An NWSL Player's Historic First Goal 🇮🇹

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

Another competitive NWSL weekend in the books, with multiple ties and also... multiple weather delays. The most notable performance for me this weekend was probably San Diego, who have pushed their way into second place with possession-based attacking. Jonas Eideval is making his case for coach of the year, having transformed this Wave team into a consistent, dangerous, creative machine. I’m loving watching French duo Delphine Cascarino and Kenza Dali.

We’ve got another episode of Good Vibes FC with Becky Sauerbrunn dropping today, and we’re also debuting some very special new Good Vibes merch! I’m so psyched about this drop and I want you all to have a chance at getting these limited edition items. Sign up for our Discord HERE and you’ll get early access to the Good Vibes FC x Olipop Summer Collection! I’m on Discord and have been loving chatting with you all on The Women’s Game channel.

Later this week we’ve got a special episode of Friendlies dropping with Bay FC owner, Leslie Osborne, ahead of Bay’s game at Oracle Park this weekend. I can’t wait for you all to hear it!

Thank you all so much for being here.

Love,
Sam

NWSL Matchday 16: The League’s Top Two Face Off in a Weekend Full of Draws ⚖️

Kansas City Current 0-0 Orlando Pride

The top two teams met for the second time this year, this time in Kansas City, and while the Current won their first matchup 1-0 earlier in the season, they settled for a 0-0 draw this time out. Most notably though was that the match played out after a 3.5-hour weather delay due to extreme heat, which hindered the health of players and flow of the game. The Current fired off 16 shots in Saturday’s test but only managed to get one on target. Meanwhile Orlando also managed to land just one shot on target, but with the draw, they became the first team to avoid defeat in Kansas City this season, as well as the first to hold the Current scoreless at CPKC Stadium since it opened in 2024. Concerningly, star forward Barbra Banda departed the field with an injury.  

• Sam's Take 🗣️: I get that there's a delicate dance with scheduling games with major TV networks, but this was somewhat ridiculous. I remember the days that the NWSL's Lifetime slot was 3:30 p.m., even during the heat of the summer, and I like to think things have improved since 2017. I'd like to see us keep pushing for night games in the summer and prime-time slots. What do you think? Send me an email at [email protected] or join us on Discord!

More: Kansas City Current match delayed 3-plus hours by heat. Why was it scheduled?

San Diego Wave 2-1 Bay FC

Kansas City Current have a whopping 11-point lead at the top of the NWSL table. But the San Diego Wave slid into second place this weekend after beating their Cali counterparts, Bay FC, 2-1 in San Jose. San Diego are undefeated in five regular season games and haven’t lost since June 6, but Saturday’s win is their first in four games after they settled for draws in their last three matches. Bay FC, on the other hand, are sitting just below the playoff positions and struggling to get a win despite some respectable performances. Their last victory was June 7, and they now have three losses and two draws from their last five games.

Washington Spirit 2-2 Racing Louisville

It was a weekend full of draws but Washington Spirit’s tie with Louisville featured some of the best goals. That includes a blistering strike from way, way out to mark Italian Sofia Cantore’s first NWSL goal in her Audi Field debut (Cantore made history this summer as she became the first Italian in NWSL when she signed for the Spirit). And a 100th-minute golazo from Spirit’s Rosemunde Kouassi secured a point at the death. 

More: Spanish striker Esther González scored her 11th goal of the season in Gotham’s 2-1 defeat to Houston Dash, pushing her ahead of Temwa Chawinga in the Golden Boot race. Earlier this week, Esther also announced that her partner Estefanía is pregnant. 🦇🍼

📬 Enjoying The Women’s Game? Check out our other Men in Blazers newsletters:

🐦‍⬛ The Raven: Our Monday and Friday newsletter where we preview the biggest matches around the world (and tell you where/how to watch them) and recap our favorite football moments from the weekend.

🔍 The Correspondent: Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly update on the most important topics in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

The Good Vibes FC x OLIPOP Collection Launches TODAY! ☀️

Last chance to sign-up for our Discord for early access to the limited-edition Good Vibes FC x OLIPOP Summer Collection! Discord members will get access at 10 a.m. ET, a full hour earlier than the public.

Across the Sea: Pre-Season Friendlies 🌍

Barcelona 1-0 Levante Badalona 🇪🇸

Spanish juggernauts Barcelona Femeni beat Levante Badalona in the Copa Catalunya Feminina this past Sunday, marking their 11th trophy out of 18 editions. Polish striker Ewa Pajor, the team’s top scorer with 32 goals across all competitions last season, knocked home the decisive goal in the 55th minute. 

