u/TiredPanini

Where to Watch - October 2026 International Matches
▲ 18 r/NWSL

Where to Watch - October 2026 International Matches

Haiti vs Japan (friendly, at least 5 NWSL players) and Czechia Vs Scotland (2027 WC qualifying, Emslie & MacIver) Friday games are being streamed by one of the participating federations.

Mexico vs Jamaica (friendly, hella NWSL players) Friday will be on youtube and facebook @/ miseleccionmx and tiktok @/ miseleccionfem

If you have any other, preferably legit, ways to watch international games with NWSL players, drop them in the comments! Try to include which day since there are multiple matches between the same teams in a window, and which players to look for in that match.

u/TiredPanini — 6 days ago

League Watch 10/2-4

Match Week 27 10/2-4 (all times Pacific)

NT rosters are mostly out for the October window and we have some World Cup play-in matches and fun friendlies to look forward to. Which player are you most excited to see on the international stage? Besides the US vs Spain I’m looking forward to Sveindis for Iceland, Evelyn Ijeh for Sweden, and Erica Meg Parkinson for England. Ary Borges declined her Brazil callup to spend time with her new baby, but I do look forward to seeing Maiara play for the senior team again, this is only her 2nd or 3rd senior camp.

Recap of the past week’s scorelines:

Fri

Louisville 0-2 San Diego

Gotham 3-1 Chicago

Seattle 2-0 Boston

Sat

KC 4-1 Denver

Washington 0-1 ACFC

Portland 1-1 Houston

Sun

Bay 1-3 Orlando

Utah 2-1 NC

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” Standing gets a ? if the standing could change before kickoff due to other results.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Orlando 10-13-3 LWDLW 11 San Diego 15-8-3 WLWWW 2 Inter&Co Fri 5p Prime Orlando had been sort of lackluster for a stretch of games there without Marta... did anyone notice how she started being available for selection again right after the coaching change or was that just me? But they emphatically beat Bay last week, and they’re not mathematically eliminated from playoffs yet, so hope springs eternal. San Diego are in excellent form, with goal scoring happening by committee - Corley, Byars, Barcenas, Dali, Ludmila, Godfrey, Wesley have all scored one or more since the start of August.
Seattle 12-10-4 WWLLW 8 NC 12-11-3 LWLLL 9 Lumen Fri 7p NWSL+ This one is big for playoff qualification. Both teams need the points given Denver is likely to pick up +3 off Chicago. Seattle could sneak 1 pt ahead of ACFC, while NC could draw level on pts with a win here. Mak Lind should be hoping for Nat Jacobs to be available (questionable last week but didn’t play), the defense had some iffy moments against Utah last week. With Maycee Bell out for the season, if Jacobs isn’t back this week, NC will continue relying on 2nd string CBs Talia Staude and Uno Shiragaki to hold it down.
Louisville 7-17-2 LLLLL 15 Utah 14-9-3 WLWLW 4 Lynn Family Sat 1p ION Louisville could break Utah’s alternating W/L streak in the funniest possible way now that they’re playing spoiler and eliminated from playoffs. However, Utah’s attack is still dangerous. Tejada is still suspended this week but Cronin will be back from her red card suspension. Former Angel midfield battle could happen, Hammond vs Hodge, as Hodge has now gotten a few starts in a row for Bev Yanez.
KC 12-9-5 WWDLW 7? Bay 7-14-5 LLDWL 13 CPKC Sat 3:30p ION KC have looked... not good compared to 2025 but still good enough to beat an eliminated Bay team, even with no Croix Bethune. This will be another spoiler matchup, though, and spite is a great motivator. Bay’s midfield and attack seem to be finally building some chemistry, with a gorgeous diving header goal and lots more play in and around the final third last weekend.
Portland 12-7-7 DLDWD 5? Boston 7-14-5 LWWLL 14? Providence Sat 5:45p ION Weird matchup! Eliminated Boston could play spoiler or could try new things with their lineup. Providence is a tough place to play (Portland are 7-1-5 there this year), and that could be valuable experience for rookie Boston players like Elgin, Smith, etc. Boston mostly just needs to figure out their defense, they have a perfectly respectable 33 goals on the season. Tough to do that when you’re up against Sophia Wilson and like 7 other top tier attackers but hey, maybe Filipa Patao has something in her back pocket.
Gotham 16-4-6 DLWWW 1 ACFC 12-8-6 WDWWW 6? Sports Illustrated Sun 10a ABC / ESPN App ACFC could be knocked back one spot in the table with a loss, or climb as high as 4th with a win. Gotham on the other hand look to clinch a home playoff game with a win or a draw + other results. These teams just tied about a month ago, and heading into the international break everyone will want to end on a high note. Who will gain the upper hand?
Chicago 5-19-2 LLDLL 16 Denver 9-9-8 WDDWL 10? Northwestern Medicine Sun 1p CBS Sports Chicago should have Swanson available for a second consecutive week after she was out with a hip injury for about a month. Grosso has been a bright spot for them, and I liked seeing Michelle Alozie back on the front line instead of a wingback. Maybe they can pull off an upset - they’re at home and there’s no playoff pressure like Denver has. Also, Free Elise Evans.
Houston 8-12-6 LLLWD 12 Washington 14-8-4 WWLWL 3? Shell Energy Sun 4p Roku Channel Houston have the unfortunate possibility of being eliminated from playoffs this weekend before their game even kicks off - and if that doesn’t happen, a loss or draw could seal their fate. The Spirit will be looking to bounce back from a very close 0-1 loss last weekend, and they’ve been better on the road this year with 6 of their 8 losses coming at home.

Here are this weekend’s clinching/elimination scenarios and a playoff scenario tool from Alison Gale.

See you after the international break!

u/TiredPanini — 15 days ago

League Watch 9/11-13

Match Week 23 9/11-13 (all times Pacific)

Recap of the past week’s scorelines:

Fri

UTA 1-2 BOS

BAY 1-2 KC

Sat

LOU 0-2 ACFC

Sun

DEN 3-0 GFC

CHI 0-6 NC

POR 1-2 WAS

ORL 3-1 HOU

SEA 1-0 SD

Evelyn Shores star era begins NOW yall. Ashley Sanchez is having a personal best season, breaking records and on track for MVP/Golden Boot. Gotham losing was probably overdue, but their much-vaunted defense conceding three goals was still surprising. 

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” Standing gets a ? if the standing could change before kickoff due to other results.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Louisville 7-14-2 WWLLL 13 Gotham 13-4-6 WWDDL 1 Lynn Family Fri 3:30p NWSL+ Both teams coming off of shutout losses. JCA’s first game back from parental leave was a disappointment. Can Louisville hand them another upset?
KC 11-8-4 DLDWW 7 Orlando 9-12-2 LLWLW 11 CPKC Fri 5p Prime Both sides have had recent organizational shakeups. With a win KC could briefly jump into 3rd place, but if Orlando can figure out Chris Armas’ side, they could tie on points for 9th and hang on to their playoff hopes. If Banda and Chawinga are both available that could be fun. I’m rooting for goals and against injuries here.
ACFC 9-8-5 DDLWW 9 Denver 8-8-6 WDLWW 10? BMO Fri 7p ION I really hope transitive property doesn’t apply to this game with how bad Denver just beat Gotham. However, our defense is more healthy than Gotham’s and we will be at home. Let’s show up and make home field advantage count!
San Diego 12-8-3 LDWWL 5? NC 12-8-3 LWWLW 3? Snapdragon Sat 3:30p ION Winner of this match breaks the three-way tie on 39 points and takes sole possession of 3rd place (at least until Utah plays). I don’t even know who to root for here. Maybe a tie?
Seattle 10-8-4 WLDWW 8? Bay 6-12-4 DLWLL 15 Lumen Sat 5p NWSL+ Seattle... we thought you were a goal scoring team and then last weekend happened. Bay, I know Kennedy Fuller is gone but I’m still rooting for you.
Houston 7-11-5 WWLLL 12 Utah 12-8-3 LWLWL 4? Shell Energy Sat 5:45p ION I love a dawg and Houston is due for a good showing. They have a medium schedule difficulty for the remaining games (Portland twice somehow.. Why can’t we have a balanced first half/second half of the season is beyond me). Utah have a slightly more difficult schedule (no matches vs Boston or Chicago). Both will want points here, Utah for the shield and Houston for a playoff chance.
Washington 13-6-4 LDLWW Boston 6-12-5 LLLLW Audi Sun 10a ESPN / ESPN App Who’s waking up for this on the weekend? Maybe me, actually, it’s an interesting stylistic matchup. Washington usually like to advance through the wide areas while Boston will go through the middle of the pitch and when that doesn’t work go long. I would really like to see Aissata vs Rudd though, that seems like a fun 1v1.
Portland 11-7-5 WWWDL Chicago 5-17-1 LLWLL Providence Sun 4p Roku Channel Chicago players I love you and none of this is your fault. Also please get healthy. Laura Ricketts, no excuses. Spend or sell. Portland please give me a Hanks/Wilson/Turner front line. I want that injected into my veins. Also good luck Deyna Castellanos, I guess that departure means Pietra Tordin is staying at least another season as the starting 10 with Liv Moultrie out for the next ~8-9mos.

