NWSL Week 3: Biggest storylines from a dramatic week in the NWSL
Show-stopping finishes were the name of the game in week 3 of the NWSL and these six weekend matches had everything a soccer fan would want.
It is only the month of April, and the NWSL has lived up to all the hype heading into this historic 11th year. Other than the broadcast issues on Saturday night, the league experienced a week filled with exhilarating soccer. Portland Thorns dropped their first points of the regular season, battling a talented Houston Dash side at Providence Park to a 1-1 draw on Friday night. Saturday produced five matches that were highlighted by heart-pounding finishes.
Three weeks, four undefeated teams. pic.twitter.com/mDWvnm7o1k
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 17, 2023
In their home opener, OL Reign gutted out a triumph over Casey Stoney’s San Diego Wave via a stoppage-time winner in a match dominated by the players between the posts. The Chicago Red Stars pick up their first win of the campaign, netting four goals against Kansas City Current without Mallory Swanson in the frontline. It is not quite the time for teams to begin to pull away at the top of the table, but clubs at the bottom are in desperate need to find their form.
Kansas City and the Orlando Pride remain the only two sides without a win heading into a week where the two meet up with each other at Children’s Mercy Park in KC. Amidst all the noise across the league over the weekend, these were the most important storylines.
3. Angel City FC finds a way for the second straight week
Down by two at the half, Angel City had its backs against the walls at home to salvage a result that looked out of its reach. In week 2, the Los Angeles side left Orlando with all three points behind a stoppage-time header by Katie Johnson to propel the away side to a 2-1 victory. Freya Coombe’s team needed to replicate that kind of magic in a match that saw Racing Louisville take a stranglehold of with a two-goal lead after 45 minutes.
ACFC came out of the dressing room with a new purpose behind the club’s No. 9 in the midfield Savannah McCaskill. The home team continued to pile the pressure on Racing, throwing crosses into the box that tested Katie Lund between the sticks. Eventually, one did beat Lund at the near post. A McCaskill cross found the week 2 hero Johnson to cut the deficit to one with over 20 minutes of regular time left to play.
The team did not stop there, and with three substitutions just before the 60′, ACFC maintained its search for an equalizer in front of over 18,000 fans at BMO Stadium. The new additions to the pitch became vital in the eventual game-tying goal, Alyssa Thompson’s cross troubled the Louisville backline. McCaskill performed a brilliant turn at the top of the box before she found the bottom left corner to continue the away side’s run of draws to begin 2023. If there is a will, there is a way.
It may not always be a complete 90 minutes from Coombe’s side, but when it matters most, this resilient team showed once again it has the tools to fight to the final whistle. With Julie Ertz joining the team now, there is no telling what this club will be able to accomplish.