KC Current lead the table after MD 5 in the NWSL. Washington Spirit put a stop to Orlando Pride’s winning streak, Utah Royals secured their first win and San Diego Wave fought back after two back-to-back losses. Read more about the highlights in our NWSL Recap Round 5.
Utah Royals 1 – 0 Chicago Stars
Utah Royals secured three points at home against Chicago Stars. The deciding goal came in second half stoppage time, with Sentnor converting the penalty. But that wasn’t the first opportunity The Royals had: Thomsen came close to opening the scoring in the first half but her powerful effort hit the side netting.
Chicago Stars saw little of the ball until a high press earned them possession. It was quickly sent to Ludmila in the box, who had to shoot on her first touch, but it went just wide.
Both sides had a few opportunities in the second half but could not find the back of the until Foederer was fouled in the box by Roccaro. After a VAR check, the referee pointed to the spot. Sentnor stepped up and secured Utah Royals first win of the season.
Seattle Reign 1 – 0 Portland Thorns
It took just four minutes for Seattle Reign to open the scoring, thanks to Maddie Dahlien’s first professional goal. She faced off 1v1 with Torpey, cut inside, and slotted it home. Lynn Biyendolo nearly doubled the lead just before half time, but her shot aiming for the inside of the post went just wide. Goalkeeper Bixby had to work hard to deny Dahlien her second goal, making it an entertaining first half.
The second half took a while to get going, but both sides eventually had multiple opportunities. Caiya Hanks had an incredible chance but sent her effort wide. As we neared the final whistle, Crnogorčević hit the post and Bixby caught Adames’ effort. Meanwhile on the other side of the pitch, Dickey made two crucial saves, and the cross bar denied Turner.
Angel City 0 – 4 Gotham FC
Gotham claimed an impressive win away at Angel City. Ester opened the scoring the 18th minute with some handy footwork in the box and a superb finish, set up by Portilho’s persistence to keep the ball alive.
Gotham find their second from what looked like a cross, which deflected of Miyabi Moriya’s head and loops into the goal. Anderson was too far off her line to recover. Esther added a third to the score sheet from a corner kick. She made the run to the near post and squeezed the ball in a tight space into the back of the net.
The final and fourth goal was scored by Geyse, who volleyed in a far-post cross from Purce, who did excellent work on the right wing. The NWSL Recap Round 5 continues below.
Racing Louisville 1 – 4 San Diego Wave
Racing Louisville suffered a tough loss at home to San Diego Wave. Jonas Eidevall’s side opened the scoring from a free kick. Dali stepped up, curled it around the wall and straight into the net. Racing equalized, when Borges converted a penalty kick right before half time.
Early in the second half, Barcenas restored the Wave’s lead after some excellent buildup play by Cascarino. Just ten minutes later, the visitors have another goal as goalkeeper Lund misjudged the power of Cascarino’s effort and it slipped through her legs. Cascarino drilled another one past Lund in the 77th minute, sealing the 1-4 victory for the Waves.
Orlando Pride 0 – 1 Washington Spirit
Orlando Pride’s winning streak came to an end on MD 5. Goalkeeper Kingsbury had to make a couple saves in the first half as the home team stormed from the gates at the start of the game.
But Orlando Pride was not clinical enough in the first half and paid the price in the second, as Washington Spirit opened the scoring. Gift Monday chased down the ball as the defenders tried to play it out from the back. By the time the ball reached Moorhouse, Monday was there to intercept and tap it in – scoring her first NWSL goal.
The home team thought they found the equalizer from a corner kick, but the VAR intervened because goalkeeper Kingsbury was pushed during the setpiece, preventing her from making the save.
NC Courage 0 – 1 Bay FC
North Carolina Courage and Bay FC both looked to improve on disappointing starts to the season. Ultimately, Bay FC took the three points home, thanks to a moment of brilliance from Pickett. She received the ball, had plenty of space, aimed and placed it perfectly in the back of the net.
KC Current 2 – 0 Houston Dash
Houston Dash gave a solid defensive effort but couldn’t stop KC Current from extending their lead at the top of the table. The visitors conceded a penalty in the 21st minute and LaBonta converted it without breaking a sweat. The Dash held KC Current off for another 40 minutes before Sharples doubled the lead. She headed the ball past Campbell who came off her line at the corner kick but was unable to punch it away.
Where can you watch the National Women’s Soccer League?
The NWSL will begin each regular season weekend with Friday night matches on Prime Video.
- Each Saturday night that follows will include a double-header on Scripps–owned ION network, available over-the-air in 123 million homes.
- A package of regular season matches will air on the CBS Television Network and stream live on Paramount+, with additional matches airing across CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
- ESPN will air a package of matches across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes (Spanish). All NWSL matches on ESPN platforms and on ABC will stream live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. The package also includes English, Spanish and Portuguese-language rights in Latin America.
- The remaining matches will be on NWSL+. Some games are geo-blocked, so it’s best to check this before kick-off.
NWSL Recap Round 5
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