USA U20s lost to Italy and tied Japan so far in the U20WWC group stage taking place in Poland. USA’s matches are airing on FOX and affiliated platforms, usually around 9am. Go Fuller! If you want to find their schedule, check the USYNT instagram or website.

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u/TiredPanini — 1 month ago

League Watch 9/4-6

Match Week 22 9/4-6 (all times Pacific)

Recap of the past week’s scorelines in chronological order:

Wed

NC 2-0 LA

Fri

GFC 1-1 POR

SD 3-2 LOU

Sat

KC 3-2 NC

ORL 1-2 UTA

DEN 6-1- CHI

Sun

WAS 1-0 BAY

SEA 1-0 HOU

Mon

BOS 2-5 ACFC

Some high-scoring games and some not so much. I think my favorite (besides ACFC win) was the Wave/Racing game. Kenza Dali wasn’t out injured for too long but I love a GWG on a comeback appearance!

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” Standing gets a ? if the standing could change before kickoff due to other results, or a ?? if it depends on the team’s own midweek results.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Utah, 12-7-3 WLWLW 3 Boston, 5-12-5 DLLLL 15 America First 🤢 Fri 6:30p NWSL+ Boston will look to bounce back on the road after conceding five goals at home on Monday. Short turnaround for them with the Monday and Friday games. Utah will be coming home after a road victory with aspirations to close in on Gotham in the Shield race.
Bay, 6-11-4 LDLWL 14? KC, 10-8-4 DDLDW 7 PayPal Fri 7p Prime Bay will be missing starter Kennedy Fuller as the U20WC kicks off, while KC will lose Katie Scott (bench player if everyone is healthy). I can tell you who is more essential to their team’s game plan. Also, Chawinga played her first NWSL minutes after WAFCON last weekend and will be building up to starts/full 90s as the team makes a run for a home playoff game.
Louisville, 7-13-2 WWWLL13? ACFC, 8-8-5 DDDLW 9 Lynn Family Sat 3:30p ION Last time we played them Emma Sears was questionable and subbed on late, but we were missing Evelyn Shores who would normally be the 1v1 matchup. This time both Sears and Shores should be starting so keep an eye on that battle! However, they did have Maja Lardner score a brace before Sears came on, so they may elect to fit her into the starting eleven against us again.
Denver, 7-8-6 LWDLW 10 Gotham, 13-3-6 WWWDD 1 Centennial Sun 11a CBS/P+ Heaps back for Denver mattered but was not game-deciding vs Chicago last week in a resounding home win. Against Gotham, though, she might be a true game changer -- especially if Rose Lavelle is unavailable again due to concussion protocols.
Chicago, 5-16-1 DLLWL 16 NC, 11-8-3 WLWWL 6? Northwestern Medicine Sun 1p CBSSN If I were Mak Lind this would be a rotated lineup for NC. If I were Karina Baez I would be hoping against hope that Mal Swanson is healthy this week. Sanchez could make strides toward the Golden Boot if it’s a thumping.
Portland, 11-6-5 LWWWD 5 Washington, 12-6-4 LLDLW 2? Providence Sun 1p CBS/P+ Remember in the first half of the season when everyone was saying Portland’s defense was overperforming? This might be a game where that starts to tell. Even with no Moultrie, Portland have managed to keep the attack rolling enough to be competitive, so this should be a fun game to watch.
Orlando, 8-12-2 LLLWL 12? Houston, 7-10-5 DWWLL 11 Inter&Co Sun 4p Roku Channel Both teams sit on 26 points with negative GD, and hope to catch Angel City (29) and leapfrog Denver (27) in the standings with a win. Orlando recently fired Seb Hines after a long stint as HC. Houston have failed to score since their 5-0 win over Chicago on 8/19, so look for them to focus on finding the back of the net.
Seattle, 9-8-4 DWLDW 8? San Diego, 12-7-3 WLDWW 4? Lumen Sun 6p ESPN 2/ ESPN App Seattle sit in 8th, 3 points behind KC, but could be overtaken by Angel City earlier in the weekend and have several other teams only a few points further back. They are quite literally playing for their playoff lives. San Diego are celebrating some astounding games by Trinity Byars, who just can’t stop scoring and is only the 2nd player in franchise history to hit 10 goals in a single season (the other is Alex Morgan). Watch her matchup with the CBs, Jordyn Bugg will likely be given the tough task of neutralizing Byars.
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u/TiredPanini — 1 month ago

Ary Borges Wants More Than a Hat Trick

Ary Borges interviewed on the Re-Cap Show released Aug. 20th

Spotify link for audio only

About 51min long with no ads (if you need an adblocker for embedded youtube ads try SponsorBlock extension in browser)

Please delete if this is a duplicate, but i scrolled back a few weeks and didn't see it posted yet

youtube.com
u/TiredPanini — 1 month ago

League Watch 8/19-23

Match Week 21* 8/19-23 (all times Pacific)

*As of Thursday all teams will have played either 20 or 21 games, i.e. no team will have more than 1 game in hand for the remainder of the season. 

Recap of the past week’s scorelines in chronological order:

Wed

LOU 2-1 SEA

HOU 5-0 CHI

Fri

SD 4-2 UTA

Sat

KC 1-1 SEA

NC 2-1 BOS

POR 1-0 DEN

Sun

CHI 3-2 LOU

WAS 0-1 ORL

BAY 1-0 HOU

ACFC 0-0 GFC 

Overall, three Gotham Specials and none of them were for or against Gotham! Instead we handed them their first non-win in ages, Chicago had a roller coaster week with 2 five-goal-total games, and Boston somehow gave up a draw to lose in the 90+17’ on a BSG-conceded pen. Never change, NWSL.

With one midweek game, I’m just doing the one weekly post, but with double the volemos for our traveling contingent. Will anyone be in Cary, NC or Foxborough, MA to support the players this week? Chime in!

