Rise Higher

The biggest news this week comes in the form of Ballon d’Or nominations, as Ashley Lawrence, Christine Sinclair and Jessie Fleming all made the shortlist for their exceptional efforts this past year. CANXNT achievements, however, did not end there, albeit on a slightly smaller scale, as Kailen Sheridan made the September NWSL team of the month, and Julia Grosso placed ninth on TopDrawerSoccer’s NCAA player rankings.

Grosso proved her placing to be accurate, as she added another goal to her tally this week, scoring in the Texas Longhorn’s 2–0 win over the Iowa State Cyclones. This result takes the Longhorns to the top of the Big 12 standings, and extends their unbeaten run to eight matches. In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Gabrielle Carle and the Florida State Seminoles added another two resounding wins to their collection. A 5–0 win over the Syracuse Orange saw the Seminoles take 73% possession, with 21 shots to the Orange’s singular shot. This dominance extended to their second match of the week, a 4–1 win over the Miami Hurricanes, during which Carle scored her second goal of the season.

NWSL players had a busy week, with many teams playing two matches. Gotham FC began their week with a 0–0 draw against Washington Spirit, marking another clean sheet for Kailen Sheridan, whilst their 3–2 win over Orlando Pride was a more dramatic affair. Despite making an error which led to the Pride’s second goal, Sheridan totalled seven saves across the match, contributing massively to the win.

Houston Dash had a brilliant week against two heavyweights of the league, notching a 3–2 win over Christine Sinclair’s Portland Thorns, followed by a 4–1 victory over North Carolina Courage. Nichelle Prince, Sophie Schmidt and Allysha Chapman played both matches for the Dash, with Prince registering yet another assist. After their loss to the Dash, the Portland Thorns suffered another poor result come the weekend, drawing 0–0 to Desiree Scott’s Kansas City. The Thorns will be disappointed to only come away with a point, with KC currently languishing at the bottom of the table.

Across the pond, UWCL group stage matches began midweek, with Keisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming and Jordyn Huitema all seeing playtime. Fleming played fifteen minutes of Chelsea’s exhilarating 3–3 draw against Wolfsburg, whilst Huitema was a last minute substitute for PSG’s 2–0 win over Breidablik. Buchanan, meanwhile, put in a brilliant performance in Lyon’s 3–0 win against Hacken, with six successful duels and a 92% passing accuracy. Beyond the clean sheet, Buchanan also contributed to Lyon’s attack; her pressure on the Hacken goalkeeper forced an own goal.

The final WSL matches before the international break were played this weekend and Fleming once again proved her value in a stacked Chelsea side, with a Player of the Match performance. The 23-year-old bagged her second assist in as many starts to open Chelsea’s scoring against Leicester in the 82nd minute. Leicester held firm for the majority of the match, but ended up falling 2–0 to Fleming’s side in the late stages of the game. Deanne Rose also had a great showing for Reading, registering an assist and creating three chances in their 3–0 win over Aston Villa.

It was another stressful 90 minutes for Manchester City and Janine Beckie, who faced off arch-rivals Manchester United. The 2–2 draw can be considered a positive for the Blues; with Georgia Stanway sent off in the 35th minute, it was a huge effort from the team to keep United at bay for so long. Beckie once again slotted in at right-back after Stanway left the pitch, and put in another strong shift despite being out of position, winning five duels and making four recoveries.

For Adriana Leon and Shelina Zadorsky, it was much more of a disappointing weekend. After a bright start, Zadorsky and Tottenham Hotspur fell 2–1 to Brighton, ending their unbeaten league run. Leon’s West Ham, on the other hand, managed a 1–1 draw against Birmingham — a match they would have been expecting to win, considering Birmingham’s poor start to the season.

In the French league, PSG faced Guingamp in a 6–0 bloodbath. Huitema, despite only being on the pitch for 37 minutes, bagged two assists in the routing; something which will surely boost her confidence after limited minutes thus far.

Top performers this week: Keisha Buchanan & Ballon d’Or nominee Jessie Fleming

Highlights for the next week:

Juventus v Chelsea: After claiming just the single point in their home match against Wolfsburg, it is almost imperative that Chelsea beat Juventus on Wednesday if they wish to top a competitive group. After Fleming’s brilliant performance against Leicester, it would not be surprising to see her play a part in this match. Wednesday 13 October, 20:00 BST, DAZN

Lyon v SL Benfica: Lyon may be seven-time European champions, but they will be eying Benfica with caution after the Portuguese champions held Bayern Munich to a surprise draw last week. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, there will be two canadians involved here; Buchanan for Lyon and Cloé Lacasse for Benfica. Thursday 14 October, 20:00 BST, DAZN

Houston Dash v Portland Thorns: It’s rematch time for Houston Dash and Portland Thorns, after a 3–2 victory for the Dash last week. With the usually dominant Thorns coming off a draw and two losses, the Dash will be looking to capitalise on their relatively poor form. Four Canadians — Prince, Chapman, Schmidt, Sinclair — could feature in this one, and if last week is anything to go by, this match will be closely fought by two teams desperate to grab those three points. Monday 18 October, 00:00 BST, Twitch