OL Reign strengthened its hold on a NWSL playoff place and entrenched Gotham FC near the bottom of the table with a commanding 4-1 win at Lumen Field on Sunday behind some inspirational play from Megan Rapinoe. The 37-year-old was heavily involved in all four Reign goals and finished two herself.
In the 15th minute, Rapinoe's quick throw-in acted as the assist for Rose Lavelle's third of the season.
It’s becoming harder and harder for the haters to ignore women’s soccer. Viewership numbers skyrocketed during the 2022 Euros, the USWNT is finally getting paid for its discrimination lawsuit and if you ask how much are NWSL teams worth, the answer will now be nine figures long.
For 45 minutes, it looked like it was Megan Rapinoe’s day. She watched her fiancée, Sue Bird, play her final regular-season home game in the WNBA before heading over to Lumen Field, where she promptly put OL Reign ahead in the 16th minute with her first goal of the season. Then Ebony Salmon took over.
Last week, Gotham FC captain McCall Zerboni was nominated for the NWSLPA’s Ally Award, which recognizes leadership and character in unsung players. A week later, she was being called out on social media for using racist language. Then Angel City’s Madison Hammond gave a master class in how to respond to those who perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
Jaelene Daniels refused to play for the N.C. Courage on Friday night.
Hours before the Courage were to host the Washington Spirit on their Pride Night featuring LGTBQ+ pride jerseys, the North Carolina club announced Daniels would not feature because she refused to wear a jersey that promotes equality and fights discrimination.
When the NWSL players and league agreed to a landmark first-ever Collective Bargaining Agreement in February, most of the focus was on guaranteeing players a living wage, and for good reason. But among the other benefits NWSL players carved out for themselves was a mandatory seven-day break in the middle of the season — an NWSL summer vacation.
Sydney Leroux’s Instagram page is a marvel. Posts typically come in three types: showing off her adorable kids, trying to sell you something and, my personal favorite, her being a badass.
We’ll file this latest post under that final category.
After becoming the youngest goal scorer in NWSL history last month, 16-year-old Portland Thorns prodigy Olivia Moultrie got her second of the season Saturday night and it'll certainly be up for Goal of the Week honors.
The Thorns welcomed Gotham FC to Providence Park with Portland near the top of the table and NJ/NY beneath the playoff line, and it only took the home side five minutes to open the scoring through Taylor Porter after Gotham failed to clear a corner kick.
What’s better than soccer and beer? How about soccer and free beer.
The Washington Spirit will be offering 1,000 free beers to fans who attend Sunday’s match against the Orlando Pride at Audi Field. It’s part of the club’s introduction of Spiritville, a pregame tailgate with beer, merch, kids games and more.
Cheers to a brew-tiful matchday at @AudiField pic.twitter.com/Rnmyx5kBbt
As many states ban abortion across the United States, soccer fans could find more than their reproductive freedoms disappearing. They might also lose their ability to watch top-flight soccer.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said this week full access to healthcare — including birth control, in-vitro fertilization and abortion — is one of the league’s values. As the NWSL seeks to increase by two teams up to 14 by 2024, states that deny women and those who may become pregnant full healthcare rights could find themselves left out of the growing women’s soccer party.