Rise Higher

Christine Sinclair and the Portland Thorns have done it again; in a 1–0 win over the Houston Dash last night, the team secured their second NWSL Shield, adding to their Challenge Cup and Women’s International Champions Cup wins from earlier in the season. The Houston Dash fought valiantly, but ultimately could not find an answer to Lindsay Horan’s eventual game-winner in the 43rd minute. It was not for want of trying; Nichelle Prince had three shots on target, with a further shot blocked. Allysha Chapman and Sophie Schmidt also put the work in, with 10 successful duels for Chapman, and 11 recoveries for Schmidt. A win would have secured a playoff spot for the Dash — now, they must look to their final match against Washington Spirit, shortly after the end of the international break.

Portland’s biggest rivals for the Shield, Quinn’s OL Reign, arguably blew their chances at the trophy when they lost 2–0 to Washington Spirit on Saturday evening. With their playoff spot safely secured, they will be hoping to regain form in time to compete for the Championship title.

Though incapable of reaching the playoffs, Kansas City began the week with a shock 3–0 win over the Houston Dash, with Prince and Desiree Scott and seeing the full 90 for their respective teams. Sadly, Kansas City could not keep this form going, and suffered a 2–1 loss to the Chicago Red Stars at the weekend. Despite the loss, Scott put in another brilliant performance as the anchor in Kansas’s midfield, with an 88% pass rate, eight successful duels and three successful tackles.

Erin McLeod saw a rare start in Orlando Pride’s match against Racing Louisville, with the team’s starting goalkeeper sidelined due to injury. Unfortunately for McLeod, it was a tough outing for the Pride, as they fell 3–1 to bottom-of-the-table Louisville. This eliminates Orlando Pride from playoff contention.

It was not all bad news for NWSL keepers, however, as Kailen Sheridan kept a clean sheet in Gotham’s 3–0 win over North Carolina Courage, making five saves, including a spectacular diving push off the post to deny NCC a consolation goal. This leaves Gotham in fifth place with three games in hand, making their playoff spot increasingly likely.

Moving to the NCAA, Julia Grosso and the Texas Longhorns drew 0–0 to the Baylor Bears, with two shots on goal for Grosso. The Longhorns remain on top of the Big 12 regular-season standing, with nine consecutive matches unbeaten. The similarly dominant Florida State Seminoles saw further success this week, with a 2–0 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies. Gabrielle Carle played a large part in the win, setting up the first goal with a perfect long ball and directly assisting the second. Jayde Riviere’s Michigan Wolverines began the week with a 1–0 win over their local rivals, the Michigan State Spartans, but suffered a 2–1 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes come the weekend.

Midweek saw Champions League action for several Europe-based Canadian players. Jordyn Huitema, fresh off a brace of assists at the weekend, put in an astounding performance in PSG’s match against Kharkiv, scoring a first half hat-trick in their 5–0 win. Seeing Huitema excel after the disappointment of being left off the original Olympic roster feels very special; it certainly seems that the youngster has used that initial disappointment to fuel her desire to improve. With limited minutes at club level — her rival for the starting striker spot is ballon d’Or nominee Marie-Antoinette Katoto — this should provide some much needed confidence. Steph Labbé and Ashley Lawrence also played the full 90, but it was a quieter night for both, as Kharkiv only managed a single shot on target.

Huitema was not the only exceptional Canadian in this round of Champions League matches, as Kadeisha Buchanan scored a brace in Lyon’s 5–0 win over Benfica. Interestingly, both goals were headers scored from corners — a skill the national team will certainly be looking to utilise in the upcoming friendlies.

Elsewhere, Chelsea played Juventus in a closely fought 2–1 win for the English side. Jessie Fleming played 24 minutes, maintaining 100% passing accuracy and winning five ground duels.

For the English clubs who did not qualify for Champions League, the Continental Cup group stage kicked off this week. A few teams chose to rest their key players, with Deanne Rose, Adriana Leon and Shelina Zadorsky starting their matches on the bench. With their respective clubs facing Championship (second tier) sides, these matches were expected to be easier wins, but this assumption was something of a mistake. Zadorsky’s Tottenham Hotspur managed a slim 1–0 win over Charlton Athletic, whilst Leon’s West Ham United beat London City Lionesses by the same scoreline. Rose and Reading, however, lost 1–0 to newly relegated Bristol City. Luckily, with the rest of their group consisting solely of Championship sides, Reading could still come out on top— but the loss remains a bad sign for a club that has struggled so far this season.

Janine Beckie, on the other hand, will be feeling much more positive going into the international break, as Manchester City beat Everton 5–1. Beckie, playing as right-back/right wing-back, was key to much of City’s attacking play, bagging three assists and one secondary assist in a sublime performance. After a difficult start for Manchester City, such a resounding win will be a huge boost — something that is much-needed for a team that seems to have lacked drive and confidence of late.

In the French League, Bordeaux and Vanessa Gilles unexpectedly fell 5–2 to Reims, leaving them fifth in the table with just two matches won. Though the season is still young, this marks a disappointing trend for the club, and leaves them five points outside of Champions League qualification in a closely competitive league. Meanwhile, PSG beat St. Etienne 2–0, with Lawrence seeing the full 90, whilst Labbé and Huitema were unused substitutes. Lyon also continued their winning streak, beating Montpellier 5–0, though Buchanan had to witness this from the sidelines, after being suspended for yellow card accumulation.

Top performers this week: Jordyn Huitema, Janine Beckie, Desiree Scott

Next up, international break! Catch CANXNT in action against New Zealand on Saturday 23 October (20:00 BST) and Wednesday 27 October (00:30 BST), broadcast on OneSoccer.