USWNT REWIND: Portland Ends Orlando’s Unbeaten Run, Red Stars Qualify for Postseason

One week after capturing the NWSL Shield for the first time in club history, the Orlando Pride saw its historic unbeaten streak come to an end, suffering its first defeat of the season on Friday night with a 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns. The Pride entered the match unbeaten in 23 consecutive matches, a remarkable stretch dating back to the final regular season game of 2023, but fell behind in the 13th minute as Morgan Weaver put the hosts in front. Portland doubled its lead in the 55th minute when U.S. midfielder Sam Coffey set up Canadian international Christine Sinclair for the insurance tally. The assist was Coffey’s second of the regular season and helped snap a seven-game winless streak for the Thorns, who now need just one point from their final two matches to secure a playoff berth.

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga continued her historic season on Saturday, scoring the game’s only goal as the Current defeated Bay FC 1-0 on Saturday evening in San Jose. The goal was Chawinga’s 19th of the regular season, setting a new NWSL single season scoring mark, and secured a home playoff match for the Current.

Despite the loss to KC, Bay FC still holds the eighth and final playoff spot following a 4-1 win by the Washington Spirit over Racing Louisville on Sunday in Washington, D.C. The Spirit took a 2-0 lead at the half and withstood a second half comeback attempt by Racing to secure a playoff match at Audi Field where they are unbeaten this season.

Defending champions NJ/NY Gotham FC beat the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 on the road on Saturday evening to secure the club’s first ever home playoff game. Scoreless late into the second half, Lynn Williams converted a penalty kick in the 87th minute to lift Gotham to victory and Spanish international Esther added an insurance goal in stoppage time. Williams’ goal was her 80th career NWSL across all competitions, extending her own league record.

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Although they fell short on the field, the Red Stars still qualified for the postseason by virtue of Washington’s win over Louisville, securing the club’s eighth trip to the NWSL playoffs.

Another Saturday evening match went down to the wire as the North Carolina Courage and Angel City FC played to a dramatic 1-1 draw. Deadlocked at 0-0 deep into second half stoppage time, forward Christen Press scored for Angel City in the 90+7th minute, marking her first goal in over two years after a long recovery from ACL surgery. However, the lead was short-lived as Olivia Wingate equalized for the Courage in the 90+10th minute, securing the 1-1 draw and extending North Carolina’s home unbeaten streak to 21 matches. The Courage have clinched the #5 seed in the upcoming playoffs while Angel City remains in the postseason hunt but trails Bay FC by five points with just two matches left to play.

The Utah Royals kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Reign, moving into 10th in the standings and four points out of the playoff picture.

San Diego Wave FC is on the outside looking in following a 2-0 loss at home to the Houston Dash. The Wave need to win both remaining regular season games and get some help from teams above in the standings to make their third consecutive playoff appearance.

In Europe, the group stage of the 2024-25 UEFA Women’s Champions League kicked off on Tuesday, with eight-time champions and last season’s runners-up Olympique Lyon topping Turkish side Galatasaray 3-0 in Group A. Lindsey Horan went the distance in the victory before getting a well-deserved rest in Lyon’s 3-0 win over Dijon in league play on Saturday.

Group B was also in action on Tuesday, with Chelsea FC opening its Champions League campaign with a 3-2 win over Real Madrid.

After making it through the qualifying rounds, Arsenal dropped its Group C opener to Bayern Munich, falling 5-2 to the German powers.

Chelsea and Arsenal returned to action on Saturday, meeting in one of the most highly anticipated matchups on the Women’s Super League calendar, squaring off at the Emirates Stadium. Chelsea prevailed 2-1 in the cross-London clash, scoring in the 4th and 16th minutes to seize control early. Arsenal pulled one back in the 43rd minute as defender Emily Fox assisted a goal by Australian international Caitlin Foord, but the Gunners could not come up with the equalizer. Attacker Catarina Macario came on for Chelsea in the 63rd minute to help see out the victory for the Blues.

Paris Saint-Germain made it four wins in four matches to open league play in France, beating Nantes 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. Midfielder Korbin Albert logged another 90-minute performance for PSG in the victory.

Information on upcoming matches for U.S. Women’s National Team players can be found below. All times listed are ET.