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” Standing gets a ? if the standing could change before kickoff due to other results, or a ?? if it depends on the team’s own midweek results.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
NC, 10-7-3 WWWLW 6 ACFC, 7-7-5 LDDDD 9 WakeMed Wed 5p CBS Sports As the only midweek game, I expect this match thread to be hopping. See you there! Now taking over/under numbers on how many different comments say Sanchez and/or Gorden should be on the national team.
Gotham, 13-3-5 WWWWD 1 Portland, 11-6-4 DLWWW 3 Sports Illustrated Fri 5p Prime Who else is excited to see Caiya Hanks play? This should be a fun one. I know Gotham’s defense goes hard but it would be kinda fun for us neutrals if this is a goalfest and not a Gotham Special. Though a one way goalfest because Portland’s defense falls apart would be less fun than a two way goalfest.
San Diego, 11-7-3 LWLDW 5? Louisville, 7-12-2 WWWWL 13 Snapdragon Fri 7p NWSL+ Mel B banger loading. I’m calling this right now. Wave have missed Ascanio and Dali lately, but still managed to score four goals through the truly astonishing skill of Trinity Byars last week. Racing is racing up the standings and racking up points in a last ditch effort to make playoffs - can Taylor Flint and Emma Sears take this team further than they’ve ever gone before?
KC, 9-8-4 WDDLD 7 NC, 10-7-3 WWWLW 6?? CPKC Sat 3:30p ION If NC lose midweek, KC have the chance to hop them in the standings based on this game. Regardless of that midweek result, KC will be dead set on maintaining their 2-year-and-counting home unbeaten streak (reg. season), and certainly looking to sneak into the top 4 for a home playoff match.
Orlando, 8-11-2 WLLLW 11 Utah, 11-7-3 LWLWL 4? Inter&Co Sat 4p NWSL+ Orlando with Banda beat the Spirit last week so I won’t say they can’t beat Utah this week. However Orlando is not one of those teams with a strong home field advantage, so I favor Utah to win this one. Especially with their attack in such good form lately.
Denver, 6-8-6 DLWDL 12? Chicago, 5-15-1 LDLLW 16 Centennial Sat 5:45p ION Chicago has the chance to get two consecutive wins for the first time this season, and Mal Swanson is scoring goals again so perhaps they have a Real Chance. Denver will have the altitude in their favor and will be looking to get out of a bit of a skid, with only one win (2-1 vs Utah) in their last six matches.
Washington, 11-6-4 WLLDL 2? Bay, 6-10-4 LLDLW 14 Audi Sun 9:30a ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN App We could see the 1v1 matchup of Jenna Nighswonger vs Trinity Rodman OR Rose Kouassi. Either/both would be a treat. Nighswonger looked very solid against Houston in her 1v1 matchup with Avery Patterson, but of course this will be a bit of a different look. We also may finally see Monique Ngock and Melissa Bethi make their Spirit/NWSL debuts if they are off excused absence status this week, and possibly the return of Emily Menges who was activated from ML for Bay.
Seattle, 8-8-4 WDWLD 8? Houston, 7-9-5 LDWWL 10? Lumen Sun 4p NWSL+ For Angel City a draw or Seattle loss is the preferred outcome here. Seattle doesn’t have much home advantage at Lumen, and with Meza and Fishlock and Lynn still out I think Houston could convert their frustration from a late 0-1 set piece loss to Bay into a statement win this weekend.
Boston, 5-11-5 WDLLL 15 ACFC, 7-7-5 LDDDD 9?? Gillette Mon 5p CBS Sports ACFC needs points as we move from two games in hand to one game in hand. A lone Monday night game will once again have all eyes in the league watching. Hopefully we can get the ref working in our favor against a team with the most reds, yellows, and fouls in the league (Dive City FC Mode Activated). Boston have some very late goals this season, including last week’s 90+1’ tying goal from Aissata, so our defense will need to stay locked in til the very last second of this match. We will also be watching the injury report to finally clear Mai’s and Sveindis’ names after several weeks missing their finishing touch in the attack.

U20 World Cup players will leave their teams for the tournament, which begins Sept. 5, so this weekend should be the last one where they participate. See schedule for game times & dates. Affected teams:

NC - Lauryn Thompson, Erica Meg Parkinson (both ENG)

BAY - Kennedy Fuller (USA)

HOU - Linda Ullmark (USA)

SEA - Evan O’Steen, Emeri Adames, Ainsley McCammon (all USA)

LOU - Audrey McKeen (USA)

POR - Valerin Loboa (COL)

CHI - Micayla Johnson (USA)

KC - Katie Scott (USA)

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u/TiredPanini — 2 months ago

League Watch 8/19-23

Match Week 19 8/19-23 (all times Pacific)

Recap of the past week’s scorelines in chronological order:

GFC 2-1 KC
UTA 3-2 BAY (Miyabi I’m happy for you)

SEA 1-0 CHI

SD 1-1 DEN

LOU 4-1 BOS (Yikes)

POR 2-1 ORL (Caiya Hanks comeback banger + Deyna Castellanos banger, srsly watch these goals)

NC 2-3 HOU

ACFC 1-1 WAS (Ally Sentnor they could never make me hate you)

Cameroon are the WAFCON Champions, but Temwa got the Golden Boot and is going to the World Cup. Good consolation prize for a first continental tournament appearance, I think.

With two midweek games, I’m just doing the one weekly post this week. Didn’t seem like enough to split into two posts.

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” Standing gets a ? if the standing could change before kickoff due to other results, or a ?? if it depends on the team’s own midweek results.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Louisville, 6-11-2 WLWWW 13 Seattle, 8-7-3 LWWDW 8 Lynn Family Wed 3:30p NWSL+ I will take it personally if Seattle gets a nine point week while my team has to play Washington and Gotham back to back, so go Emma Sears. (Realistic for Louisville to win)
Houston, 6-8-5 DWLDW  11 Chicago, 4-14-1 LLLDL 16 Shell Energy Wed 5p CBS Sports The Dash are two points behind us, so go Jameese Joseph. (Not realistic for Chicago to win, sadly... Unless... Laura Harvey please rest all your starters girl)
San Diego, 10-7-3 DLWLD 5 Utah, 11-6-3 WLWLW 3 Snapdragon Fri 7p Prime The Wave have only one win from their last six games. Kenza Dali maybe has a knock or maybe is out of favor as a starter, and they really miss Dudinha. Ludmila has also missed some open net shots lately which has been tough to watch. Royals fresh off a big win where all 3 of their Japanese players scored (watch Narumi’s goal back if you get a chance).
KC, 9-8-3 LWDDL 7 Seattle, 8-7-3 + 1 WWDW_ 8 CPKC Sat 3:30p ION KC this time I would not be mad if you stayed undefeated at home, Seattle can’t keep getting away with this. Also Temwa should be back! And Coop is back!
NC, 9-7-3 LWWWL 6? Boston, 5-10-5 LWDLL 14? WakeMed Sat 4:30p NWSL+ Both teams coming off difficult (for different reasons) losses. Boston has more ground to make up to stay in the playoff race, and NC has been streaky this season.
Portland, 10-6-4 LDLWW 4? Denver, 6-7-6 LDLWD 10? Providence Sat 5:45p ION Denver is one point behind us so this is absolutely going to dictate who I root for... jk we were ALL gonna be rooting for Caiya Hanks no matter what after last weekend!! Go Caiya!
Chicago, 4-14-1 + 1 LLDL_ 16 Louisville, 6-11-2 + 1 LWWW_ 13?? Northwestern Medicine Sun 11a CBS Sports Free points for Louisville probably, but you never know when After Dark is going to sneak up on you at 11am. Both teams will have played midweek, so that’s at least fair. Chicago have not won since July 5th. Maybe they're due Wednesday or today?
Washington, 11-5-4 WWLLD 2? Orlando, 7-11-2 LWLLL 12? Audi Sun 1p ESPN2/ESPN App The Pride are definitely in a bit of a slump but did manage to keep it to a one-goal game with Banda available again. We’ll see if Washington has some pep back in their step with their three WAFCON players (including the champion Monique Ngock!) returning/arriving.
Bay, 5-10-4 LLLDL 15? Houston, 6-8-5 + 1 WLDW_ 11?? PayPal Sun 3p CBS Sports Bay I’m rooting for you because of Kennedy Fuller. And also Houston is on ACFC’s heels, can’t let them have a six or nine point week.
ACFC, 7-7-4 WLDDD 9? Gotham, 13-3-4 DWWWW 1 BMO Sun 5pm ION Let’s give Gotham a Gotham Special, see how they like it. They haven’t lost since July 4 so they’re due. Everyone get healthy NOW.

Here’s my standings table if you want to use it for anything - only up to date as of time of post, the photo is not gonna be updated after Wednesday games. Please note that we have the 4th best GD in the league which means we are dropping table points in close games. This can be interpreted as “at least we’re keeping games close!” or “we should be getting more table points, these are close games.” Fun choose your own adventure game!

https://preview.redd.it/xalbpcvgi8kh1.png?width=1272&format=png&auto=webp&s=4addf0883e1f5461730a12d9125c5919a16b884b

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u/TiredPanini — 2 months ago

League Watch 8/14-16

Match Week 18 8/14-16 (all times Pacific)

Recap of the past week’s scorelines.

Wed: DEN 0-2 NC

Over the weekend, in chronological order:

ORL 1-3 LOU

GFC 1-0 SD (another Gotham Special thanks to a Jaedyn Shaw long-distance curler)

WAS 3-4 NC (the spirit of Courage CB Nat Jacobs’ grandfather apparently had something to do with this?)

HOU 1-1 KC (y’all need Temwa back so bad I’m circling back to maybe calling for Chris Armas’ job again)

DEN 2-1 UTA

BOS 3-4 POR (Pietra Tordin disrespectful hatty on Boston’s pride night.... She’s too powerful)

CHI 0-0 BAY (Chicago’s first draw of the season)

SEA 2-2 ACFC

Last weekend was kinda crazy with all those goals (again haha). WAFCON continues this week, with the finals set (Malawi! Temwa and Tabitha! LFG! vs. Cameroon) for Sunday. The losing semifinalists (Algeria and Morocco) will play Saturday for third place, having already punched their tickets to Brazil 2027. The four losing quarterfinalists -- South Africa v Nigeria, Ivory Coast v Ghana -- played Thursday for intercontinental aka interconfederation play-in spots in a bid to keep their World Cup paths open.

