The Covid-19 pandemic had many sporting casualties in 2020. While nothing compares to the immense (and ongoing) loss of life, U.S. soccer fans were denied the opportunity to pay NFL-level prices to watch preseason friendlies between indifferent European clubs in the International Champions Cup. Similarly, the less-promoted but far-more-interesting Women’s International Champions Cup was canceled in 2020.
After four quarterfinal matches on Sunday, we’re down to the final four of the NCAA Women’s College Cup. The semifinal games will be played on Thursday, May 13, with the championship game falling on Monday, May 17, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
Here’s a quick recap of how Sunday’s quarterfinal matches played out.
NCAA D1 Women’s Soccer Tournament: Quarterfinal Results And Highlights
No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 9 Duke
The Portland Thorns showed that they’re the team to beat ahead of the 2021 National Women’s Soccer League season by lifting the Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon. It shouldn’t have been so dramatic as the Thorns dominated NJ/NY Gotham FC over the course of 90 minutes, but Christine Sinclair’s early effort was all they had to show for it while Carli Lloyd buried Gotham’s only shot on target.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says a new Women's Club World Cup is being planned as part of a plan to "revolutionize" the female game.
In an interview with French sports newspaper L'Equipe, Infantino said he was looking forward to the first edition of the already agreed new 24-team men's Club World Cup but said a women's version was in the pipeline too.
"My dream is also to see the birth of the very first Women's Club World Cup. It’s coming very soon. And it will really revolutionize women's football," he said.
The NWSL Challenge Cup is in full swing and these lady ballers are here to show what makes them the best of the best. They are showing class both on and off the field; from their pre-game outfits to their goals and celebrations, you do not want to miss a single second.
As NJ/NY Gotham FC leads the East Division and the Portland Thorns hold the No. 1 spot in the West Division, there has been great play and amazing moments during tournament play.
OL Reign beat the Chicago Red Stars 3-2 in one of the more entertaining NWSL Challenge Cup games of the year on Tuesday night. Tziarra King had an assist and scored the late winner, further cementing her as my second favorite NWSL player (just behind of my fellow Aggie Shea Groom).
But what stood out more than King’s heroics or Mal Pugh’s first goal since 2019 was the continued misgendering of Reign midfielder Quinn by NWSL announcers. It was made all the worse by the announcers making damn sure they used the correct surnames for recently married players.
When the world shut down in March 2020 for Covid-19, there was a lot of fear about the future of soccer. How could we play in the midst of a pandemic, one that would kill more than half a million people in the U.S. alone? The NWSL Challenge Cup was the answer, proving you could play sports and keep everyone safe.
While the soccer world was turned upside down early this week with the announcement of the European Super League — and its impending demise — the non-soccer world has been glued to the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was filmed murdering George Floyd, a Black man, in broad daylight last year.
Trinity Rodman scored her first career NWSL goal in record-breaking fashion, but it wasn’t enough to keep the N.C. Courage from claiming a 3-2 victory over the Washington Spirit on Saturday in the Challenge Cup.
The 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup kicked off with a somewhat drab scoreless draw between the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars on Friday night. The second match of the day, played late on the West Coast, had enough action in just the final few minutes to more than make up for it.
The Portland Thorns held off Kansas City 2-1 on Friday at Providence Park, but not until after four red cards were shown in the final five minutes of a wild game that finished after midnight ET.