There was something vaguely familiar about yesterday’s Orlando Pride vs. Sky Blue match up: a handball clearance off the line in crunch time, a red card, a penalty, a penalty save. All right, it’s not exactly a World Cup knockout game and Carli Lloyd didn’t know much about the goal-saving move (it seems), but one can’t help but think of a certain Uruguayan striker by the name of Luis Suarez after seeing this.
Had the head of Lindsey Horan not come to the rescue in the dying seconds of the match against Australia last night, the USWNT would have been handed its first loss in over a year. Though they salvaged a draw, fans of the game have seen this before and the message is loud and clear: the rest of the world is catching up.
International football’s governing body revealed its candidates for the FIFA Best Women's Player award on Tuesday, the winner of which will be announced at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London in two months.
Here is FIFA’s list of the nominees up for the award:
In her post-game interview on July 7 after playing former club Sky Blue, Chicago Red Stars forward Sam Kerr did not want to talk about her hat-trick or the satisfaction of clinching three points on the road. Rather, Kerr used the mic in front of her to say this: “I wish things were better here [at Sky Blue]. I’m just going to say the girls deserve better and I’m just going to leave it at that. These girls are great girls. They give everything of themselves for this club and this league and they just deserve better.
HAO is coming home. This past week, the North Carolina Courage announced that they had made the move for Heather O'Reilly, who has been in England with Arsenal for the past year and a half.
USWNT fans rejoice, Christen Press is back plying her trade on American soil. New kids on the block Utah Royals FC traded away Brooke Elby and five draft picks (including the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft) for the former Chicago Red Star forward’s rights.
Tobin Heath is like a lot of Americans this summer — watching a World Cup without the U.S. Men’s National Team for the first time in her life.
In the midst of her sixth season with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, Heath is keeping a close eye on the men’s World Cup in Russia. The USWNT winger said it’s terrible the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but she hopes it can turn into a positive opportunity for U.S. Soccer.
USWNT players are typically cheered wherever they take the field for a NWSL match. But on Wednesday, North Carolina Courage defender Jaelene Hinkle, who has eight U.S. caps to her name, was roundly booed as her name was announced ahead of an away match against the Portland Thorns.
The Houston Dash cannot catch a break. For the second time in the club’s short history, the Dash acquired a star USWNT player who doesn’t want to play for them. After putting up with an unhappy and unproductive Carli Lloyd for a couple seasons, Houston traded for Christen Press, who refused to report to the squad. The 29-year-old forward instead signed with Göteborg FC in Sweden on Monday.
The 2018 NWSL season will kick off on March 24 with a 2017 NWSL Championship rematch between the Portland Thorns and the North Carolina Courage.
The league released its full 2018 schedule Tuesday, including the games of the week, to be shown on the Lifetime network. Matches that aren't on Lifetime will be streamed via the go90 app and website.