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” 

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Gotham, 12-3-4 WDWWW KC, 9-7-3 DLWDD Sports Illustrated Fri 5pm Prime With Chawinga still away, the best KC can hope for is Cooper back from injury (which admittedly would be great for them). But I’m afraid we may be in for a third week running of the Gotham Special. Did you know they’ve won SEVEN games on that scoreline this season?
Utah, 10-6-3 WWLWL Bay, 5-9-4 WLLLD America First 🤢 Fri 7pm NWSL+ Bay were more effective last week at creating chances, but they once again had an offsides goal called back. Disheartening in a tight game, but hopefully lights some fire under them to score. Maybe Coates can give Jenna Nighswonger her Bay debut, too. Utah played a strong game but couldn’t finish over the weekend and conceded a game winning free kick goal late. They will be looking to turn that around with sharper finishing, more savvy fouling decisions, and better set piece defense.
Seattle, 7-7-3 WLWWD Chicago, 4-13-1 LLLLD Lumen Fri 7pm NWSL+ Mia Fishel has found her finishing boots, and is combining with the rest of Seattle’s all-round solid attack to create several multi-goal games in a row. They had 10 goals in 11 games before the summer break and now 12 goals in 6 games since the break. Chicago had a coaching shakeup this week, and really needs to get healthy (even excluding SEIs). They were missing / not able to start key players like Swanson and Staab which is a huge hit to morale.
SD, 10-7-2 LDLWL Denver, 6-7-5 WLDLW Snapdragon Fri 7pm NWSL+ Opta posted this table that claimed SD was crazy underperforming their expected table points and I think the Wave are going to take that personally at home against Denver, who may once again be missing Heaps due to her perennial knee thing. Janine Sonis could make up some of that difference; she is ice cold from the spot and on free kicks as well as getting a couple goals from open play this year.
Louisville, 5-11-1 DWLWW Boston, 5-9-5 WLWDL Lynn Family Sat 3:30pm ION Boston is really capturing my heart, I know they are traditionally LA’s sports rivals but hear me out. I’m rooting for women coaches in this league, and I really like their midfield. Racing is in a difficult position where the owner can’t or won’t spend the money required to improve the team’s prospects and is loudly looking for additional investment, possibly a sale or relocation. This is the dominant narrative despite Bev Yanez making the most of the frankly uncompetitive roster she’s been handed and relying on “chaos, set pieces, and Emma Sears,” as André Carlisle likes to say.
Portland, 9-6-4 LLDLW Orlando, 7-10-2 LLWLL Providence Sat 5:45pm ION Prisca Chilufya was the only Zambian on any NWSL team sheet last week after their elimination from the WAFCON group of death, seemingly due to travel schedules. Will Banda be back to save the Pride this week? Portland, now Moultrie-less (ban knees) for the season, handled their attack well and defense poorly which is a trend I expect to see continue. We could get another 7-goal game as neutrals if we’re lucky!
NC, 9-6-3 LLWWW Houston, 5-8-5 DDWLD WakeMed Sun 4pm NWSL+ NC are on a hot streak, with 9 points from a three game week, and historically dominant at home. Plus, Sanchez and Ijeh just can’t stop scoring. Meanwhile the Dash are not quite getting the results they want since the summer break (and overall on the season), but not for lack of trying. All but four of their eighteen matches this season have been decided by one goal or less, so they know they’re competitive. Kat Rader, Dash MF/FW, is having herself a season in spite of the outcomes not going their way. Also watch for Faasse, who was out several weeks with an ankle injury, to get back up to speed and racking up goal contributions.
ACFC, 7-7-3 WWLDD Washington, 11-5-3 WWWLL BMO Sun 6pm ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN app On a two-match skid, Spirit will want to claw back some points to compete with Gotham for the #1 spot. Their WAFCON players have all been eliminated, but the losing quarterfinalists (Rose Kouassi, Gift Monday, Deb Abiodun) play Thursday and the losing semifinalists (Melissa Bethi) play Saturday, while Cameroon’s Monique Ngock competes Sunday in the final. None of them should be starting, if they are even available. Further down the table, injury-riddled ACFC will feel the pressure to pick up some points to remain in contention for a playoff berth; as 9th-place Seattle is almost guaranteed to get some points against Chicago.
u/TiredPanini — 2 months ago

League Watch 8/5-9

Match Week 17 8/5-9 (all times Pacific)

Last weekend was kinda crazy with all those goals. Just the one midweek game this week, DEN v NC, which is wrapped into the weekend post so I'm not cluttering your feeds. Here's your recap of the past week’s scorelines:

NC 5-0 ORL

LOU 2-1 CHI

KC 1-1 ACFC

HOU 0-1 GFC (this is what I like to call the Gotham Special)

BAY 2-3 SEA 

WAS 0-1 SD

UTA 5-1 POR

DEN 1-1 BOS

WAFCON continues this week, with the group stage ending Thursday and quarterfinals beginning Saturday. Morocco and Algeria are in from Group A, Ivory Coast (Kouassi, WAS) and South Africa are in from Group B. [edited to reflect games completed since post went up] From Group C, Malawi (Chawinga, KC) is through and so is Nigeria after a 3-way tie on table points with Zambia was broken by head-to-head GD to eliminate Zambia from both WAFCON and WC qualifying contention. expected to be in from Group C barring a massive loss today while Nigeria (Alozie, CHI; Monday, WAS; Abiodun, WAS) and Zambia (Banda, ORL; Kundananji, BAY; Chilufya, ACFC) are both still in contention but playing for their spots in the knockouts as I post this, and Group D will be decided tomorrow (Thursday), with Ghana leading the group with 6 points, Cameroon and Mali tied on 3 points, and Cabo Verde in last on 0 points. Thursday matchups are Ghana v Mali and Cameroon v Cabo Verde.

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” 

