Orlando Stays Undefeated 💜; Trinity on Fire 🔥

It’s September 16, 2024. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Happy Monday, TWG readers! Summer is hanging on here in Vermont so I soaked it up the best I could this weekend with long walks, meals outside, and planting mums everywhere I can fit them. (When I bought the mums I also bought a couple of pumpkins so I have one foot firmly in fall even while enjoying the warm weather). I also went to a Middlebury women’s soccer game on Saturday to watch five of the players I coached with Vermont Green earlier this year. They won!

The NWSL continues to impress and beguile us all — Trinity Rodman scored a banger against Houston on Sunday and did a sleepy celebration that made me laugh and rewind the TV. San Diego picked up a win, while Portland lost their 4th in a row. There’s just no predicting what might happen in this league — except that Orlando still just can’t lose. But playoffs are approaching, spooky season is almost here… so the next few weeks are going to be crazy.

The Women’s Super League in England is kicking off this weekend, so the time of year where there are games all day long is truly upon us. I’m preparing for a WSL preview podcast later this week but I need your help answering some questions. Call into the TWG voice mailbox at 855-611-4050 and tell me your thoughts about one or more of the following questions:

1. Who has the potential to win the league over Chelsea?

2. How much will Arsenal miss Viv Miedema?

3. Who will challenge Bunny Shaw for the Golden Boot?

4. Which stadium provides the best home-field advantage?

5. What Chappell Roan song is representative of your favorite WSL team?

This week we are switching things up and dropping “Friendlies” with Ali Riley tomorrow and “Good Vibes” with Lynn on Thursday. The interview with Ali Riley is really incredible — she’s someone I admire a lot and our conversation really gave me a lot to think about. I can’t wait for you all to hear it.

Lots happening this week and I’m so happy that you’re here with us!

Love,

Sam

I. NWSL Matchday 20 🇺🇲: Orlando undefeated, Rodman on fire

a. Orlando Pride are still undefeated after Kansas City Current held them to a 0-0 draw at home this weekend. The scoreless stalemate arrived despite both sides firing off a high volume of shots, including 15 from the home side, Orlando, and 12 for the visitors from Kansas City. Current’s 33-year-old German keeper Almuth Schult (who was signed this summer) was particularly key to the result, as she notched five saves, including this one to stop Barbra Banda from a season-highlight-worthy golazo, as well as this one to keep out Marta. 

b. SWEET DREAMS TRINITY: second-place Washington Spirit (who are officially through to the playoffs) cruised to a 3-0 win over the last-placed NWSL team, Houston Dash. Twenty-nine-year-old striker from San Dimas, Calif., Ashley Hatch, opened the scoring with a brace of early goals to collect her 50th league goal. USWNT star Trinity Rodman followed with a remarkable 46th-minute strike from far out, then celebrated by taking a well-deserved nap. Rodman, who also notched an assist in the win, has three goals in her last four games for the Spirit. 

c. Weekend of firsts: Chicago Red Stars collected their first win since the season resumed with a 1-0 victory over Portland Thorns, whose form is floundering. 24-year-old Englewood, Colo. native Ally Schlegel punished Portland’s early error to seal it.; Bethany Balcer and Janine Beckie scored their first goals for their new club, Racing Louisville, helping to clinch a 2-1 win over Angel City; and San Diego Wave collected their first win since May 8 after scoring two goals in the first ten minutes against Utah Royals. Canadian international Cloé Lacasse scored her first goal for her new club in the Royals’ loss.

More: USWNT star Mallory Swanson injured in Chicago Red Stars win

d. One more game for Matchday 20: Gotham and Seattle go toe-to-toe in a bicoastal battle this evening, pitting the fourth-place reigning NWSL champions against the 11th-place Reign, who have three wins from three games since the season resumed. (Monday, September 16, 10 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

More: Ashley Sanchez became the first NWSL player to score against all 14 active NWSL clubs this weekend, with this goal in a 1-1 draw against Bay FC. 

II. England’s WSL is back 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

England’s top-flight Women’s Super League (WSL) is back with a brand new season this weekend. 

a. Chelsea hosts Aston Villa at their home venue of Kingsmeadow this Friday for the first WSL match of the year. They’ll do so with a new manager on the touchline. As Chelsea’s decorated former boss Emma Hayes is off managing the USA, French manager Sonia Bompastor leads London’s Blues in the new season, where they’ll seek to answer a major question: can they win their sixth straight title in a row?

