Women's Soccer

Arsenal climbed back to the top of the FA Women's Super League with a hard-fought 3-1 win over bottom side Bristol City, while Fran Kirby's early headed goal gave champions Chelsea a narrow 1-0 win over Birmingham City on Sunday.

Arsenal went behind to an Abi Harrison effort after six minutes, but goals either side of halftime by Jordan Nobbs and Caitlin Foord put them back in the driving seat, with Dutch ace Vivianne Miedema adding a third five minutes from full time.

CeCe Kizer is, like many Americans in the NWSL, playing in Europe this fall as the U.S. fails to contain Covid-19. The Houston Dash midfielder didn’t go on loan to a well-known club in England like Tobin Heath and Christen Press (Manchester United), Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis (Man City) and Alex Morgan (Tottenham). Instead she found herself a club to get some playing time while the NWSL plays a mostly meaningless Fall Series back home.

USWNT star midfielders Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle joined Manchester City in August. They’ve already got their new club within striking distance of winning the FA Women’s Cup.

Mewis scored her first City goal and Lavelle made her City debut in an impressive 2-1 win over Arsenal in the FA Women’s Cup semifinals on Thursday. 

The Gunners had won their first three matches of the season by a combined 19-2, including a 4-0 rout of Alex Morgan’s Tottenham on Saturday. 

If there is one thing that absolutely sucks about playing soccer or any sport, it is the risk of getting injured. Every time you step on the field there is a chance you can get hurt. Whether it is a pulled muscle, sprained ankle, concussion or, the worst of all, a torn ACL, getting injured is never ideal for anyone. Every injury is tough, but tearing your ACL has got to be one of the most common and horrible injuries that could happen. It may be a biased opinion since I have experienced an ACL tear, but I would take a rolled ankle over hearing that pop any day. 

After an exciting weekend of NWSL matches with plenty of goals and quality plays, the games continue on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10:00 p.m. EST with the Portland Thorns welcoming OL Reign to Providence Park. 

The Thorns are coming off their first match — and win — of the Fall Series after defeating the Utah Royals 3-0 on Sunday, Sept. 20. Simone Charley, Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith all tallied goals. Smith debuted for Portland, scored her first professional goal and truly showed why she was the No. 1 draft pick in 2020. 

Rookie defender Madison Hammond collected a bunch of firsts after her OL Reign faced off against the Utah Royals in their Fall Series debut.

Hammond, a graduate of Wake Forest University, made her first appearance for the Reign during the match and became the first Native American to play in the NWSL. (Hammond is Navajo.)

Richie Laryea and Sophie Schmidt made history by becoming the first Canadians ever to simultaneously win MLS and NWSL Player of the Week honors. Laryea was named MLS Player of the Week after he tallied one goal and two assists for Toronto FC. Houston Dash midfielder Schmidt scored, had an assist and played a crucial role in the Dash’s third goal to defeat Orlando Pride, earning herself Budweiser Woman of the Week.

Both of the Canadians showed off their composure and creative abilities, and they are both, without a doubt, representing their nation one accolade at a time. 

Alex Morgan didn’t get on the field in her first match at Tottenham. The USWNT striker was an unused substitute as Spurs lost to North London rival Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the FA Women’s Cup. But Morgan did get a front-row view of the gorgeous Jordan Nobbs goal vs Tottenham that sent Arsenal on its way to a 4-0 win.

Carli Lloyd, one of the world’s best footballers of the 2010s, turned 38 this summer. With the Covid-19 pandemic postponing the Olympics, she missed out on a potential curtain-call tournament, one last chance to strive for gold before riding off into the sunset. In March, after the Olympics were postponed, Lloyd announced she would put off retirement to work toward making the 2021 Olympic team.

Now Lloyd has all but confirmed that she will retire after next summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.

U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka, American soccer player Megan Rapinoe and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes were among the athletes named on the 2020 "Time 100" list of the most influential people in the world.

The annual list, which is not ranked, honours individuals who have had the most significant impact on the global landscape that year and includes heads of state, business leaders, activists and entertainers, among others. There is no winner named.