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Denver, 5-6-5 LDWLD 11 NC, 7-6-3 WLLLW 7 Centennial Wed 7pm CBS Sports DEN and NC both looked strong last week. If you need to hate on Lindsey Heaps, can we keep it to just one comment thread please? I agree they should be starting like Tash Flint or someone else at the 10 but it’s not up to me. Yaz Ryan had a fantastic game, as did Janine Sonis who is having a banner year. However, they’ll have to go up against a NC team flying high after a 5-0 victory with all goals scored in open play. Those five included two gorgeous pin-and-spin goals: one each from two of their hottest players, Ashley Sanchez and Evelyn Ijeh.
Orlando, 7-9-2 WLLWL 10 Louisville, 4-11-2 LDWLW 15 Inter&Co Fri 4pm NWSL+ Can we say “weather delay”? ORL looked upsettingly poor in a 5-0 loss against NC. Free Hailie Mace and they better hope Banda comes back sooner than later. Solai Washington has been a bright spot in their attack, and may be able to get some work done against an also-anemic LOU this week. Emma Sears, blink twice if you’re okay.
Gotham, 11-3-4 WWDWW 1 San Diego, 10-6-2 WLDLW 4 Sports Illustrated Fri 5pm Prime Game of the week potential right here. I want to see Mimi van Zanten defending Jordynn Dudley, personally. Perle Morroni will get at least one yellow card if she plays. With Ludmila not finishing as much, SD have been relying on Trinity Byars as their no. 9. She and Lia Godfrey have been linking up beautifully. On the other end, GFC are missing Sonnett and have to rely on their 3 longtime defenders Carter, Bruninha, Tierna, and some mix of: Midge Purce, Guro Reiten, Mandy Freeman, as their other outside back. They’ve been making it work, but how long will that last?
Denver, 5-6-5 + 1 DWLD_ ?? Utah, 10-5-3 LWWLW 3 Centennial Sat 1pm ION DEN have two tough teams to play against this week, but they do at least get home field (and altitude) advantage for both. UTA may acclimate more easily than NC, however, and a tired/rotated DEN could be easy pickings with the way UTA’s been firing on all cylinders lately.
Washington, 11-4-3 LWWWL 2 NC, 7-6-3 + 1 LLLW_ ?? Audi Sat 3:30pm ION SD were very effective in shutting down the WAS attack last week. However, WAS were coming off 2 games with travel last week, so I think they may get back into form against NC (who are now on their own short week) at Rowdy Audi. Of course, NC's momentum will depend on the outcome of that midweek away game vs DEN.
Houston, 5-8-4 LDDWL 13 KC, 9-7-2 LDLWD 5 Shell Energy Sat 5:45pm ION KC have been much better at home than on the road, and HOU have had a tough schedule in their last five (3 consecutive away, two home, and two of the five games vs top-four teams). I think this might be a more even matchup than you’d expect, given the absences KC has been dealing with (injury/intl) and how relatively healthy HOU has been.
Boston, 5-8-5 WWLWD 12 Portland, 8-6-4 WLLDL 6 Centreville Bank Sun 1pm CBS Sports POR have only one win in their last 7 and that was against LOU. Yikes! I believe this coincides with Reilyn Turner being out but please fact check me. BOS are really coming into their own, with HC Filipa Patao making some midseason adjustments and the team stringing together several strong performances in a row despite Traore being away and Guti not playing many minutes. Sammy Smith and Emerson Elgin both having strong seasons for BOS.
Chicago, 4-13-0 WLLLL 16 Bay, 5-9-3 WWLLL 14 Northwestern Medicine Sun 4pm NWSL+ I heard it’s supposed to rain all weekend in CHI so this could be a funky match if they’re playing in weather. BAY have been dealing with a tough schedule since the break, and I think underperforming their roster strength. Pfeiffer back & getting minutes to develop chemistry with a strong midfield, plus Dahlkemper back with other ML players in the pipeline might be the keys to BAY heating up in the last stretch of the regular season. CHI are going the wrong way on injuries right now - Swanson is on an island, the midfield and backline aren’t getting consistent game reps with the same personnel, it’s not looking good. But they have surprised at home before, and weather chaos might help them to do it again.
Seattle, 7-7-2 LWLWW 9 ACFC, 7-7-2 WWWLD 8 Lumen Sun 6pm ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN app ACFC is pretty injured right now, while SEA are getting into a healthier era with Ryanne Brown finally back in 90m form, Jess Fishlock making her first appearance since March (hopefully her hammy is okay, it did not look great after she scored the game-winner last weekend), and Claudia Dickey back in net. If ACFC can field a full bench I’ll be impressed, but my hopes are not too high for this game sadly.
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u/TiredPanini — 2 months ago

League Watch - 7/31-8/2

Match Week 16 7/31-8/2 (all times Pacific)

Recap of the past week’s scorelines.

Over the weekend, in no particular order:

ORL 1-0 CHI

HOU 1-0 BAY

BOS 1-0 KC

WAS 1-0 DEN

POR 2-2 GFC

NC 1-4 UTA

SD 0-2 SEA

LA 1-2 LOU 

Wednesday night:

KC 5-1 LOU

UTA 0-1 WAS

BAY 0-1 GFC

My extremely basic standings/team stats table that is oriented around the “games in hand” question

https://preview.redd.it/ip41wijcyfgh1.png?width=1268&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0e9eaf79b3dd843ee8fbce305514bba68b8a6e4

You may notice that all the teams who have played less than 17 games are in 8th place or below. This does not necessarily mean the standings are misleading, but I propose you should instead look at a team’s per-game numbers (table points, goals, and goals against) to compare lower-ranked teams with fewer games played to higher-ranked teams with more. This would lead me to the conclusion that Boston and Orlando, for example, are currently placed slightly higher than they might end up.

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” 

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
NC, 6-6-3 WWLLL 9 Orlando, 7-8-2 LWLLW 7 WakeMed Fri 5pm Prime NC has to win something at home after this three game skid or we will really have to write them off without Manaka. ORL I hope you’re rested and we get Mad Marta refcam. Also Solai Washington is kinda fun, give us more of her with Julie Doyle while Banda is gone balling out with Zambia (FOUR goals in one game).
Louisville, 3-11-2 LLDWL 16 Chicago, 4-12-0 LWLLL 15 Lynn Family Sat 1pm CBS Sports Each team has only 1 win since the break, though LOU also squeaked out a draw vs HOU and has played one additional game in that time. Frankly I do not know what Bev Yanez was doing vs KC on Wednesday. I hope Emma Sears gets her transfer soon and LOU’s ownership and GM wake up. CHI, give me more Elise Evans. I will not stop beating this drum. Also if Emma Egizii is healthy I would like to see her play. Team EE rookies squared!
KC, 9-7-1 WLDLW 6 ACFC, 7-7-1 LWWWL 8 CPKC Sat 3:30pm ION I am pleased to announce that ACFC is a mid-table team! Depending on the NC/ORL game, we could end up as high as 7th with a win here. However, CPKC is notoriously terrible for visiting teams. KC’s last loss here was in playoffs in extra time last year vs GFC. Their last regular season loss here? Jul 6, 2024 vs ORL (remember when ORL was scary and unbeatable? Me too.) ACFC.... you can do it girl.  Break the streak. Silence those abominable teal fans.
Houston, 5-7-4 LLDDW 12 Gotham, 10-3-4 WWWDW 2 Shell Energy Sat 5pm NWSL+ I love a dawg so I’m rooting for HOU. Hopefully GFC is tired. They did their classic 1-0 thing vs UTA so maybe they have given up on multi-goal games after the SEA and POR debacles. I do wonder how they are gonna rotate with so few personnel though, they had like 5 outfield subs available on Wed.
Bay, 5-8-3 DWWLL 14 Seattle, 6-7-2 LLWLW 10 PayPal Sat 5:45pm ION BAY had a controversial called-back goal on Wed (see r/NWSL for a post about it) in their 0-1 loss to GFC that may have them even more goal-hungry. SEA are scoring multiple goals in a game recently, too. Abby Dahlkemper returned to the field for BAY, and we are still waiting to see Jess Fishlock back since her injury in March this season (though she has been traveling with the team and available off the bench for a few weeks).
Washington, 11-3-3 WLWWW 1 San Diego, 9-6-2 WWLDL 4 Audi Sun 1pm CBS Sports I miss Dudinha y’all. Without her, and on the East Coast, I think this one is even a tired WAS’s game to lose. They managed results against UTA and DEN to start this 3-game week, even missing their WAFCON contingent. Rodman may be gassed but she’s still Rodman, ya know?
Utah, 9-5-3 LLWWL 3 Portland, 8-5-4 DWLLD 5 America First 🤢 Sun 4pm NWSL+ UTA coming off a closely contested midweek match where WAS defended for their lives for an entire half. They will be hungry for a result to shake that off, just like POR who haven’t won in a while either. This might be won or lost in the midfield. Fleming and/or Bogere will have to shut down Tanaka’s playmaking magic. However, doing that will make it hard for POR to get numbers forward, even with all their scoring threats.
Denver, 5-6-4 WLDWL 11 Boston, 5-8-4 DWWLW 13 Centennial Sun 6pm ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN app New kids on the block matchup! DEN have seemed to play well at Centennial and BOS will be missing Aissata for this one as she is now officially at WAFCON (with a goal to her name already for Mali). I’m not sure who would replace her production, maybe a combo of Guti, Sammy Smith, Nichelle Prince, and Ella Stevens can make it happen. Ayo Oke very effective for DEN last week, Sonis is still cooking, so this might be anyone’s game.
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u/TiredPanini — 3 months ago

League Watch - 7/29

Match Week 15.5 7/29 (all times Pacific)

Hey everyone, we’re doing a midweek games post since there’s three Wednesday games this week.

But, first a recap of the past weekend’s matches...

1-0 for the home team seemed to be the most popular scoreline, with the following matchups all ending there:

ORL 1-0 CHI

HOU 1-0 BAY

BOS 1-0 KC

WAS 1-0 DEN

The other four ended as follows, with the away team getting a favorable result (win or draw on the road is favorable in my book):

POR 2-2 GFC

NC 1-4 UTA

SD 0-2 SEA

LA 1-2 LOU 

WAFCON observations: KC clearly missed Chawinga, and Orlando clearly missed Banda (but figured it out vs Chicago). Washington has crazy depth so despite 3 regular-minutes players and 3 new signings being away at WAFCON, they managed to hold it down by reserving Leicy Santos as a sub. Santos immediately won the ball, found Rodman in space who set up Cantore for an off-the-crossbar banger. We are so back, Italians. Angel City also missed Prisca Chilufya off the bench as they hunted unsuccessfully for a late tying goal.