More: Chelsea Women stop autographs at games over safety

Also: How Bompastor used Chelsea’s preseason to make her mark

b.  Chelsea will face several teams vying to take that title. That includes three-time league winners and the most decorated side overall, Arsenal, who’ve made the ethereal Emirates Stadium their main home venue this season, after averaging 52,000 fans (including two sellouts and three WSL attendance records) in their six games at the Emirates last season. Pressure will be on Swedish manager Jonas Eidevall to deliver on the potential for this club. They’ll be absent Dutch striker extraordinaire, Vivianne Miedema, as the WSL’s record goalscorer leaves after seven seasons to play for Manchester City. The Gunners play City first in the must-watch match of the weekend (Sunday, 7:30 a.m. ET). As for Manchester City (last year’s runners-up to Chelsea in the title race) glory seems for the taking, as Miedema joins a formidable frontline that includes Australia’s Mary Fowler and last year’s golden boot winner, Bunny Shaw.   

c. With six fixtures spread across three days this weekend, last season’s fourth-place Liverpool hosts Leicester City on Sunday (9 a.m. ET); Manchester United look to recover from a disappointing fifth-place finish with a season opener against West Ham on Saturday (7 a.m. ET); Brighton & Hove hosts Everton Saturday (7:30 a.m. ET); and Tottenham hosts Crystal Palace in a cross-London season opener on Sunday (9 a.m. ET). 

📺 Games are available to watch in the U.S. on YouTube or CBS/Paramount+. FA Cup games will be shown on FA Player. 

More: WSL transfer window winners and losers: who had the best summer?

Also: WSL: the new managers for the 2024/25 season, including Sonia Bompastor

III. European Roundup: Champions League Qualifying & French Football return 🏆🇫🇷

a. Champions League Qualifying (Round 2, Leg 1) returns this week with a number of exciting ties. Paris FC— who sent Arsenal and then German giants Wolfsburg packing in subsequent qualifying rounds last season—  will host Manchester City in France this Wednesday (Sept. 18, 1245 p.m. ET). Arsenal starts their hopeful redemption campaign in Sweden, where they face a formidable Häcken side (Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1 p.m. ET). And USWNT fans may want to keep an eye on Italy, where Juventus plays host to PSG, home to the USA’s Korbin Albert, and her fellow Notre Dame alumna, Eva Gaetino (Wednesday, Sept. 20, 1 p.m. ET). PSG is also home to England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who signed for the club this summer after five years with Manchester United. 🎉All matches are free to stream on DAZN. 

More: ‘Honored to be a Parisian’: Mary Earps signs two year deal at PSG

b. France’s top-flight Premiére League returns next weekend. The eight-time champions of Europe, and reigning league champions of France, Lyon, will start the new season with a new manager: 55-year-old Australian Joe Montemurro, as former boss Sonia Bompastor has moved to Chelsea. Lyon midfielder and US captain Lindsey Horan will have a familiar face playing by her side this season, as 31-year-old defender Sofia Huerta has joined on loan from Seattle Reign. The team plays away at Fleury for the first game of the year (Friday, September 20, 3 p.m. ET). Last year’s runners-up, PSG start the year on the road against Montpellier (Saturday, September 21, 3 p.m. ET).

More: Australian coach Joe Montemurro takes reigns at women’s football giants Lyon

IV. News and Notes 🗞️📰

a. The US U20 team is continuing their campaign in Colombia for the 2024 U20 Women’s World Cup in dramatic fashion. The team beat familiar Concacaf rivals Mexico in a close 3-2 Round of 16 contest (featuring this banger from Utah Royals rookie Ally Sentnor) last Wednesday. In Sunday’s quarter-final, the squad took Germany to penalties after clawing back to a 2-2 draw with two stoppage time goals from Ally Sentnor and Florida State forward Jordynn Dudley. The US put away three of their penalties and held Die Nationalelf to one to progress. They’ll play North Korea in this Wednesday’s semifinal, marking their first semifinal appearance since 2016 (Wednesday, September 18, 530 p.m. ET, FIFA+). Japan and the Netherlands face off on the other side (Wednesday, September 18, 9 p.m. ET, FIFA+). 🇺🇲🌎🏆

b. Concacaf W Champions Cup picks up again for Matchday 3 of the Group Stage, featuring one intra-NWSL matchup as San Diego Wave hosts Portland Thorns (Wednesday, Sept. 18, 10 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Golazo Network). After winning their last match in Costa Rica, Gotham hosted Liga MX Femenil side Monterrey in New Jersey (Thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Golazo Network). Jamaica-based club Frazsiers Whip hosts Mexican team Tigres in Kingston (Wednesday, Sept. 18, 8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Golazo Network). And Liga MX Femenil side Club América welcomes Panama club Sante Fe to Mexico City (Thursday, Sept. 19, 9 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Golazo Network). 

V. Parting Shots 🥃

Goal of the week? 21-year-old Canadian defender Jade Rose launched a beautiful ball into the net for Harvard in their test against Milwaukee this weekend. 

VI. Good Reads 📚

a. From Tom Garry in The Guardian, ‘So much about the Ballon d’Or suggests it doesn’t care about women’s football’

b. From Cesar Hernandez in ESPN, ‘Can Liga MX Femenil grow to rival the power of NWSL?’

c. From Maria Howell in NCAA.com, ‘What college soccer fans need to know about the NWSL eliminating the draft’