Ajax 1-1 Chelsea 🇳🇱 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Chelsea, who won all three of England’s domestic trophies last season, drew Dutch club Ajax 1-1 in the Netherlands this past weekend. The match featured a lone goal from Norwegian winger Guro Reiten and a pair of Americans in the starting lineup: center-back Naomi Girma and forward Catarina Macario. Earlier in the week, Girma was seen wearing the captain’s armband during Chelsea’s preseason training. 

Manchester United 8-0 Real Betis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇪🇸

U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce kept a clean sheet in a pre-season friendly against Spanish second-division team Real Betis. Manchester United played the Spaniards while training in Marbella. 

Lyon 3-0 Nürnberg 🇫🇷 🇩🇪

American midfielders Lindsey Heaps and Lily Yohannes both got the start in OL Lyonnes’ friendly against second-division German side Nürnberg. Fellow U.S. midfielder Korbin Shrader (née Albert) appeared in the second half, and scored one of the team’s three goals, marking her first for her new club since joining from PSG.

📬 Enjoying TWG? Check out our other MiB newsletters here:

🐦‍⬛ The Raven: Our Monday and Friday newsletter where we preview the biggest matches from around the world (and tell you where/how to watch them) and recap our favorite football moments from the weekend.

🔍 The Correspondent: Acclaimed football writer Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly digest featuring the biggest stories in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

Goals of the Weekend, Presented by New Balance 💥

🥤 Olipop power everything we do here at The Women’s Game. You can use code TWG20 for 20% off your first order at drinkolipop.com/TWG20.

News and Notes 🗞️

• Barcelona Femeni’s star-studded squad is down to just 18 players as the club comes under fire for cutting costs to their women’s program. READ: What’s happening at Barcelona? Only 17 active players and more departures expected.

• Chicago Stars FC have a new head coach, as former Norway manager Martin Sjögren will take charge of the 13th-place squad in January 2026 ahead of next season. The Stars made the playoffs in 2024 but have had oscillating success over the years, and have sorely missed USWNT star forward Mallory Swanson in 2025, who is on maternity leave. 

• Concacaf’s W Champions Cup sets off for a second edition this week. Last year, Gotham won the inaugural tournament by defeating Mexican club Tigres in the final with a goal from their Spanish striker and NWSL top-scorer, Esther. As with last season, the winners of this edition will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and 2028 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.

  • Sam's Take 🗣️: I feel this is a difficult time for Gotham to suddenly have a bunch of additional games and travel. My hope is that they will use these games to right the ship and get confidence from results, but they're in a precarious position in the NWSL table. The other teams competing in this season's edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup are Orlando and the Spirit.

We Wanna Hear From You 🫵

Attention TWG readers! Here at The Women’s Game, we value your feedback on all things we do, and we’re looking for your input in the survey linked HERE. In return for your support, completing the survey will give you the chance to be one of two winners of a $100 gift card to the new TWG store, coming soon. 👀

It’s TWG Trivia Time 🤔

Welcome back to our weekly trivia game!

This week’s question: With the French league preparing for a new season, another American scored for a club there over the weekend. Who was the first USWNT player to score for a Première Ligue side?

Respond to this email (or reply here) for a chance to win a coveted TWG patch.

Last week’s answer: The four players who have won the Ballon d’Or Feminin since 2018 are Ada Hegerberg (2018), Megan Rapinoe (2019), Alexia Putellas (2021, 2022), and Aitana Bonmati (2023, 2024).

This week’s trivia winner is Sarah Davenport. Thanks to everyone who replied!

Good Reads 👩‍💻

• From Júlia Belas Trindade in The Guardian, ‘Iconic Brazilian coach Dilma Mendes: ‘Police would arrest me for playing football’

• From Jessie Williams for Huck Magazine, ‘Afghanistan’s women’s football team are fighting to play’

• From Jeff Kassouf for ESPN, ‘MVP tracker 3.0: ranking the best players in the NWSL’

Moment of Joy 🤸

Audry writes: Hello! Thought you might appreciate a picture or two of my dog Pearl with her two favorite things - her food and a partly-deflated soccer ball! 

As a vet, it is very nice to see a podcast sponsored by a food that is really good quality and not just trendy. Also, keep up the fantastic work on the show. It never fails to brighten my day! 

Audry

Sam writes: Okay, Pearl is a literal DOG MODEL! 😍 Thanks so much for sharing this photo. We’re so excited to partner with Purina and if you haven’t seen our video with Rose Lavelle and Wilma already, you should definitely check it out!

Sam

📝 Want to be featured in next week’s TWG newsletter? Send Sam an email! All your questions, comments, and dog (or wedding) photos can be sent to [email protected]

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