USWNT REWIND: Pride Closing in on NWSL Shield; Group Stage Set for UEFA Women’s Champions League

Another compelling week of club play on both sides of the Atlantic kicked off on Thursday in Europe, as the field for the 2024-25 UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage was set.

After falling 1-0 the first match in the two-leg series, Arsenal FC bounced back with a 4-0 victory at home over Swedish side BK Hacken to secure its spot in the Champions League group stage after being eliminated in qualifying the year prior. Emily Fox, who joined the Gunners in January, started and logged 89 minutes in the shutout victory.

Paris Saint-Germain, which reached the semifinals last season, was bounced from the competition following a 2-1 loss to Juventus. After a 3-1 defeat in Italy in the first leg, Korbin Albert started the second leg for PSG but the Parisians gave up a goal in the second minute and concede a late game-winner in the 72nd.

With the final qualifying fixtures complete, the group stage draw was held on Friday, allocating the 16 qualified teams into four groups of four teams each. Eight-time Champions League winners Olympique Lyon were drawn into Group A along with Vfl Wolfsburg, AS Roma and Galatasaray. Chelsea, which fell to eventual champions Barcelona in the semifinal last season, was drawn into Group B along with Real Madrid, FC Twente and Celtic while Arsenal was draw into Group C alongside Bayern Munich, Juventus and Valerenga. Defending champion Barcelona headlines Group D and is joined by Manchester City, St. Polten and Hammarby. Group Stage play kicks off on Tuesday, October 8.

Along with the Champions League, the second weekend of league play continued in England and France, kicking off on Friday night as Chelsea dispatched of Crystal Palace in a convincing 7-0 victory. Catarina Macario came off the bench to make her season debut and tallied both an assist and her first goal of the season, scoring off a rebound late in second-half stoppage time as the Blues made it two wins in two games.

WATCH: MACARIO TALLIES FIRST GOAL OF 2024-25 CAMPAIGN

Following a 2-2 draw against Manchester City to open the season, Arsenal earned its first win – and first shutout – of the league campaign with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday. Fox started and went the distance in the victory.

In France, Lindsey Horan continued her torrid start to the season with Lyon, scoring twice and adding an assist in OL’s 6-0 victory over RC Strasbourg. Horan scored her first goal of the game in the 38th minute to give Lyon a 2-0 lead, scoring off a header at the far post.

WATCH: HORAN HEADER EXTENDS LYON LEAD

She tallied an assist in the 58th minute, setting up a goal by Melchie Dumornay, and completed her brace in the 90+3rd minute, scoring off a direct free kick from 25-yards out. Horan leads Lyon in scoring with four goals in two games to kick off the new campaign, helping the club to back-to-back victories to open its title defense.

WATCH: HORAN COMPLETES BRACE WITH FREE KICK GOAL

Paris Saint-Germain also made it two wins in two games to start the season with a 4-0 victory over Guingamp, with Albert once again earning the starting nod.

Stateside, the Orlando Pride maintained their seven-point lead in the race for the 2024 NWSL Shield, beating the Houston Dash 3-1 to extend remain unbeaten through 22 matches this year.

With just four regular season games left to play, the Pride could clinch the Shield this weekend with a win over the Washington Spirit, who are currently second in the standings. The Spirit are coming off a 2-1 win over Angel City Friday night in Los Angeles. The 2021 NWSL NWSL Champions, the Spirit have already punched their ticket to the playoffs and are on pace for the club’s best regular-season finish since 2016.

The two other teams to have already secured their place in the postseason, NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current played to 1-1 draw on Saturday in Kansas City. Defending champions Gotham remain third in the standings with 44 points, three back of the second-place Spirit, while the Current are in fourth with 43 points.

Coming off a 3-1 road win over the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday afternoon, North Carolina Courage are now just one win away from punching their ticket to the playoffs. The Courage jumped out to a 3-0 lead as they earned just their third road win of the season, snapping Chicago’s two-game win streak. The Red Stars, who finished last in the standing in 2023, are sixth in the standings with 29 points, six back of the fifth-place Courage.

Following a long winless spell, the San Diego Wave earned their second win in three games with a 2-0 blanking of the Portland Thorns on Saturday night. U.S. Under-17 Women’s Youth National Team midfielder Melanie Barcenas scored the first goal of her professional career to cap off the scoring for the Wave, who recorded their first shutout victory since early May. The victory moves San Diego into 10th in the standings, just six points out of playoff contention while the Thorns fall to seventh with 28 points.

Bay FC currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot, moving into the postseason picture with a 1-0 road win over the Seattle Reign on Sunday night.

Racing Louisville FC fell from eighth to ninth with a 1-0 loss to the Utah Royals.

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