women to play football’ 🇦🇫

ii. From Natalie Zannikos, a wide-ranging interview with England Lioness legend Jill Scott, ‘Jill Scott isn’t giving any airtime to sexist commentary about women’s football’

iii. From Rick Maese and Ella Brockway in The Washington Post, ‘The NWSL’s teen invasion’