Houston Showing Some Moxie
In fairness, the result for the Houston Dash against the Portland Thorns in a midweek clash just didn’t go their way. That’s been a theme for Randy Waldrum’s side this season — for large portions of matches, the Dash have competed if not been the better side on the night. Against the Thorns, a bit of slack defensive work allowed Angie Kerr to find an in-form Jess McDonald for the only goal of the match. Down by one on the road, the Dash kept plugging away and finally saw Tiffany McCarty put one past FC Kansas City’s Nicole Barnhart late in the second half to draw, 2-2. It’s these moments where teams start to figure it out and perhaps turn a streak of unfortunate luck around. For the next-to-last place Dash, they certainly would like to see the bounces start to turn their way after the work they’ve put in this year.
Seattle Tested and Passed
As I’ve previously mentioned in this column, throw whatever you want at the Seattle Reign and they’ll overcome the challenge. For the first time this season, the Reign gave up a lead in a midweek game against Kansas City. But Laura Harvey’s side found a way to battle back and pick up another three points, giving themselves a perfect 7-for-7 start on the season. The team now has opened up an eight-point gap on second-place Chicago with a +12 goal difference to boot. It’s looking like it’ll take a lot to knock the Reign from the top spot.
Speaking of Chicago…
Let’s Play Two?
As someone who works for a professional baseball team, I’m quite used to seeing teams face each other in a two-, three- or four-game series before moving to the next opponent. When I saw that the Chicago Red Stars were playing the Boston Breakers twice in the span of four days, I thought I was reading a baseball schedule. I also don’t recall the last time a professional soccer team played on the road against the same team consecutively in the same week? All credit to the Red Stars, who have been on fire lately — winners of their last three and unbeaten in their last four. Plus, Jen Hoy may have scored one of the top goals of the month, but more on that later.
Happy Birthday to You
Scoring two goals isn’t a bad way for a player to celebrate a birthday. And that’s what Jodie Taylor did. The English international has done a lot of good things this season after a successful Westfield W-League season with Sydney FC except score goals for the Washington Spirit. Where there’s some smoke, there’s usually some fire. Taylor could do no wrong in the Spirit’s match against the Western New York Flash. She was credited with two goals and had a hand in all three of her team’s goals against the Flash on Saturday, as one of her shots ricocheted off the bar and off of the Flash’s Kat Williamson and into the net. For her efforts, Taylor won the NWSL Player of the Week. Again, not a shabby birthday present.
Last Thoughts
Sky Blue’s Taylor Lytle and the Spirit’s Toni Pressley have been ruled out for the season (or most of it) with leg and knee injuries. This season, we’ve seen several serious injuries and we’re just about to conclude the first third of the season. This isn’t a good trend and I wonder if a hectic travel schedule, a tightly packed game schedule and a lack of proper recovery time for players might play some part in these injuries. It’s something the league has to consider next season, especially with a scheduling nightmare potentially looming due to the Women’s World Cup.
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FC Kansas City’s Erika Tymrak nutmeg-goal is a thing of beauty. See it here and enjoy a moment of magic.
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Speaking of moments of magic, OGM is happy to announce the start of its NWSL Goals and Saves of the Month video series. Each month we’ll put together a video of the best goals and saves from the NWSL. The best part is the fans have a say in which goals will be in the video. Send us a tweet with your choice for the best goals and saves using #OGMGoals and #OGMSaves. The goals and saves with the most @mentions make the cut. To see your favorite goals and saves in the May edition, make sure to let us know.
Watch April’s best goals and saves: