Rise Higher

It’s been a positive week for most of the CANXNT players, with plenty of goals, assists and clean sheets between them.

In the NWSL, the Houston Dash picked up a 4–0 win against Louisville, a crucial step in their campaign to make the upcoming playoffs. Nichelle Prince played a vital role in the thrashing, with one goal and one assist, whilst Allysha Chapman put in her usual solid shift at the back, notching an impressive fourteen recoveries. With a difficult few weeks ahead — the Dash will play top-of-the-table Portland Thorns twice — such a runaway win may provide the confidence they need to pull through.

It was also a good weekend for Gotham FC, who came from behind to beat three-time league winners North Carolina Courage 3–1. Both of the Gotham Canadians had a strong showing, as Kailen Sheridan made four crucial saves and Evelyne Viens registered an assist just one minute after entering the match. Viens, who has seen very few minutes of late, will be hoping she is rewarded with more playtime over the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, Laura Harvey seems to have unlocked the full potential of OL Reign’s incredible roster, with a 3–0 victory against Orlando Pride. This leaves Quinn’s team just three points away from league leaders Portland Thorns, who lost their match against Chicago Red Stars despite a goal from the ever-reliable wonder captain Christine Sinclair.

At the bottom of the table, Kansas City suffered yet another loss to the Washington Spirit, leaving them with just 11 points and an increasingly likely last place finish come the end of season. Though Jordyn Listro was ruled out with injury, both Victoria Pickett and Desiree Scott put in a shift in midfield. Scott in particular made a crucial impact, making the most tackles and winning the most duels of any player on the pitch.

For our younger US-based players, there was further success for Canadians in the NCAA, with two wins each for Julia Grosso’s Texas Longhorns and Gabrielle Carle’s Florida State Seminoles. Carle contributed to two clean sheets in a 5–0 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers and a 3–0 win over the Louisville Cardinals. It was also another fantastic week for Grosso, who scored one goal and assisted another in the Longhorns’ 2–0 win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

For Jayde Riviere and the Michigan Wolverines, it was a slightly less productive week, as their Thursday game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights was cancelled due to poor weather, and their Sunday clash against the Wisconsin Badgers ended in a 0–0 draw.

Across the pond, there was plenty of action in the WSL; notably, Jessie Fleming came off the bench to score her first professional goal in Chelsea’s 6–1 battering of Manchester United. Fleming is another player whose club playtime has been limited — certainly an expectation in such a talented, experienced team, but a frustration for many Canada fans nonetheless. Hopefully, this goal will alert manager Emma Hayes to Fleming’s readiness for the big stage.

Tottenham Hotspur and Shelina Zadorsky faced off against Reading and Deanne Rose this week, with Rose earning her first start for her new club. This was a tightly contested match up until the final leg of the game, when Spurs scored in the 85th minute to claim the win. This leaves Spurs with three wins out of three in the league thus far: another strong showing from a team battling relegation last season.

Whilst many of her teammates celebrate victory, Janine Beckie will doubtlessly be frustrated with Manchester City’s 5–0 loss to Arsenal — the biggest loss the team have suffered since turning professional. Defensive errors peppered City’s performance, and Beckie and her attacking counterparts were unable to get a grip on the game. This marks the teams third loss in a row in all competitions and has raised questions as to the future of the team: two league defeats in three matches likely puts Manchester City out of the title race.

Lastly, in the French league, both Lyon (Kadeisha Buchanan) and Paris Saint-Germain (Ashley Lawrence, Steph Labbé and Jordyn Huitema) earned 4–0 wins over their respective opponents. Buchanan’s performance was of particular note; not only did she contribute to the team’s clean sheet, but she also scored an absolute beauty of a goal, a volley from just outside the box that any striker would be proud of, never mind a centre-back. Meanwhile, Labbé and Lawrence will be happy with their clean sheet against a strong Paris FC side, and Huitema got some valuable playtime under her belt, having been subbed on in the 57th minute.

Generally — with a couple of exceptions — it’s been a strong week for the Canadians in their club environments. It is of particular note the number of goals and assists that they have contributed, with six different players on various scoresheets. Bearing in mind the scarcity of goals for Canada at the Olympics, this blistering form will hopefully be capitalised on through friendlies in the October break. Assuming they can carry this form over to national team play, this is a perfect time to work out the clear problems the team have, and finally achieve the consistent attacking threat this team are more than capable of.

Top performers this week: Nichelle Prince, Keisha Buchanan, Desiree Scott

Highlights for the next week:

Manchester City v Leicester: After a horrific few weeks for Manchester City, there is no kinder fixture for them than an FA cup match against newly-promoted Leicester City. Leicester have also had a difficult start to the season, with three losses in three, and ordinarily should pose no threat at all to a team like Manchester City. However — as Leicester manager Jonathan Morgan said to press earlier — there is no better time to play the current cup holders. With nine players still out and their confidence dismal, City will need a resounding win to try and get their season back on track, but in their current state, this cannot be guaranteed. Wednesday 29 September, 19:00 BST, FA Player

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur: Derbies are always fun matches to watch and this one perhaps carries more weight after the Arsenal mens side embarrassed Spurs in their Premier League match this past weekend. At first glance, Arsenal should run away with this one, but regardless, it will be great to see Zadorsky and the rest of her defence be put to one of their greatest tests: Arsenal have scored twelve league goals already this season. So far, Spurs’ defensive record has been near-perfect, with clean sheets against Reading and Birmingham, and just the one goal allowed by Manchester City’s wealth of attacking talent. Though a clean sheet may be a little much to ask considering Arsenal’s incredible form, Zadorsky will doubtlessly relish such a challenge. Wednesday 29 September, 19:15 BST, BBC

Bordeaux v Lyon: Bordeaux may be having a tough start to the season, but they remain one of the few teams that could pose a problem for the European giants, Lyon. Though Vanessa Gilles was absent from Bordeaux’s squad this week — she has not yet returned after the international break — she will hopefully be back this time, enabling us to see Canada’s stellar centre-back pairing face off against each other. Friday 1 October, 20:00 BST, TBC

Portland Thorns v OL Reign: As the two teams currently top of the NWSL table, this is sure to be a competitive and exciting fixture in the closing stages of the race towards the title. The Thorns have been fairly consistent throughout the season, suffering just five losses, but they have fallen to the Reign in both their previous encounters. With the Reign coming into this game on the back of a 3–0 win, their confidence will likely be soaring; the Thorns, on the other hand, will be looking for redemption after this weekend’s loss. Sunday 3 October, 03:00 BST, Twitch