Orlando Pride and Chicago Red Stars Highlight Week 13 of the NWSL
Week 13 of the NWSL kicks off as league leaders Portland Thorns FC travel to BBVA Compass Stadium to take on the Houston Dash. Orlando Pride host the Chicago Red Stars in the match of the week, while Seattle Reign take on Western New York Flash at Memorial Stadium.
NWSL Soccer News: Week 13 of the NWSL kicks off on Saturday with a four match header that begins with FC Kansas City hosting Washington Spirit at Swope Soccer Village. Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart leads the league with most saves (48) as the home club take on Washington who sits in third place.
Orlando Pride welcome the Chicago Red Stars to Camping World Stadium with kickoff set for 7:30 pm E.T. Orlando has the opportunity jump into fourth place ahead of Chicago as both teams are currently tied in points. Chicago will be led by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher who leads the league in clean sheets, while Orlando’s Ashlyn Harris sits in second behind Barnhart with 41 saves.
After a thrilling comeback victory on Sunday evening, Orlando Pride (6-6-0, 18 points) returns to Camping World Stadium on Saturday night to face the Chicago Red Stars with a chance to take sole possession of the final playoff spot. The two sides are currently tied for fourth in the league table with 18 points, however the Red Stars (5-4-3, 18 points) hold the head-to-head tiebreak over the Pride.
Both Club will, again, be without most of their international players due to Olympic call-ups. The Pride will be missing six players, while the Red Stars see three players gone in U.S. Women’s National Team members Press, defender Julie Johnston and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
In their previous meeting, the Red Stars saw a 1-0 victory at Toyota Park after Christen Press capitalized on a free kick from Danielle Colaprico for the lone goal of the match. The Pride continued pressing but were unable to find the equalizer in just their third match of the inaugural season.
Orlando controlled possession for much of the match, but had difficulty solving Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who made four saves to keep the clean sheet.
Jasmyne Spencer, who entered the match as a substitute in the 73rd minute, came inches from pulling the game level in stoppage time but her low shot from the right skidded just beyond the far post.
Taylor Comeau earned her first start for the Red Stars, while competing in her tenth match. The midfielder has been averaging around 30 minutes a game before playing the entire 90 minutes against Washington Spirit.
Amateur call–up Jannelle Flaws, drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NWSL College Draft, earned her first Chicago Red Stars appearance. The rookie came in as a second–half substitution and played the entire 45 minutes.
Related Articles: Chicago Red Stars Jen Hoy On Women’s Soccer; NWSL Player of the Week: Kristen Edmonds
A live stream will be available here.
Match 3 on Saturday sees Houston Dash welcome Portland Thorns FC to BBVA Compass Stadium at 8:30 pm E.T. Houston will remain without Carli Lloyd who is recovering from injury ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Portland currently sits in first place as they look to get back on track following the club;s first loss of the season last week versus FC Kansas City.
A live stream will be available here.
Seattle Reign FC host Western New York Flash to conclude Saturday with kickoff set for 10:30 pm E.T. WNY Flash sit in second place behind Portland as Lynn Williams and Jessica McDonald claim the top two spots in goals scored in the NWSL.
Just in – NWSL SUSPENDS AND FINES WNY FLASH HEAD COACH PAUL RILEY.
National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Commissioner Jeff Plush announced today that Western New York Flash head coach Paul Riley has been suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for inappropriate conduct directed at the match officials during their game against Seattle Reign FC on July 9.
All fines collected by the NWSL will be donated to the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the exclusive charitable partner of the League.
The Western New York Flash (8-4-0) once again continued their hot pace, defeating the Seattle Reign FC (4-4-4), at Frontier Field, by a 3-1 score. Team captain Abby Erceg led the Flash with a pair of goals and an assist in the victory for the Flash.
Erceg’s pair of tallies were the first two of the season for the defender. Lynn Williams tallied her league leading seventh goal of the season as Western New York notched their sixth win in their last seven outings on Saturday night.
With the win, the Flash have now won six of their last seven matches and sit just two points behind first-place Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL table.
A live stream will be available here.
Kansas City FC v Washington Spirit
For the second time in as many weeks, FC Kansas City is preparing to face the Washington Spirit. This time howev-er, the match is at home, where the Blues hold a 3-0-1 advantage in the series. The game is set to start at 6 p.m. at Swope Soccer Village.
Washington won the previous match 2-0 on July 2 at Maryland SoccerPlex with goals from Francisca Ordega and Tori Huster. Both goals game in the final 11 minutes of the match.
The Blues bounced back with a 2-1 victory against Portland Thorns FC on Saturday to improve their record to 3-5-4. Shea Groom scored off two assists from Tiffany McCarty and now ranks first on the team with four this season.
The Spirit also won their last contest, topping the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 at home
A live stream will be available here.
Sky Blue FC travel to take on Boston Breakers on Sunday to conclude Week 13 with kickoff set for 5:00 pm E.T. Sky Blue sit mid-table, while Boston look to turn around a tough start to the season.
A live stream will be available here.
