A Record-Breaking NWSL Win 🙌🏼

Plus, the Grannies International Football Tournament.

April 22, 2025

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

What a weekend… Orlando LOST to the Spirit, Gotham is BACK in full force thanks to Esther, and Barcelona has a three-goal lead over Chelsea after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. It’s that time of year where it feels like every competition is vying for our attention. And with only three games left in the WSL, I’m soaking up all the matches I can! So keep reading for more news from the NWSL, WSL, Champions League, and more.

Lynn, Becky, and I are still on a high from our live show in Seattle last week. Inside jokes were made, so if you haven’t watched the show back on our Youtube channel yet, make sure you do so you can understand our newest bits that are bound to come up on Good Vibes – the hat thing, the heart hands… the list goes on. We are so grateful to everyone who came out to the show and had an Olipop with us. It was actually so much fun and I am really hoping we can do more this year! Lynn and I will recap the live show and our week in Seattle together on Good Vibes on Tuesday.

I, now formally known as “Sammy Media,” embraced my inner Rob-Lowe-in-an-NFL-hat and went to both the Seattle vs. Portland game and the Kansas City vs. Houston game this weekend. How many NWSL games can one podcast host go to in a single season? Seems like we’re about to find out. I loved being at both matches and getting to meet so many of you. I even tried my hand at sideline reporting… but I’m so looking forward to a week back in Vermont with my dog and some homemade slop. Nothing beats podcasting from home.

Thank you all for being here with us.

Love,
Sam

NWSL Week Five: Orlando’s Unbelievable Home Unbeaten Run Finally Comes to an End 💜

Orlando Pride 0-1 Washington Spirit

NWSL’s third-place Washington Spirit traveled to Orlando with a hefty injury list (including U.S. star forward Trinity Rodman, who will be out indefinitely as she seeks medical treatment for long-term back pain) in the first regular season re-match of the 2024 NWSL Championship. In the 63rd minute, 23-year-old Nigerian forward Gift Monday scored the game-deciding goal, as Spirit beat Orlando 1-0, putting an end to the Pride’s unbeaten run, including a mind-boggling 603 days at home without a loss.  

Kansas City Current 2-0 Houston Dash

Things you can count on: Kansas City winning games at CPKC Stadium, and Lo LaBonta goal celebrations staying fresh. After scoring the home side’s first goal from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win against Houston, LaBonta unfurled a few pirouettes. With the win (and Orlando’s loss), Kansas City are the only perfect team left standing in the NWSL as they collected their fifth win from five games this season. They also broke the NWSL record for consecutive wins in the regular season: Saturday’s triumph was their ninth-straight regular-season victory stretching back to last year.

  • 🗣️ Sam’s Take: Kansas City is really impressive. They continue to rack up the wins, scoring goals in dynamic and various ways. When Houston prevented the counter attack by keeping numbers back, they scored off set pieces. This team could have what it takes to stay top of the table all season long.

Angel City FC 0-4 Gotham 

Orlando wasn’t the only team to see their strong start come to an end. After collecting their first win of 2025 last weekend, Gotham traveled to Los Angeles and trounced the home team 4-0, putting a stop to ACFC’s unbeaten (two wins, two draws) run after four weekends. Spanish forward Esther Gonzalez scored a brace for her second straight game as she helped secure the win. 

More: Seattle Reign won the Battle of Cascadia with a 1-0 victory over Portland Thorns. The Women’s Game beloved podcast co-host, Lynn Biyendolo, officially tied NWSL’s all-time assists record after setting up Maddie Dahlien for the game-deciding goal. 🥲

  • 🗣️ Sam’s Take: I'm always proud of Lynn! What a huge accomplishment and I'm sure there's much more where that came from. I was at this game in person and was so impressed with goal-scorer Maddie Dahlien. She was really efficient in her 1v1 battles out wide and set herself up for a lot of chances. She's on my list for way-too-early Rookie of the Year contenders.

🥤 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.

Champions League Semi-Finals: Chelsea & Arsenal Fall Behind in First of Two Tests 🏆

Arsenal 1-2 Lyon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇫🇷

Saturday in London, eight-time UWCL Champions Lyon beat the home side 2-1 in front of 40,045 fans at the Emirates. U.S. captain Lindsey Heaps was instrumental in the buildup of Haitian midfielder (and 2024’s Concacaf Player of the Year) Melchie Durmonay’s game-winning goal, which came in the 82nd minute. The Gunners will head to France to play Lyon in the second leg, where the French juggernauts aim to qualify for their 12th UWCL Final.

📺 Second-Leg Match: Sunday, 12 p.m. ET, DAZN

Barcelona 4-1 Chelsea 🇪🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Sunday in Spain, the reigning UWCL Champions beat England’s first-place WSL side Chelsea 4-1. U.S. forward Catarina Macario came off the bench for Chelsea to help set up the Blues’ lone goal. But Barcelona were dominant in their home stadium; Claudia Pina notched a brace, and Irene Paredes and Ewa Pajor each contributed a goal to give the Spaniards momentum before heading to London for the second leg.

