RISE HIGHER

UWCL

This past week featured leg one of the UWCL quarter-finals. A Canadian v Canadian(s) match-up was played between Vanessa Gilles’ Olympique Lyonnais and Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming’s Chelsea. Gilles and Buchanan both played the entire match and performed well. In Buchanan’s first return to Lyon since she left for England, her team captured a narrow 1-0 lead over OL. Ashley Lawrence also had the start for PSG’s match-up against Wolfsburg, which they lost 0-1. Sabrina D’Angelo was on the bench for Arsenal’s 1-0 loss against Bayern Munich. The second leg for the quarter-finals will be played this upcoming week.

England

D’Angelo played in the North London Derby for Arsenal. It was a welcome sight to see her playing for the first time since she was injured whilst playing for Canada in February. Arsenal won the match 5-1, with D’Angelo only allowing a penalty to slip by her. Zadorsky was still ill and did not feature for Tottenham. Canada fans were treated to another positive development as Jayde Riviere made the bench for the first time since joining Manchester United. While neither she nor Adriana Leon featured for Man United in their 4-0 win over West Ham, it is wonderful to see Riviere fit for action after being out so long with her injury. Lastly, the winning streak for Canadians in the WSL stopped there: Buchanan started and Fleming played ten minutes in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City—a scoreline that makes the WSL title race much more interesting.

France

Levasseur got the start and played 51 minutes in a 1-1 draw for Fleury against Le Havre. Gilles’ OL rebounded from their midweek UWCL loss with a convincing 6-0 win over Guingamp. Gilles played the entire match and nabbed an assist with an impressive long ball. Lastly, Ashley Lawrence played the full 90 in a 1-0 win for PSG over Montpellier.

Italy

In their Serie A playoff, Grosso played the first half for Juventus against Internazionale. Juventus finished the game with a convincing 3-1 win.

Portugal

Lysianne Proulx was in net for Torreense against Braga. Torreense lost the match 3-6. Marie-Yasmine Alidou continued her strong play, notching a goal in Famalicao’s 4-1 win over Vilaverdense, earning her POTM. Cloé Lacasse started the match for Benfica on their derby day, but Benfica lost 0-1 to Sporting CP.

Sweden

Clarissa Larisey earned her Damallsvenskan debut, starting the match and playing 81 minutes in BK Häcken’s 0-1 loss against Djurgarden. Evelyne Viens immediately returned to her offensive powerhouse ways; she notched one goal and one assist as her club, Kristianstads, beat IFK Kalmar 3-1. Lastly, Sura Yekka and Sarah Stratigakis both featured for Vittsjö GIK in their 0-2 loss to Hammarby.

USA

Desiree Scott’s Kansas City Current played their season opener against Sydney Collins’ North Carolina Courage. Scott is still injured and did not feature, and dual-national Collins was on NCC’s bench as they beat KCC 1-0. Kailen Sheridan was in net for San Diego Wave’s 3-2 win over the Chicago Red Stars. Bianca St-Georges did not feature for the Red Stars as she was under concussion protocol. Gabrielle Carle earned her first NWSL start as she made her league debut for the Washington Spirit against Jordyn Huitema and Quinn’s OL Reign. Huitema played the full match, but Quinn was ruled out from the squad with an injury. The Spirit won the closely contested match 1-0, despite a few late injuries—including one to Carle. The Portland Thorns soundly defeated the Orlando Pride 4-0. Christine Sinclair started for the Thorns and had an impressive match, earning her first assist of the season. Sophie Schmidt captained the Houston Dash in their match against Racing Lousiville. Allysha Chapman joined the pitch for the second half, and Devon Kerr remained on the bench. The Dash and Louisville played to a 0-0 draw. Finally, Victoria Pickett started the match for Gotham FC on the bench, and then came on for the last ten minutes in a 2-1 comeback win against Angel City FC.

Player of the Week: Christine Sinclair

Weekly Stats

Goals: 2 (Alidou x1, Viens x1)

Assists: 3 (Gilles x1, Sinclair x1, Viens x1)