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- Bay FC Sell Out First Home Game in HIstory 🔥
Bay FC Sell Out First Home Game in HIstory 🔥
PLUS: USWNT back one more time before Emma Hayes era, Arsenal win Conti Cup Final
It’s Monday, April 1st. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.
Good afternoon! I write to you as I travel home from London after a 10-day English extravaganza. My trip started in Manchester with the Derby last weekend and it ended in London, with a WSL duel between West Ham and Brighton on Sunday. I have had such a wonderful week, visiting with my sister Kristie in London and spending family time with our partners. We shared an Easter Sunday roast at a local pub and I was thrilled to discover that Kristie and I share the same affinity for Yorkshire pudding.
Some highlights from my trip included seeing the UWCL quarterfinal last week between Chelsea and Ajax. The game was at Stamford Bridge amidst an energetic crowd and saw Chelsea advance to the semifinals. Another highlight was seeing my lifelong friend and former teammate, Steph McCaffrey, who lives in London, for a walk in Battersea Park. One of my favorite things about traveling is seeing friends who are scattered throughout the world.
But it’s back to work now, and there’s so much to cover here at TWG. My last Friendlies interview with Trinity Rodman came out last Thursday. Trinity was such a joy to speak with and I found myself even more of a fan after she told me how she thinks about her role on the USWNT. We saw Trinity’s Washington Spirit play this weekend, along with the rest of the NWSL, in Week 3 of the 2024 season. More to come on that craziness below!
There’s an episode of Good Vibes dropping tomorrow and an episode of Friendlies with Denise O’Sullivan dropping on Thursday. Make sure you’re subscribed to our Women’s Game podcast feed and you’ll be notified when each episode is live. In the meantime, enjoy the newsletter while I battle my jet lag. I’ll talk to you soon!
Love,
Sam
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VAR IN A COOLER: VAR made itself known this past weekend, and not only because of its goal decisions. During the Kansas City Current bout with visiting Angel City, the world took note as a VAR monitor revealed itself from within a Yeti cooler on the sideline. NWSL lore doubles by the day.🧊
I. Bay FC home opener ends in heartbreaking defeat as Castellanos and Kundanji notch goals before 18,000 in NWSL Week 3 🇺🇲
Bay FC played their first-ever home game in front of a sold out crowd of 18,000 last weekend in California. It was a riveting back and forth display of football with first NWSL goals for Deyna Castellanos and Racheal Kundananji on her debut, though Houston Dash played villains in the end (Bay FC 2 - Houston Dash 3).
In the 19th minute, Venezuelan international Deyna Castellanos claimed Bay FC’s first home goal in history. Zambian star forward and record transfer, Racheal Kundananji, subbed in at the 62nd minute to make her first-ever appearance in NWSL, and netted a seismic equalizer in the 93rd minute. But there is no romance in football, as Havana Salaun secured Houston’s first win of the year in the tenth minute of stoppage time.
ii. Kansas City Current continued their early-season tear this weekend, looking unstoppable as they became the only team to take three wins from their first three games (Kansas City Current 4 - Angel City 2). Temwa Chawinga has been among their biggest offseason signings, and became the first Malawian to score in NWSL on Saturday night.
iii. Sophia Smith made waves last week as she re-committed herself to the Thorns, but Sam Coffey stole the show as her stoppage time stunner in the 99th minute clinched the first point of the year for the Thorns (Portland 2 - 2 Racing Louisville), drawing level at home after a brace from Nigeria’s Uchenna Kanu.
iii. In a weekend rife with stoppage time golazos, San Diego Wave also seized victory at the final gasp. This time it was Australia’s Emily van Egmond who slotted in the difference-maker, claiming three points from Seattle Reign (San Diego 1 - 0 Seattle Reign).
MORE: She’s back and it feels so good. Mallory Swanson scored her first club goal for Chicago Red Stars in 2024, finding the back of the net for the first time since tearing her patellar tendon in a friendly with Ireland last April. The US international was in record-setting form before injury in Austin, tragically missing the 2023 World Cup and robbing us of the opportunity to watch her perform there.
