NWSL Week 5 winners and losers: Courage end skid in Houston

1. San Diego Wave – Loser

At home in front of 16,000 people against the only team left in the league without a point. For Casey Stoney and the San Diego Wave, this was a massive opportunity to jump to the top of the table with OL Reign and Portland Thorns settling for draws in week 5. As the campaign begins to unfold, this is going to be a week that people look back on as a point where the Wave could have potentially lost the NWSL Shield.

After allowing just two goals in the previous four contests in all competitions including two clean sheets, the Wave defense could not contain Orlando’s dynamic attack. It is just the second time in club history that San Diego has allowed three or more goals in a regular season match. The chances that the Wave created demonstrated they should have netted far more than just one goal in front of their home fans.

At the end of the day, this is only one game. Stoney’s team is going to be competing for the league’s top spot until the end of the season. Still, when you are at home against a winless team, you have to be able to take care of business even with Alex Morgan starting on the bench. The Wave now head out on the road for three straight matches having blown a chance to sit atop the table. The talent on this roster is among the best teams in the NWSL, and while week 5 was not their brightest moment, Stoney has had the tendency in the past to bounce back following tough losses.

2. Racing Louisville — Loser

The theme this week for these two week 5 “losers” is missed opportunities. Just like San Diego at home, Kim Bjorkegren and his Racing Louisville side had a chance to make up some room in the table. Laura Harvey’s OL Reign were missing Quinn, Rose Lavelle, and week three hero Olivia Van der Jagt in the midfield. Points are always a positive, but given how this match unfolded, Bjorkegren’s team should be devastated.

Similar to last season, Racing cannot seem to figure out a way to carve out a full 90 minutes. Draws have been the story for Louisville, and this past weekend was no different. With a two-goal lead after 45 minutes, Racing was well on its way to the club’s first three points since Oct. 1, 2022. It is never that simple for a club Kentucky’s only NWSL club. The defending NWSL Shield winners flipped the script in the second half.

So much of Louisville’s downfall in the second half was extremely avoidable. Katie Lund is having another career season between the sticks, but she gifted the Reign a penalty in the 69′, unnecessarily coming out of position despite the fact that Abby Erceg seemed to have Jordyn Huitema’s run under control. Megan Rapinoe came up to the spot and did what she has done for years.

The momentum shifted, and after Savannah DeMelo’s confusing red card, the Reign were throwing everything at Racing in search of an equalizer. Huitema’s header secured the point for the Seattle side, bringing Louisville’s draw total on the year to four through five matches. It is already half the amount of draws the club collected in 2022. At some point, Racing is going to learn from their mistakes, but for now, they are well on their way to setting the NWSL record for most draws in a single campaign.

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