Alright, let’s get into the midweek matchups!

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R) and then table standing, e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW 3.” Form only includes league games, within that window KC played in Challenge Cup.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
KC, 8-7-1 WWLDL 6 Louisville, 3-10-2 LLLDW 16 CPKC 5pm CBSSN I am going to root for KC to drop points here and LOU to continue their successful run, if only so KC is easier for us to catch in the table. It seems reasonable, though, that they can’t quite put together a winning game without Cooper or Chawinga available. Debinha and Croix are being relied on, as is Haley Hopkins, but I think Armas should start Hocking and Paul or some other combo, cause that last game was yucky.
Utah, 9-4-3 DLLWW 3 Washington, 10-3-3 WWLWW 1 America First 🤢 6pm NWSL+ Funny enough, the NWSL+ game might be the most competitive. I’m sure the league didn’t suspect UTA of their stellar performance this season while the schedule was being put together. At any rate, I’ll be interested to see what lineup each team trots out - their upcoming matches (UTA v POR, WAS v SD) may dictate how minutes are managed for star players and regular starters.
Bay, 5-7-3 LDWWL 14 Gotham, 9-3-4 LWWWD 2 PayPal 7pm CBSSN BAY held HOU to nothing on the road for 90 minutes then conceded late. With a young team, game management can be a challenge, and even more so when it’s your 2nd game in five days. The arrival of Sam Kerr & Denise O’Sullivan and parental leave of HC Juan Carlos Amoros were followed this week by the departure of Esther González. Can interim Shaun Harris keep GFC in top-of-the-table contention through the rest of this 3-away-game week?
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u/TiredPanini — 3 months ago

League Watch - 7/24-26

Match Week 15 7/24-26 (all times Pacific)

Okay folks, here are my non-ACFC Games To Watch: 

  • Bay vs Houston - Kennedy Fuller goal very possible
  • Portland vs Gotham - Could get to see Portland lose at Providence #rare
  • Boston vs KC - We are rooting for Boston on this one because a) we love a dog and b) it would be good for ACFC in the standings if Boston win

Which games will you be tuning in for? What are your predictions? Starting lineups? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R), e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW.” Form only includes league games, within that time frame Gotham and KC both played in Challenge Cup.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Orlando, 6-8-2 WLWLL Chicago, 3-12-0 LLWLL Inter&Co Fri 5pm Victory+ With Jordyn Huitema placed on SEI, who will CHI use as their #9 for the rest of the season? Marta is back with ORL after an excused absence for the men’s WC final last weekend. Both teams will hope to put together a strong performance after two consecutive losses.
Houston, 4-7-4 WLLDD Bay, 5-6-3 LLDWW Shell Energy Fri 5pm Victory+ Coming off the break, BAY drew BOS 2-2 and then had shutout multigoal wins against LOU and NC. They face a HOU team struggling to hold onto points from winning position, after giving up goals to WAS for an L, then DEN and LOU for two draws.
Portland, 8-5-3 LDWLL Gotham, 9-3-3 WLWWW Providence Fri 7pm Prime POR have been good at home but recently their defense has been regressing to the mean from a very overperforming run before the break, can a hot GFC take advantage even with no Jordynn Dudley? Also maybe we get Sam Kerr’s first start since rejoining NWSL.
Boston, 4-8-4 LDWWL KC, 8-6-1 WWWLD Centreville Bank Sat 2pm ION BOS only loss since the break was against WAS. They beat ORL on the same field where KC lost to ORL. BOS did just have a three game week but they’ll also be at home. Watch the Laney Rouse/Nichelle Prince matchup if it happens, that’ll be a fun one along with Michelle Cooper vs either Lilly Reale or Emerson Elgin on the other end.
NC, 6-5-3 WWWLL Utah, 8-4-3 WDLLW WakeMed Sat 4:45pm ION No Manaka, some problems for NC in the past few weeks. Ashley Sanchez is under a lot of pressure to make goals happen. UTA look better with Kaleigh Riehl back available, but miss the speed of Janni Thomsen joining in the attack since she was traded to LCL. They did extend former ACFC player Miyabi through 2028, which is great for Miyabi and *congrats happy for you meme* at the team.
San Diego, 9-5-2 LWWLD Seattle, 5-7-2 WLLWL Snapdragon Sun 2pm CBSSN West Coast best coast and all that. SEA shocked POR 2-0 in the 2nd Cascadia rivalry game of the season and then managed to score ANOTHER two against GFC the following week, even though they ended up losing that game. Maybe Laura Harvey decided she does like scoring goals now? In all seriousness, SD has a really good defense so the “long ball to Maddie Dahlien and pray” approach needs to have some variation thrown in if they want any chance this week.
Washington, 9-3-3 WWWLW Denver, 5-5-4 LWLDW Audi Sun 4pm Victory + WAS gets one of their few home games in this tough schedule stretch, they should take advantage of it to score some table points. However they will be missing Rose Kouassi, Gift Monday, and Deb Abiodun as WAFCON kicks off this weekend. All three are key components of their attack. DEN now have Heaps on deck to captain/start as much as she’s available, too.
ACFC, 7-6-1 LLWWW Louisville, 2-10-2 LLLLD BMO Sun 6pm ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN app It’s Pride Night! And the players we traded to and from LOU in the offseason are both gay? Amazing. Let’s welcome Macey Hodge back to BMO and get Ary Borges a win over her old team. Also, we will be missing Prisca for at least a few weeks while she is with the Zambia NT for WAFCON - good luck Copper Queens!

We are halfway through the season by number of games played btw! It is no longer "way too early" to start calling your end of year award picks, shield winners, etc now that we are looking at about half the data.

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u/TiredPanini — 3 months ago

League Watch - 07/15-19

Match Week 13 7/15-19 (all times Pacific)

Buckle up NWSL fans, we have a full schedule this week. With 2 midweek games and six (6!!!!) games on Saturday, let's get into the narratives. 

Transfer window is open for all games this week so any intl-league signings (Lindsey Heaps I’m looking at you!) are officially eligible to play.

QUEENS CLASSIC! SAM KERR! DENISE O’SULLIVAN! Gotham has to be cheating the cap!! Leicy Santos if you have no fans I am dead, please give us more set piece bangerz, unreal assists, and goals where you juggle the ball to yourself. That was a GOTY candidate last weekend. Rodman is a big-game girlie but so is Lavelle... who will prevail???? Also, Gotham has 2 “home” games in NYC but none in their usual home stadium. Possible this will throw them off but who knows. 

Scheduling note: both Gotham and Spirit will have 7 games in the one-month period from Jul 3-Aug 2. Gotham’s 2 “home” games this week are their only home games in that run, while Spirit will have 3 home games spread out over the month. This looks like: weekend, weekend, midweek, weekend, weekend, midweek, weekend scheduling. Both teams will no longer have any games in hand after Aug 2 match day, making the top of the table easier to assess accurately.

Speaking of the top of the table, is Utah slipping away? After losing to Chicago (inexcusable) then Gotham (fine and normal), how will they fare against Orlando (who have a midweek game and may be forced to rotate)? San Diego’s last few games have been against mostly these same opponents (Orlando L, Chicago W, Gotham W, LA L) so it’s an interesting point of compare/contrast for two teams that have led the league up to the summer break.

I am uncharacteristically recommending everyone watch a Courage game because I think Bay is finally getting their attack together (thanks in part to our dearly departed K. Fuller, but also because Pfeiffer is healthy, Lema is apparently a starter now, and their other midfielders are becoming more seasoned). This is gonna be one of those stylistic matchups where tactics might end up mattering quite a bit. Also, if Evelyn Ijeh were good she would be SO good. She has had a number of missed shots on open net/missed easy headers/missed tap ins this season. She’s getting in the right places but we often see players come in from Euroleagues and take ~6mo to settle in and start finishing at a better rate (See also: Dufour, Jonsdottir). Ijeh is nearing that mark, so keep an eye on her to either level up or get replaced pretty soon.

This post is written prior to midweek games, so there will be some stuff that’s not 100% up to date for the weekend games for those teams. 

