Rise Higher

With the opening weekend of the WSL cancelled due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, fans will need to wait a little longer to see Kadeisha Buchanan’s WSL debut, and Adriana Leon’s debut for new club Manchester United.

Still, there was plenty of football this weekend across Europe and beyond. In the Swedish Damallsvenskan, Évelyne Viens turned out another performance of the highest order for Kristianstads, scoring four goals in a 6–2 rout of AIK. This takes Viens to 14 goals and eight assists in the league, tied for highest on both counts. Her absence from the most recent roster now looks even more bizarre, as Viens continues to prove herself despite Priestman’s refusal to call her up. Gabrielle Carle, who also plays for Kristianstads, was rested on this occasion, having only recently returned from Australia.

In France, the Division 1 Feminine kicked off, with Ashley Lawrence’s Paris Saint-Germain beating Soyaux-Charente 2–0 in the season opener. Lawrence captained the side and saw the full 90 minutes. The right-back was as involved as ever in a dominant performance by the Parisians, with 103 touches, five successful dribbles and one big chance created. Elsewhere in the league, Marie Levasseur played the whole of Fleury’s 3–0 win over Guingamp, whilst Sura Yekka was rested for Le Havre’s match against Bordeaux.

Cloé Lacasse opened her 22/23 account for Benfica with a goal in their 6–0 league win against Marítimo. Two other recent CANXNT call-ups also featured in the opening weekend of the Liga BPI, as both Lysianne Proulx and Marie-Yasmine Alidou featured for their new clubs. Proulx served as the starting goalkeeper for Torreense, keeping a debut clean sheet with a 2–0 win over Albergaria. Alidou also started in her match for Famalicão against Damaiense, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

With all rumours of a transfer to Manchester City put to bed, Julia Grosso continued to be a steady force in the Juventus midfield, maintaining a 100% passing accuracy and earning an assist in a thrilling 3–3 derby draw against Internazionale. Starting and playing 85 minutes, Grosso’s move to Italy has clearly worked out well; the 22-year-old looks unfazed even when under the high pressure that comes with being part of a winning club.

Across the Atlantic, the race for the NWSL playoffs is heating up, with just a handful of regular season games left to be played. After an injury to Erin McLeod and Rhian Wilkinson’s sensible decision to rest Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie, Portland’s 2–0 win over Orlando was a Canadian-less affair — at least on the pitch. Kailen Sheridan, meanwhile, started in San Diego Wave’s 4–3 loss against Washington Spirit, putting in an uncharacteristically poor performance, though she was not helped by an abysmal defence and the likelihood of jet lag.

Jordyn Huitema also started this weekend, scoring her first NWSL goal for the OL Reign in their 2–2 draw against Chicago Red Stars. Huitema was a threat throughout the match, with six shots — one off the woodwork — and two chances created. The striker should probably have converted a couple more, but she is nonetheless clearly adjusting rapidly to her new surroundings, and looks a force to be reckoned with. For Chicago, Bianca St-Georges came off the bench for 21 minutes, having earned a bit of a rest after playing heavy minutes for Canada over the break.

The Kansas City Current made it a thirteen game unbeaten streak with a narrow 1–0 victory over Gotham FC. Desiree Scott was a rock in the midfield once again, with an 89% passing accuracy, two blocks and twelve ball recoveries. A Kansas City player herself until very recently, Victoria Pickett had the full 90 for Gotham FC, drawing five fouls and winning a match-high nine duels.

In the last match of the weekend, the Houston Dash saw Angel City FC to a 1–1 draw. All three of the Dash Canadians — Allysha Chapman, Nichelle Prince and Sophie Schmidt — got the start and put in respectable performances, but it was Schmidt that was the standout. After being left out of the original Olympic squad, the central midfielder has just gotten better and better, admirably rising to the challenge of showing that she still has the quality to be part of the national team squad. Against Angel City, Schmidt won a match-high 10 duels, as well as putting in three successful tackles and 10 ball recoveries.

In the NCAA, the Harvard Crimson had a successful week, first charting a 2–0 win against Long Beach State, followed by a 4–1 win against the Umass Minutewomen. Jade Rose and Anna Karpenko were rested for the first match, but played the full 90 at the weekend. The USC Trojans also won their midweek match, in a 2–0 victory over the Cal State Matadors. Zoe Burns made the starting XI, whilst Simi Awujo came on as a 70th minute substitute in a game completely dominated by the Trojans. Both players were on the starting team-sheet in their weekend away game against Nebraska, which proved much more of a challenge, eventually ending in a hard-fought 1–1 draw.

Players of the week: Évelyne Viens (Kristianstads DFF), Sophie Schmidt (Houston Dash)

Stat summary:

Goals: 6 (Viens x4, Lacasse, Huitema)

Assists: 1 (Grosso)

Clean sheets: 1 (Proulx)