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NWSL Week 5 saw the full slate of matches take place. Several teams marked important season milestones, two players exchanged braces, and a 10-player side held on for a victory.
Racing Louisville banked a first win for the season, Gotham FC got its first home victory, and Washington Spirit continue the climb at Kansas City’s expense.
Here, we will dive into all the action from NWSL Week 5.
Racing Louisville earns first victory of year, tops Orlando
The visiting side turned the pitch into a shooting gallery, unleashing 27 attempts at Jordyn Bloomer in the Louisville net. And yet, it was Racing that came out on top. Lauren Milliet opened the scoring with a perfect strike from distance at 19 minutes.
The home side held the lead until late in first half stoppage time, when superstar Barbara Banda outran two defenders to slot home for the equalizer.
Racing came out on fire in the second half. Just three minutes in, Sarah Weber rose highest to head in Katie O’Kane’s corner. Then, but two minutes later, the home side increased the lead to two as Milliet notched her brace. Emma Sears put a ball into the middle of the box, and the defender tapped it in for Louisville. Banda matched Milliet with a brace of her own in injury time, but the Pride ran out of time. Racing earns a first victory of this NWSL season.
Spirit nets three in first half, hands Current fourth loss in five
After an heroic Sandy MacIver save on a Croix Bethune breakaway early on, Washington went in to cruise control and easily handled visiting Kansas City. Leicy Santos opened the scoring in the 26th minute, finishing a perfect cross from Trinity Rodman. Rodman doubled the Spirit lead just before half, tucking home a corner that Current keeper Lorena could not handle.
Santos got her second in the 56th minute. After an attack from Sofia Cantore was turned aside, the ball fell to the Spirit midfielder, and she put it in off of Lorena. The Spirit finished the scoring through sub Claudia Martinez in the 75th minute. After her initial attempt was blocked, she followed her shot and blasted home the rebound. Washington is consistently climbing the ranks, and now sits third in the table.
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Gotham dominates Bay all over the pitch, grabs easy win
Gotham enjoyed some home-cooking, scoring their first home goals of the season, and also posting their first win at Sports Illustrated Stadium. After some heroics in net by Bay’s Jordan Silkowitz, the home side finally broke through in the 20th minute. Silkowitz stopped another attack, but she collided with two of her defenders and the ball went in for an own goal by Karlie Lema. Gotham kept the foot on the gas, and were rewarded again in the 40th minute. Rose Lavelle took a cross from Jordynn Dudley and slipped it inside the post to double the Gotham lead.
The home side got an insurance goal through a penalty in extra time. Lavelle was taken down in the box, and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Esther stepped up and fired to the left side. Silkowitz got a hand on the shot, but not enough to keep it out.
Gotham continued to dominate when the sides came out for the second half, forcing Silkowitz into several more saves. For Bay’s part, the San Francisco side could only manage one shot on goal all match, an offering that Ann-Katrin Berger was able to stop. Gotham finally gets a long-awaited home win.
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Stars ends losing skid, keeps Legacy from first points of season
The home side got off to a quick start, striking in the 10th minute. Sam Staab’s corner fell loose in the box, and striker Jordyn Huitema poked it home. From that point on, however, Boston dominated the match.
The visiting side controlled possession, field position, and scoring chances. It was only the repeated heroics of Katie Atkinson that kept the Legacy off the board. Aissata Traoré and Nichelle Prince terrorized the Chicago backline, but were unable to find the back of the net. Just before half, Traoré hit the crossbar, and Atkinson made a miraculous double-save to keep the score 1-0.
Boston came out of the break and continued the attack. However, as happens so many times, a team needs only one chance to break the other side. That chance came for Chicago in the 51st minute. The Stars stopped another Boston attack, and sent a long ball out. Ryan Gareis picked it up on the wing and spotted Nádia Gomes all alone in the middle of the pitch. She took Chicago’s second shot of the match, and scored the second goal. The Legacy never stopped pressing and continued to control the play, but could not find the back of the net. The side remains at the bottom of the table, but this match showed attacking ability.
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Courage go down to 10, hold on to defeat Dash
This very even match saw plenty of runs from both sides, with either team having control of the pitch at times. The visiting Courage sent several efforts toward Jane Campbell, and she stopped them all. On the other end, Lisa Boattin’s long distance effort struck the bar just past Kailen Sheridan’s outstretched hands, but stayed out. Neither side was able to break through until late in the first, when North Carolina struck.
