Another full week of action for the U.S. Women’s National Team players at home and abroad kicked off early with midweek matchups.
Unbeaten through their first six games of the regular season, the Orlando Pride extended that streak to seven and recorded their fourth consecutive win with a 4-1 win on Wednesday, May 1 over the visiting North Carolina Courage. Powered by a first-half brace from Zambian international Barbra Banda, Orlando led 3-0 at the half and finished the night with 12 shots on goal while holding the Courage to just two attempts on target on the evening.
The Pride pushed their win streak to five games and unbeaten start to eight games in a row with a 1-0 win over Racing Louisville FC on Sunday, handing Louisville its first loss of the season. Orlando, which vaulted into first place, and the Kansas City Current, who played the Houston Dash to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, are the only remaining unbeaten teams so far this season.
After going winless through their first four games of the season, Portland Thorns FC made it three wins in three games with a 3-2 midweek victory on the road over Bay FC. USWNT forward and former Stanford standout Sophia Smith scored twice in her return to Northern California, marking her third multigoal game of the season. After an early goal put Portland up 1-0, Smith doubled the advantage in the seventh minute, picking up the ball just past the halfway line and showcasing her speed as she raced past the defense and rounded the ‘keeper for the score. Bay FC tied the match at 2-2 in the 60th minute but could not contain Smith as she netted the game-winning goal in the 78th with a left-footed strike from the edge of the box. The 2023 NWSL Golden Boot Winner, Smith once again leads the NWSL in scoring with seven goals so far this season.
WATCH: SMITH CONTINUES SCORING SPREE
Trinity Rodman scored her first goal of the 2024 campaign and added an assist as the Washington Spirit beath the Chicago Red Stars 4-2 on the road on Wednesday night. Rodman opened her 2024 account with a one-touch finish in the 28th minute from the right side of the box. Two minutes later, Rodman was back on the scoresheet, this time playing provider as she tallied her third assist of the season. Chicago pulled one back in the 79th minute but the Spirit responded with goals in the 83rd and 86th to put the game out of reach before Chicago scored late in second-half stoppage time.
WATCH: RODMAN OPENS ACCOUNT IN CHICAGO
The Thorns and Spirit, both coming off midweek wins, squared off on Saturday night at Providence Park, where Portland prevailed 2-1 to extend its winning streak to four in a row. Midfielder Sam Coffey got the Thorns off to a fast start in the 4th minute, netting her second goal of the season. Portland doubled its lead in the 22nd minute to take a 2-0 heading into the locker room. The Spirit outshot the Thorns 19-10 on the night and their offensive pressure finally resulted in a goal in the 86th minute as Rodman tallied her fourth assist of the season, picking out Lena Silano with a cross that she headed home to cut the deficit to 2-1.
WATCH: COFFEY OPENS SCORING IN PORTLAND
Seattle Reign FC snapped their five-game losing streak with a remarkable 2-1 win over San Diego Wave FC on Friday night at Lumen Field in Seattle. Despite playing with 10 players for what amounted to an entire 90-minute match (once stoppage time was included) due to a red card in the ninth minute, the shorthanded Reign also overcame a 1-0 deficit to earn their second victory of the season.
In more Friday night action, Angel City FC made it three wins in four games with a 2-1 win on the road over Utah Royals FC. Forward Alyssa Thompson set up the opening goal for Angel City, giving her an assist in each of her last three games. At just 19 years old, Thompson is the youngest player in NWSL history to record an assist in three or more consecutive matches.
Defending champions NJ/NY Gotham FC earned their first home win of the 2024 campaign with 1-0 victory over the North Carolina Courage on Saturday afternoon. Lynn Williams tallied her first goal of the season as she netted the game’s only goal in the 11th minute. Williams now has 65 career NWSL regular season goals, the most by any American in league history and the most by any active player in NWSL.
WATCH: WILLIAMS NETS GAME WINNER FOR GOTHAM
The Red Stars responded from their midweek loss with a 2-1 win on the road over Bay FC on Sunday night. After falling behind 1-0 in the eighth minute, the Red Stars equalized in the 30th and tallied the game-winner in the 63rd to remain unbeaten on the road so far this season.
In Europe, defender Eva Gaetino and midfielder Korbin Albert helped Paris Saint-Germain capture the 2023-24 Coupe de France Féminine with a 1-0 victory over Fleury in the final on Saturday. After finishing runner-up to rivals Olympique Lyon last year, PSG bounced back to win the French Cup for the fourth time overall and first since the 2021-22 campaign.
In England, Chelsea FC’s hopes of lifting a trophy appeared to suffer a significant blow following a 4-3 midweek loss to Liverpool. Catarina Macario tallied an assist and forced an own goal for Chelsea in the wild affair which saw the teams combine for four goals in the final 10 minutes of play. With the loss, Chelsea no longer controlled its own fate and needed leaders Manchester City to drop points to remain in contention for the 2023-24 FA Women’s Super League title.
Manchester City did just that on Sunday morning, losing a 2-1 decision to Arsenal as the Gunners erased an early 1-0 deficit with goals in the 89th and 90+2nd minutes. The defeat opened the door for Chelsea and the Blues more than capitalized on the opportunity, downing Bristol City 8-0 later Sunday afternoon in the final home match for incoming USWNT head coach Emma Hayes. Macario added two more assists in the victory, giving her five assists through six appearances in the WSL this season. The offensive outpouring against Bristol City put Chelsea right back in the title race with just two matches remaining for the Blues, who trail Manchester City by three points but have a game in hand and now hold a superior goal differential at +46. Chelsea will play its final matches of the WSL season against Tottenham (May 15) and Manchester United (May 18) while Manchester City has just one match remaining against Aston Villa (May 18).
Broadcast information on upcoming matches featuring U.S. Women’s National Team players can be found below. All times listed are ET.
| Wednesday, May 8 | ||
| D1 Féminine: Bordeaux vs. Olympique Lyon | 10:30 a.m. | CBS Sports Network |
| D1 Féminine: Stade de Reims vs. Paris Saint-Germain | 10:30 a.m. | DAZN |
| NWSL: Houston Dash vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | 7:00 p.m. | NWSL+ |
| NWSL: Seattle Reign FC vs. Kansas City Current | 9:00 p.m. | NWSL+ |
| NWSL: San Diego Wave FC vs. Utah Royals FC | 9:00 p.m. | CBS Sports Network |
| Friday, May 10 | ||
| NWSL: Racing Louisville FC vs. Washington Spirit | 7:00 p.m. | Prime Video |
| Saturday, May 11 | ||
| D1 Féminine – Semifinal: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Paris FC | 3:00 p.m. | DAZN |
| NWSL: Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC | 6:30 p.m. | ION |
| NWSL: Portland Thorns FC vs. Seattle Reign FC | 9:00 p.m. | ION |
| Sunday, May 12 | ||
| D1 Féminine – Semifinal: Olympique Lyon vs. TBD | 10:45 a.m. | DAZN |
| NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. Utah Royals FC | 4:30 p.m. | NWSL+ |
| NWSL: Kansas City Current vs. North Carolina Courage | 5:00 p.m. | NWSL+ |
| NWSL: San Diego Wave FC vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | 6:30 p.m. | ION |
| NWSL: Angel City FC vs. Houston Dash | 6:30 p.m. | NWSL+ |