Women

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. 

France was missing a number of key players for a variety of reasons, from injuries to Covid-19. England was playing the same day Prince Philip died at age 99. It was a mismatch.

France showed impressive depth to dispatch England 3-1 in a matchup of two of the world’s best national teams in a friendly on Friday in Caen, France. Next up for France? The best team in the world on Tuesday.

After four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, "failure" isn't a word often associated with the U.S. women's national soccer team — unless, of course, the topic is the 2016 Rio Olympics.

After winning gold at the 2012 London Games and triumphing at the 2015 World Cup, the Stars and Stripes flew into Rio under enormous expectations but lost to Sweden in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.

For all of the gains LGBTQ people have made over the past few decades, sports remain a highly visible reminder that homophobia and transphobia persist.

Barcelona advanced to the last four of the women's Champions League with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Manchester City after a 2-1 defeat in the second leg of their quarter-final at the City Academy Stadium on Wednesday.

Congratulations, @FCBfemeni!

They will meet Lyon or Paris in the semi-finals on 24/25 April & 1/2 May, with Barcelona away in the first leg. pic.twitter.com/C03JmoC9B9

Arsenal, for all its history, had never before won four straight in league play without conceding a goal. With 15 league titles, 14 FA Women’s Cups and a Champions League, but never four consecutive shutout wins in the FA WSL. Manuela Zinsberger made sure it finally happened. 

The Manchester United Women finally got a chance to play at Old Trafford, and Christen Press took full advantage of the opportunity to become one of the few Americans to have scored at the iconic stadium. Press netted the second goal in a 2-0 win over West Ham on Saturday. 

Making history at Old Trafford #BarclaysFAWSL pic.twitter.com/jaT1gvqm8Z

For the third season in a row, it looks like Manchester City’s journey in the Women’s Champions League will reach its end at the hands of Spanish opposition. But after being beaten by Atlético Madrid the last two editions, this time it was Barcelona’s turn to put the hurt on City, winning 3-0 in their quarterfinal fist leg at the U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy on Wednesday afternoon.