An excellent long ball from Manaka Matsukubo sprung Ashley Sanchez on the left side. She came into the box, then beat Campbell to the far side for a 1-0 Courage lead. Houston had some forays in the Carolina end, but Sheridan turned aside the only shot on target. In the 78th minute, the Courage found themselves down a player as Ally Schlegel was sent off for a high tackle. The Dash could not capitalize on the advantage, however, and the visitors took the three points.
San Diego roars back from down two goals to top Denver
The most exciting match of the week saw newcomer Denver jump out to an early lead, only to see table-toppers San Diego come all the way back for the victory.
The match started off tremendously for the home Summit in the 15th minute. Melissa Kössler continued her banner season for Denver, taking a perfect feed from Yazmeen Ryan and slotting home. The goal was Denver’s first at home this season, and Kössler’s fourth. 16 minutes later, Kössler took on the role of play-maker. She spotted Tash Flint alone in the box, and fed a perfect ball to the England international. Flint’s first drive was thwarted by defender Kristen McNabb, but the midfielder determinedly followed up and headed home for a 2-0 Summit lead.
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The second half saw the visitors come out firing. Just four minutes after the restart, Lia Godfrey and Kimmi Ascanio ran a give-and-go to perfection, with Godfrey finishing to halve the lead. The Wave did not have to wait long to get the equalizer. Just eight minutes after the first, San Diego struck again. Godfrey struck a beautiful corner into the center of the box, and Kennedy Wesley headed it directly home.
The Wave completed the comeback in the 65th minute. Dudinha made a blazing run past the Denver defense and came down the goal line. She tried to center, the ball struck defender Carson Pickett, ricocheted immediately into the goal, and San Diego had the winner. The expansion Summit continues to impress, but this one will sting for a while.
Portland hands Angel City second straight loss after perfect start
The Thorns keeps motoring up the table, while Angel City has hit a roadblock. The first half of this match was exciting, with both Angel City’s Angelina Anderson and Portland’s Mackenzie Arnold making important saves. The two sides produced several great chances, but neither one could find the back of the net. The scoring would have to wait some time before the sides could get on the board.
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For the first 30 minutes of the second half, both sides had several attempts that were turned aside. The breakthrough came in the 75th minute. The host side could not clear Portland’s first corner, and the ball bounced ever closer to goal. Finally, Pietra Tordin got her head on it, giving the Thorns the lead. That scoreline remained until extra time, when the visitors got their second. Angel City could not clear from center, and Sophia Wilson was able to connect from distance at 95 minutes. Just three minutes later, Angel City used a quick restart to halve the lead. Emily Sams found a streaking Prisca Chilufya who crushed home from right in front. Unfortunately for the home crowd, time ran out and Angel City fell for the second straight match.
Utah roars out to early lead, trounces Seattle
It is early yet, but Utah is quietly having an excellent season. After dropping the first two matches, Royals remains undefeated in four, including a current three-match win streak. The latest victim? The Seattle Reign.
The fans barely had a chance to sit when the visiting side struck first. Just 48 seconds into the match, Mina Tanaka stole the ball in the Seattle box. She passed back to Paige Cronin, and Utah’s striker put it top bin past Claudia Dickey. The Seattle faithful had little time to recover, as Utah doubled the lead just six minutes later. Following a corner, the ball came outside the box to Narumi Miura. Her rising shot took a deflection and went beyond the reach of Dickey, and the Royals were cruising.
Then, just before the half, Utah put the match out of reach. In the 45th minute Ana Tejada spotted Cloé Lacasse wide open in the box. She calmly fired home, and the visitors went in with a 3-0 lead. Seattle came close once with Maddie Mercado striking the crossbar late, but could not finish. Mia Justus and Mandy McGlynn combined for Utah’s second straight clean sheet, moving the Royals to fifth in the table with a game in-hand on all the teams above.
NWSL Week 5 results in full
Racing Louisville 3-2 Orlando Pride
Washington Spirit 4-0 Kansas City Current
Gotham FC 3-0 Bay FC
Chicago Stars 2-0 Boston Legacy
Houston Dash 0-1 North Carolina Courage
Denver Summit 2-3 San Diego Wave
Angel City 1-2 Portland Thorns
Seattle Reign 0-3 Utah Royals
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