What are your predictions? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R), e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW.” Form only includes league games, within that time frame Gotham and Washington both played in Concacaf Champions Cup; and Gotham and KC both played in Challenge Cup.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Orlando, 6-6-2 LWWLW Boston, 3-7-4 DLLDW Inter&Co Wed  4pm NWSL+ Anyone want to make a side bet on a weather delay? But seriously, after beating KC in decisive fashion, ORL have got to be feeling themselves. I personally saw Marta post like seven different insta stories of her goal so I expect she will be shooting from everywhere on the pitch. Shot selection who? We don’t know her. BOS is also coming off a W, though I don’t read as much into beating CHI as I do KC.
Gotham, 7-3-3 DWWLW Washington, 8-2-3 WLWWW Citi Field Wed 5pm ESPN Theee Queens Classic. New signings, rivalry game, and who knows what chaos we might get? This will be fun for neutrals and stressful for fans. Gotham please sign a defender for real though. Jess Carter deserves a break. Spirit got a new midfielder, Ngock, from Fleury who will also be eligible.
KC, 8-6-0 LWWWL San Diego, 9-5-1 DLWWL CPKC Fri 5pm Prime While both teams have good records this season, KC is undefeated at home. The crowd there really means a lot to the players, and the team means a lot to the city. I think they can hold on to that undefeated at home stat a little longer. Also Debinha extended *congrats happy for you meme*. Wish we coulda signed her.
Gotham, 7-3-3 + 1 game, WWLW_ Seattle, 5-6-2 LWLLW Icahn Stadium Sat 9am ABC, ESPN Deportes, ESPN app These teams lead the league in not scoring goals. No, seriously. GFC: 1.17 goals/match, SEA: 1.00 goals/match. The only teams lower? CHI (0.57), BAY (1.00), BOS (1.07), LOU (1.15). In case you didn’t know, that’s the entire bottom of the table except 13th place HOU. GFC gets away with this by having an insanely talented GK and emergency defending, keeping their goals against low (0.62/match, best in league). SEA can’t normally do that (1.23 GA/match), but they pulled it off against POR last weekend thanks to their GK2 Cassie Miller’s amazing performance. Can they do it again in an away match against not-their-rival? Will GFC be tired/rotating lineups from their midweek game?
Denver, 4-5-4 WLWLD Portland, 8-4-3 WLDWL Centennial Sat 11am CBS/P+ POR is missing Turner for a few weeks, and still waiting on Hanks and Weaver back from SEI. This means they don’t have as much speed up top as they’re used to, just Wilson (who is excellent but does in fact need other players to pass the ball with sometimes). DEN just got Tash Flint back from injury who is their key to the midfield, pre-Heaps anyway. Janine Sonis is having a career season, putting up amazing stats in so many categories and scoring goals too. They are playing at a non-usual stadium but DEN might pull off the upset with a massive home crowd behind them.
Bay, 4-6-3 LLLDW NC, 6-4-3 WWWWL PayPal Sat 1pm CBS/P+ NC’s plan is Ashley Sanchez and hope. That did not work against WAS last weekend but it might work against BAY. However, with Alex Pfeiffer is back to slicing and dicing and Karlie Lema looking to possibly be the new starter, this might be a fun matchup. All goals no defense, big GK saves, that sort of thing.
Chicago, 3-11-0 LLLWL ACFC, 6-6-1 WLLWW Northwestern Medicine Sat 3:30pm ION Nobody jinx this.
Louisville, 2-10-2 LLLLL Houston, 4-7-3 DWLLD Lynn Family Sat 5pm NWSL+ Kiki van Zanten is back from injury, Avery Patterson is off yellow-card accumulation suspension, and LOU has not been competitive this season. If you need to skip a game, this is proooobably the one.
Utah, 7-4-3 WWDLL Orlando, 6-6-2 + 1 game, WWLW_ America First 🤢 Sat 5:45pm ION I do not love that ORL has to play Wed-Sat games (or GFC). There is literally time on Sunday, @ Jessica Berman. Wyd. UTA may once again be doing the thing where they can’t win without Kaleigh Riehl. Ana Tejada will be back from YC suspension though, which could help if Riehl remains on the injury list.
Boston, 3-7-4 + 1 game, LLDW_ Washington, 8-2-3 + 1 game, LWWW_ Centreville Bank Sun 4pm Victory+ BOS is tied as league leader for most draws on the season, and I think a draw is about the extent of what their ambition should be. Both teams are coming off a midweek game, and the momentum and rotation knock-on effects from those may be more impactful than any other factors. WAS losing this would still be a huge upset, they have like 3 deep starters at every position. Everyone says this about GFC, but: WAS salary cap audit is overdue.

Here’s a special Queens’ Classic Bingo Card for those who read the whole post, I appreciate you. Will only work for the first 30 players to click the link, but I’ll post a generic card in the comments. Disclaimer: Auto-shuffle link may generate cards where certain rows/columns are impossible to complete.

u/TiredPanini — 3 months ago

League Watch - 7/10-12

Match Week 13 7/10-12 (all times Pacific)

Which games will you be watching? Other than ACFC vs SD I’m interested in Orlando/KC and Utah/Gotham.

What are your predictions? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R), e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW.” Form only includes league games, within that time frame Gotham and Washington both played in Concacaf Champions Cup; and Gotham and KC both played in Challenge Cup.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Orlando, 5-6-2 LLWWL KC, 8-5-0 WLWWW Inter&Co Fri 5pm Prime I would simply like to note that ACFC handed KC the only L in their last five. Croix Bethune had a really good game last weekend. If no Banda again, my bets are on KC.
Louisville, 2-9-1 WLLLL Bay, 3-6-3 DLLLD Lynn Family Fri 5pm NWSL+ LOU struggled with a lot of injuries last week, plus the public announcement of Emma Sears’ transfer request may have shaken up the locker room. Neither team in particularly good form, but I do like Bev Yanez and hope the team can pull out a result at home for her.
Boston, 2-7-4 WDLLD Chicago,3-10-0 LLLLW Centreville Bank Fri 5pm NWSL+ CHI coming off a remarkable 3-2 home upset against UTA last week will be looking for more goals. BOS squeezed out a home draw vs BAY last week & will be hoping to get 3 table points this time around.
Utah, 7-3-3 DWWDL Gotham, 6-3-3 WDWWL America First 🤢 Fri 7pm Victory+ UTA have been a team of two halves (of the season). Can they string together a more complete season? They were missing key players in Mina Tanaka and Kaleigh Riehl last week in their late upset loss to CHI. GFC lost 0-2 to SD on the back of a Mel B golazo (seriously, go watch that goal if you haven’t yet) for the first and AKB playing a super high line and getting beat for the second. I think they can both bounce back, but those were tough losses for teams who’ve been dominant all season. This game might be scrappy!
NC, 6-3-3 LWWWW Washington, 7-2-3 WWLWW WakeMed Sat 3:30pm ION Perfect must-watch warmup for us west coasters getting ready for the late game. NC showed they can do it without Manaka last week, dunking on SEA 3-1 after an early goal against. WAS had late Rodman heroics win them a game vs HOU 2-1 that shouldn’t really have been that close. NC are historically better at home, so maybe they can take at least a point out of this one.
San Diego, 9-4-1 WDLWW ACFC, 5-6-1 DWLLW Snapdragon Sat 5:45pm ION SD’s defense looks really good this year, conceding fewer than one goal per match (0.93) on average. ACFC sits at 1.17 for that number. Both teams are scoring at the same rate, 1.50 goals/match, and SD had Dudinha for most of the season so far to boost those numbers. Ludmila’s finishing woes continued last week against GFC, missing a shot from a decent angle on an open net. In short: keep smoking that hopium, ACFC fans. In Sveindis we trust.
Seattle, 4-6-2 LLWLL Portland, 8-3-3 DWLDW Lumen Sun 1pm ESPN/ESPN app Mid-afternoon Cascadia rivalry, need I say more? Hopefully there are fewer red cards in this one than the last one (recommend watching if you missed it!). POR have a scary attack already and are planning to bring back Hanks and Weaver from SEI soon... this is simply greed. SEA looked not great against NC after the first fifteen minutes, but we can hope they put up a bit more fight at home for a rivalry game, despite not have a Sophia Wilson, Olivia Moultrie, or Pietra Tordin-esque goalscorer anywhere on their team.
Denver, 4-5-3 WWLWL Houston, 4-7-2 LDWLL DSG Sun 4pm Victory+ Mid-table matchup. With Kiki van Zanten back from injury, HOU have one of their main scoring threats available. However, with Robbe still and Faasse now out there’s not much in the way of another striker/true forward to pair her with. Rookies Ullmark and Rader have been carrying their weight in the midfield with a few goals each. But the three of them may still not be enough to break down former Dash teammates Delanie Sheehan & Yazmeen Ryan in the midfield plus the normally solid Kaleigh Kurtz/Eva Gaetino CB pair. I think Denver’s bench is just enough deeper that they will likely carry this. Also, the altitude.
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u/TiredPanini — 3 months ago

League Watch - 7/3-5

Match Week 12 7/3-5 (all times Pacific)

We're baaaaaaack.

https://i.redd.it/h2iqgfp5mnah1.gif

Which games will you be watching? Other than ACFC vs Orlando I’m interested in Wave vs Gotham, and of course I’ll be rooting for Fuller to slice and dice, score bangers, etc in the Bay game.