II. One more test for Team USA before Emma Hayes arrives 🇺🇲
After battling to a hard fought victory in last month’s inaugural W Gold Cup, the USWNT is back together for one last test before Emma Hayes takes over. This Saturday in Atlanta, the squad takes on 2011 World Cup winners Japan in the semifinal of SheBelieves Cup. Depending on the result, they could face either Canada or Brazil for the final in Columbus, providing one more tournament-style test against Olympic qualified opponents. Last week, Twila Kilgore named the 23 player SheBelieves Cup roster, and it's loaded with headline grabbing news: Lily Yohannes, the 16-year-old Ajax midfielder from Springfield, Virginia, is called in for her first camp ever. Eva Gaetino, PSG’s 21-year-old defender from Dexter, Michigan, gets her first call-up as well. And with a fierce forward line looking more competitive than Harvard to break into, Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson are back on the roster after a long return from injury. Macario, who plays under Emma Hayes as a striker at Chelsea, was a leading scorer for Lyon before tearing her ACL in June 2022. With seven goals, Swanson was the USWNT’s top scorer in 2023, despite tearing her patellar tendon in April.
III. Arsenal win Conti Cup Final 🏆🏴
The USA’s own Emily Fox is officially a champion, as the Conti Cup Final finished 1-0 in Arsenal’s favor this Sunday after 120 minutes of battle with Chelsea. The Conti Cup is a League Cup competition for the top 24 teams in English women’s football, including all teams from the top flight WSL and second division Championship. Arsenal’s victory marks their seventh Conti Cup trophy, the most of any team. With fairly even control of the ball, Arsenal produced a few more quality chances at Molineux Stadium, in a hard fought clash between the cross-city London rivals. Tension was high throughout the game (including between managers at the final whistle), and emotion fraught after Frida Manuum’s collapse. Eventually, Stina Blackstenius broke through to claim victory.
IV. UEFA Women’s Champions League Semifinal is set 🌍
The UWCL wrapped up its 2024 quarter finals last week, with 'underdog' sides continuing their strong showing across the tournament, though the more established clubs progress to the next round. Ajax followed up their loss at home by nicking a 1-1 draw in London against Chelsea (Ajax 1 - Chelsea 4 on aggregate). Elsewhere, Norwegian side Brann held the reigning champions from Barcelona at bay for a second match running, falling 3-1 in Spain for the second leg (Brann 2 - Barcelona 5 on aggregate). PSG collected a 3-0 resounding win over Swedish side Häcken (PSG 5 - 1 Häcken on aggregate). And eight-time trophy winner Lyon clipped Benfica 4-1, as US captain Lindsey Horan collected her third straight UWCL knockout match with an assist. (Lyon 6 - Benfica 2 on aggregate).
Those semi finals:
Barcelona vs Chelsea (April 20, 730 AM EST)
Lyon vs PSG (April 20, 1 PM EST)
Chelsea vs Barcelona (April 27, TBD)
PSG vs Lyon (April 27, TBD)
V. News and Notes 📰
NWSL surpassed Taylor Swift and YouTube in 2024’s Prestigious Business Innovators List 🇺🇲
Prosecutors seek up to 2.5 years jail time for Rubiales 🇪🇸
How German women’s football is not reaching its potential 🇩🇪
VI. Parting Shots 🥃
Last season, Brazil’s Kerolin became the first-ever Latin American player to win league MVP honors for her 10-goal and 3-assist season with North Carolina Courage. Tragically, at the end of last year, Kerolin tore her ACL. This past weekend, Kerolin was honored for her 2023 MVP accolades ahead of North Carolina’s match. This is what it means for the injured Brazilian wonder. 🇧🇷
VII. Good Reads 📚
From Suzy Wrack in The Guardian: ‘Chelsea’s Catarina Macario: I’m grateful just to have legs now’
From Fast Company, ‘How the NWSL became one of the hottest investments in sports’
From Forbes, ‘Sophia Smith’s new deal with the Portland Thorns makes her the highest paid NWSL player’
