The Orlando Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to win the 2024 NWSL Shield, winning the regular season title for the first time in franchise history. Facing the second place Spirit, the league-leading Pride took the lead in the 56th minute on a penalty kick from Brazilian international Marta and doubled their advantage in the 73rd after forcing the Spirit into an own goal.
Defender and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Emily Sams helped Orlando to its 13th shutout of the season as the Pride became just the sixth club in NWSL history to win the shield. Unbeaten through 23 matches (17W-0L-6D) with three games remaining in the regular season, Orlando is now looking to become the first club in league history to finish the regular season without a loss. The Pride close out the regular season campaign against Portland Thorns FC, NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Seattle Reign.
NJ/NY Gotham FC opened the week with a dominating 13-0 win over Jamaican side Frazsiers Whip in Group A of the Concacaf W Champions Cup. Jenna Nighswonger scored her second goal of the competition in the 47th minute and Lynn Williams scored a hat trick in the span of 11 minutes, tallying in the 82nd, 86th and 90+3rd minutes as Gotham bolstered its position atop Group A in the inaugural edition of the regional club competition.
Coming off the dominant win in Jamaica, Gotham followed it up with another strong offensive performance, beating Bay FC 5-1 on Saturday at Red Bull Arena. Nighswonger opened the scoring for Gotham in the ninth minute, converting from the penalty spot for her second goal in as many games and her first goal of the 2024 regular season.
WATCH: NIGHSWONGER CONVERTS OPENING GOAL FOR GOTHAM
Bay FC equalized in the 18th minute and the teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the 70th minute, when Rose Lavelle scored off a header from close range, kicking off a scoring spree for Gotham that saw the hosts tally four goals in a span of 14 minutes to come away with the decisive victory. Lavelle’s goal was her sixth of the regular season, setting a new personal best for goals in a single club season and puts Gotham on the verge of securing a top four finish and homefield advantage for the quarterfinals. Bay FC remains in eighth place with 28 points
WATCH: LAVELLE HEADER SPARKS SCORING SPREE
The Kansas City Current also moved one step closer to securing a host spot with a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville FC on Saturday evening. Temwa Chawinga scored her league-leading 18th goal of the season in the second minute and Vanessa DiBernardo doubled Kansas City’s lead in the 86th as Kansas City extended its unbeaten run to five consecutive matches. The Current remain fourth in the standings while Louisville is ninth, just three points back of the playoff line.
After kicking off the week with a 2-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday in the group stage of the Concacaf W Champions Cup, the San Diego Wave fell to the North Carolina Courage 2-1 on Saturday night in Cary, North Carolina. Leading 2-0 at halftime, the Courage became the fifth team to qualify for the 2024 NWSL Playoffs and will be heading to postseason for the sixth time in seven seasons.
The Chicago Red Stars maintained their hold on sixth in the table and bolstered their playoff hopes with a 2-0 win on the road over the Houston Dash on Friday. Forward Mallory Swanson assisted Brazilian international Ludmila for Chicago’s opening goal in the seventh minute, which marked her fourth assist of the season, and the Red Stars added another goal from the penalty spot to double their lead late in first-half stoppage time. Alyssa Naeher made two saves as she recorded her sixth clean sheet of the season and third in the last four games. Houston was officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
The Portland Thorns kicked off the week with a 2-1 win on Tuesday over Sante Fe FC in the Concacaf W Champions Cup but suffered yet another setback at home, falling to the Utah Royals 2-1 on Saturday night at Providence Park. After a scoreless 45 minutes to start the match, Utah scored twice in the opening five minutes of the second half to take a 2-0 lead. Midfielder Olivia Moultrie pulled one back for the Thorns in the 53rd as she buried her penalty kick for her fifth goal of the regular season, but Portland couldn’t close the deficit further and remains seventh in the table with 28 points.
WATCH: MOULTRIE CONVERTS PENALTY FOR PORTLAND
One day after being deducted three points as the result of a league investigation into salary cap violations, Angel City FC bounced back with a 1-0 win on the road over the Seattle Reign. Alyssa Thompson assisted M.A. Vignola for the game’s only goal in the 34th minute. Both teams remain on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, with Angel City in 11th with 22 points and Seattle with 20 points in 13th place.
In France, Lindsey Horan continued her stellar start to the 2024-25 Première League campaign, scoring her fifth goal in three games and adding an assist to lead Olympique Lyon to a 4-0 win over Montpellier on Saturday. Horan assisted Lyon’s opening goal by Wendie Renard in the 38th minute and added a score of her own in the 63rd, finishing from close range with a sliding effort at the far post. Lyon added two more goals on the night to continue its perfect start to the season. Horan’s five goals to start the regular season lead Lyon and rank second among all players in France’s top flight.
WATCH: HORAN CONTINUES SCORING STREAK IN FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain also made it three wins in three matches to start the league campaign, beating Le Havre 3-0 on Friday evening. Midfielder Korbin Albert made her third start of the regular season for the Parisians.
In England, Arsenal continued its unbeaten start to the Women’s Super League, drawing Everton 0-0. Defender Emily Fox made her third start of the league campaign and seventh across all competitions as the Gunners recorded their third clean sheet in three matches.
Information on upcoming matches for U.S. Women’s National Team players can be found below. All times listed are ET.
| Tuesday, October 8 | ||
|---|---|---|
| UEFA Women’s Champions League – Group Stage: Olympique Lyon vs. Galatasaray | 12:45 p.m. | DAZN |
| UEFA Women’s Champions League – Group Stage: Chelsea FC vs. Real Madrid CF | 3:00 p.m. | DAZN |
| Wednesday, October 9 | ||
| UEFA Women’s Champions League – Group Stage: Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal FC | 12:45 p.m. | DAZN |
| Friday, October 11 | ||
| NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. Orlando Pride | 10:00 p.m. | Prime Video |
| Saturday, October 12 | ||
| Women's Super League Arsenal FC vs. Chelsea FC | 8:45 a.m. | ESPN+ |
| Première Ligue: Dijon vs. Olympique Lyon | 11:00 a.m. | FFF TV |
| Première Ligue: Nantes vs. Paris Saint-Germain | 3:00 p.m. | DAZN |
| NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | 4:00 p.m. | NWSL+; Paramount+; Golazo |
| NWSL: North Carolina Courage vs. Angel City FC | 7:30 p.m. | ION |
| NWSL: Bay FC vs. Kansas City Current | 10:00 p.m. | ION |
| Sunday, October 13 | ||
| NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. Racing Louisville FC | 5:00 p.m. | NWSL+ |
| NWSL: Utah Royals FC vs. Seattle Reign | 5:00 p.m. | ESPN2; ESPN+; ESPN Deportes |
| NWSL: San Diego Wave FC vs. Houston Dash | 8:00 p.m. | NWSL+; Paramount+; Golazo |