What are your predictions? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? 

Overall W-L-D record for each team is followed by 5-match form (old-new L-to-R), e.g. “San Diego 3-2-1 WWLDW.” Form only includes league games, within that time frame Gotham and Washington both played in Concacaf Champions Cup; and Gotham and KC both played in Challenge Cup.

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Washington,6-2-3 WWWLW Houston, 4-6-2 LLDWL Audi Fri 5pm Victory+ WAS the heavy favorites, neither team did a ton over the break. HOU did sign Serbian forward Miljana Ivanović from Swedish club Malmo, WAS extended STRP Madison Haugen thru end of 2026 and exercised a club option on Tamara Bolt thru 2027. Interested to see if any of these players get minutes but WAS winning at Audi seems pretty inevitable.
Denver, 4-4-3 LWWLW KC, 7-5-0 WWLWW DSG Fri 6:30pm NWSL+ Both teams in good form coming into the break, but Croix Bethune looked particularly goal-oriented during the Challenge Cup, though KC ended up losing 2-0 to Gotham. Will the altitude bother KC? Will Debinha be off the injury list? This may be a fun one to watch live if you aren’t at BMO on Friday night.
ACFC, 4-6-1 LDWLL Orlando,5-5-2 WLLWW BMO Fri 7pm Prime Lots of upheaval at ACFC and basically nothing at ORL (let go a loaned out GK). Interested to see how this plays out, can ACFC manage to split the series? Our only win in the last eight matches was vs KC, which is sort of funny considering the standings.
NC, 5-3-3 LLWWW Seattle, 4-5-2 DLLWL WakeMed Sat 3:30pm ION NC needs to rack up points in July and early August before a really tough stretch in late Aug-Sep: 3-game week ending in an away game followed by 2 more away weeks. SEA is just the team to do it against, provided Ashley Sanchez and Manaka Matsukubo come back from the break in the same form they entered it.
San Diego, 8-4-1 WWDLW Gotham,6-2-3 WWDWW Snapdragon Sat 5:45pm ION GFC just won the Challenge Cup and signed Sam Kerr. SD got a new goalkeeper and let go of CB Daniela Arias, presumably due to Trinity Armstrong being healthy again. Kind of a toss up and I’m neutral, just want to see Kerr on the pitch!
Boston, 2-7-3 DWDLL Bay, 3-6-2 DDLLL Centreville Bank Sun 9am ESPN/ESPN app Both teams struggling to get Ws this year, but BOS gets more benefit of the doubt as an expansion team. How will Kennedy Fuller fit in with her new team for the 2 months or so before she heads off to the U20 WC?
Chicago, 2-10-0 LLLLL Utah, 7-2-3 WDWWD Northwestern Medicine Sun 2pm CBS Sports Last year this would have been a snoozer for a different reason. This year can CHI pull off a shocking upset against a dominant UTA? Predictions on the scoreline here are welcome.
Portland, 7-3-3 LDWLD Louisville, 2-8-1 LWLLL Providence Sun 4pm Victory+ POR is the heavy favorite in this game, but can LOU use the break in the season’s momentum to their advantage? POR was missing Reilyn Turner, Mimi Alidou, and Carolyn Calzada at a recent friendly vs SD out of an abundance of caution, per reporting by Phuoc Nguyen on Bluesky. They expect at least Turner may be available vs LOU.

Also, can someone who does math determine how many games away we are (min/max) from knowing who wins the Shield? Any of the top 6 right now still have a shot, I’d think just form eyeballing it. But since Angel City is clearly out of the running, what a great story it would be if Utah turned it around so much from last season that they won the Shield in like 20 games or something ridiculous.

See you at BMO on Friday, angels!

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u/TiredPanini — 4 months ago

Who's your dream summer signing? Unrealistic answers only

Disregard salary caps, transfer fees, coaching style, development needs, roster construction, and where players want to live. (You can give a different answer when including these considerations of course.)

What name would you be most excited to see in an ACFC signing announcement? I think I'd be trying to swipe like... Jordynn Dudley or Claire Hutton if it were up to me. Also Yui Hasegawa, Sam Coffey, Kate Tapia, or Klara Buhl if looking at international leagues.

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u/TiredPanini — 4 months ago

League Watch - 5/29-31

Match Week 11 5/29-31 (all times Pacific)

It’s the final weekend before the June break so watch out for ESPN to post some absolutely silly power rankings next week (because Break). Which games will you be watching? I’m catching them all before we lose league games for a month. What are your predictions? Scores, reds, yellows, which players get G+A? I think Boston might be good for another red (double yellow more likely than straight red), and Utah at Providence could get someone sent off also.

Form is old-new L-to-R, followed by overall W-L-D record for each team, e.g. “San Diego WWWDL 3-2-1.” 

Home Away Field Date/ Time Where to watch Notes
Orlando, 4-5-2 LWLLW Bay, 3-5-2 WDDLL Inter&Co Fri 4p NWSL+ I have literally no idea what will happen here. Both teams coming off one-goal upset games (BAY L vs CHI, ORL W vs SD). ORL is in 8th, BAY is 13th, but they are separated by only 3 points. With the right outcomes this weekend & a multi-goal win, BAY could be sitting in playoff position going into the break.
Louisville, 2-7-1 LLWLL Denver, 3-4-3 LLWWL Lynn Family Fri 5p Prime LOU is interesting because some of their poor season (15th) is schedule strength; all but 2 of their games so far were against top-8 teams. DEN is 4pts ahead in 12th right now. The best each team can do with a W: DEN 7th, LOU 14th. LOU really needs to get some points if they want any chance at playoffs.
KC, 6-5-0 WWWLW Boston, 2-6-3 WDWDL CPKC Sat 10:30a ION I would like to point out that ACFC handed KC that one L in their last five games. We can hang with the best in this league. BOS upset would be fun but I don’t think it’s likely. KC gets stronger at home.
Portland, 7-3-2 WLDWL Utah, 7-2-2 WWDWW Providence Sat 1p ION Top of the table match! Should be good football. Wilson is slicing and dicing, Turner and Moultrie are back, Tordin looked pretty good last week, the weird rotating centerbacks thing seems to be working for POR somehow. Conversely UTA can’t stop winning, now at 7 wins from their last 8 matches, but Providence is a tough field for away teams.
Washington, 5-2-3 WWWWL Seattle, 4-4-2 LDLLW Audi Sat 3:30p ION WAS may be tired from Champions Cup games/travel, but they’re playing at home and their roster is stronger than SEA. Laura Harvey please play to score goals, you can’t win against this team by playing defense and sometimes sending a long ball over the top to Dahlien.
Chicago, 2-9-0 LLLLL San Diego, 7-4-1 LWWDL Northwestern Medicine Sun 10a CBS CHI broke a 4-match scoring drought last week in a players-up situation vs BAY. But I don’t like their chances against SD, even with home field advantage.
Gotham, 5-2-3 WWWDW Houston, 4-5-2 LLLDW Sports Illustrated Sun 12p ESPN App/ NWSL+ Bet on Gotham here. HOU needs Faasse and Rader both having a good game to score now that Robbe and Van Zanten are out, and that’s hit or miss. Even with no Lavelle, GFC have made it work these past few games.
ACFC, 4-5-1 LLDWL NC, 4-3-3 DLLWW BMO Sun 4p Victory+ NC is getting healthier compared to a couple weeks ago, they’ve sold out their stadium recently, and they historically do well at home. Maybe ACFC can pick up a point, we’ve played well against legit teams this year and might be healthier than the last few games. Sveindis got called up for Iceland and Ary for Brazil so those injuries can’t be serious, maybe they’ll both be back this week?
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u/TiredPanini — 5 months ago