📺 Second-Leg Match: Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, DAZN

  • 🗣️ Sam's Take: I was so disappointed for Chelsea in this game. A three-goal deficit against arguably the best team in the world is not a good place to be with only 90 minutes to play. Barcelona have knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League consistently over the past few years, which has got to be frustrating. But I will say – we saw Chelsea come back against Man City in the quarterfinals of this same competition just a few short weeks ago... so never say never.

📧 Enjoying The Women’s Game? Check out our other MiB newsletters here.

Elsewhere in the Football World 🌍

WSL Matchday 19 of 22 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

With three games to go in the WSL season, Chelsea have a three-point lead over second-place Arsenal after the Gunners beat Leicester City 5-1 last week (the two sides played midweek due to Arsenal’s Champions League matchup over the weekend). Chelsea will play their delayed match this Wednesday against Crystal Palace. 

The Northern Super League Is Officially Underway 🇨🇦

Last Wednesday, Vancouver Rise beat Calgary FC 1-0 in front of 14,018 fans at BC Place in Vancouver to mark the first match of Canada's historic new league. Former Seattle Reign mainstay and Canadian National Team midfielder Quinn scored the league’s first goal from the penalty spot to clinch the win. Then over the weekend, Toronto hosted Montreal Roses FC for the second match of the season. Montreal beat the home side 1-0 with a goal from team co-captain Tanya Boychuk.

News & Notes 🗞️

  • Earlier this month, teams and fans from seven different countries across the globe converged in a small farming town in South Africa for the second-ever Grannies International Football Tournament. The one rule? Players must be women over the age of 50. Relive it in all it’s glory here.

  • Angel City selected a new permanent head coach. Bayern Munich’s 49-year-old Alexander Straus will join ACFC on June 1. 

  • The United States is getting a new second-division women’s professional league. The WPSL Pro is planning to launch in 2026 as a second-tier league, despite earlier plans to launch as a third-division program. Cleveland Soccer Group, who were passed over for a spot in the NWSL in recent months, could be one of their first teams.

Matches Worth Setting Reminders For 📺

NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇺🇸

After beating the reigning champs in their home stadium, Washington Spirit returns home to play the 2023 champions, Gotham, as the New York/New Jersey squad is heating up, coming off two back-to-back victories the last two weekends. 

Frauen-Bundesliga: Bayern vs. Freiburg (Sunday, 8 a.m. ET, DAZN) 🇩🇪

With a victory, Bayern Munich could win the 2025 Frauen-Bundesliga title with two weekends left in the season. 

Also: Both UWCL Semi-Final second legs are streaming on Sunday on DAZN with Chelsea vs. Barcelona at 9 a.m. ET and Lyon vs. Arsenal at 12 p.m. ET. 🏆

What’s the Story? 🗣️ Vancouver Rise & Canadian National Team Midfielder Quinn’s Message of Encouragement to Other Trans Athletes

Sam Mewis: What would your message be to other trans athletes going through life and sport in this time we're living in right now?

Quinn: They have a community behind them. There are people that are going through similar things as them and to connect with those communities because that for me was my biggest help, kind of working my way through environments, was to connect with other trans folks and learn about their experiences and lean on that support. 

Quinn (Continued): I think it would be ignorant to say that it's not a difficult path forward. I have the belief that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there is upward progress in the long term. But I also have the understanding that I don't know what the next four years are gonna look like in terms of, you know, trans rights in the United States and even looking at the election in Canada. It will be a difficult path, but to just find opportunities of joy, whether that's in sport, outside of sport, or in your community, and keep pushing forward and being your authentic self, because that's the only way that you can show up for yourself and the community every day.

It’s TWG Trivia Time 🤔

Welcome to our weekly trivia game, we’re absolutely thrilled you could join us.

This week’s question: Former Canadian National Team player and Northern Super League founder Diana Matheson has played a pivotal role in launching Canada’s new top-flight professional women’s soccer league after retiring from the game in 2021. In 2012, she scored Canada’s game-winning goal in their bronze medal victory at the London Olympics. What team did they defeat in that win?

Respond to this email for a chance to win a coveted TWG patch.

Last week’s answer: It was Anson Dorrance, who is the only USWNT manager to see more debuts (22) in his first 20 matches in charge than Emma Hayes’ 17. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any correct responses for last week’s question, so better luck this time around!

Moment of Joy 🤸

Jayna writes: Hi Women’s Game Crew,

My name is Jayna, been listening to Sam and Lynn since the early snack days! Becky is an amazing addition, and your analysis of games has helped me as a new-ish soccer fan (since 2018) learn the game. I also really love how in-depth the friendly interviews are, it’s such a great way to hear from the player’s perspective and to get to learn more about their stories/journeys.

I was watching Celebrity Jeopardy this week and there was a clue about the Ides of March!! I cannot tell you how loud I screamed Julius Caesar after not even really knowing that phrase until Sam kept repeating it (lmao). Just thought you guys would get a kick out of it!

Thanks for creating such a great podcast with two weekly episodes! It’s perfect to listen to on my 45-min commute to work in the morning.

Cheers!

Jayna

Sam writes: Hi Jayna! I’m so glad you’re not only getting soccer knowledge out of our podcasts, but history lessons as well! Just don’t ask me about the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

Thanks for listening and writing in!

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]